Arts Entertainment Truths, lies and Tareytons AND
the Union Pacific trains rolled by just outside the walls, I’d lean back in my chair to watch smoke ribbons lazily curl their way around the Stag Beer sign. As an adult, I’ve had my own important moments at The Forge: A few Christmas Eve nights bending elbows with a collection of divorced dads and long-haul truckers away from home, some particularly memorable birthday happy-hour gatherings. One tense night, I stood up, politely but firmly, to the whole bar in defense of President Obama. There was a long night with a good friend, commiserating about our girl troubles and challenging each
icy goblet while you pat a wandering dog named Freedom and listen to Merle Haggard songs. If you want dinner, it’s gonna be a Slim Jim or bag of chips from behind the counter served with a generous helping of “ why your friendly stoolmate’s old lady is actually the crazy one.” It’s a place for pool tournaments, friendly trashtalking, occasional shuff leboard games and figuring out how you and that guy next to you know each other. It’s a place where it’s oddly busy on weekday afternoons at 4 p.m., and emptier shortly after the five o’clock A love letter to The Forge. whistle blows. The clientele is the real deal at The BY GLEN HOOKS Forge, the kind of folks who’ve raised their share of hell, work with ust exactly how old is The their hands, maybe served a Forge, anyway? little time now and then, and No b o d y d r i n k i n g or have the stories to share. Like working today at this ancient plenty of our families here in cinder-block tavern in Levy Arkansas. My partner likes seems to know the answer to to tease me about my love for this question. Beverly — the “Grampa bars,” and she’s not bartender since pretty much wrong. I like ’em real. forever — can’t recall the date. When my sons were born, Both interior and exterior are I liked to imagine a time in faded and worn, offering no the future when we might evidence of updates beyond all get together and have a new TouchTunes jukebox a drink together as grown and a newish smoke removal men. Sometimes I envisioned fan. When it comes to pinning it being on my front porch, down an opening date for this other times I envisioned it establishment, the collection happening at The Forge. My of irregular regulars around recently legal son, Jacob, the cushioned bartop can accompanied me there for the only loudly proclaim how long first time this year, becoming it’s been since they started the fourth generation of Hooks holding down a seat here. men to help darken The Consensus verdict? It’s been Forge’s already dark door. TIMELESS: Regulars gather at the Levy dive for pool tournaments, dominoes and tales that get taller with each beer. “a good while.” We caught up, played the I’m no more accurate with jukebox, laughed with the the date myself, but The regulars and had ourselves Forge has seemingly always been in steamed, and she knew it would be other to play the single saddest a meaningful moment talking to my consciousness. My grandparents better for everyone if she didn’t go song on the jukebox. I’ve listened to each other as grown-ups. Where my lived up the street for decades, and in and grab Papaw herself. patrons quietly spilling their stories Papaw sat and drank, and my dad sat raised a passel of baby boomer kids In later years, Papaw would of job losses, legal troubles, new and drank, we now sat and drank — from the late 1940s ’til sometime take the little kid version of me to grandbabies and complicated custody and planned our return trip soon. in the early ’70s. Family lore has it The Forge, where I’d munch Fritos battles over dogs. This place matters So, how old is The Forge? that, on more than one night, Memaw while watching old men smoke to me for a lot of reasons, not the least It’s as old as family, as old as Hooks would drive my young dad Tareytons, drink Black Label beer, of which is the free entertainment. barstool friendships, as old as my down to The Forge and send him in play dominoes and tell lies. Those There a re ba rs t hat h i re Papaw’s Tareyton smoke that’s to fetch Papaw Hooks when Papaw were times when I felt like I should consultants and strategize clever probably still bouncing around inside was having too much fun to come try to speak a little more deeply and ways to achieve an “authentic” feel, its walls. Here’s to hoping it’s around home on his own. Memaw was a force sit up a little bit straighter, maybe and then there’s The Forge. Happy for the next generation or two of to be reckoned with when she was shake hands a little more firmly. As hour means slurping $1 drafts from an Hooks men to haunt.
J
BRIAN CHILSON
20
JANUARY 04, 2018
ARKANSAS TIMES