I was accused of being maudlin in yesterday’s outing. Guilty as charged. So, we have decided to eschew anything profound today and instead are bringing you this important public service announcement.

As you are well aware, a plague has been attacking the watering holes of the glittering Wilson Boulevard. Like a vast blight, the industry has been under steady pressure from departing government agencies, being relocated in the Base Realignment and Close (BRAC) process.

First one to go was Ted’s Montana Grill, a high-end franchise that specialized in whatever it is that Ted Turner grows on his ranch in that western State. Then, of course, only two weeks later, the fabulous Willow bard shuttered its doors. Both spaces still sit forlorn and dark. Jay’s place went under the bulldozer, and SoBe is a goner on the first floor of that iconic building that used to belong to the Defense Intelligence Agency, until that organization pulled up stakes to rejoin the Mothership on Joint Base Bolling-Anacostia.

Up the road a bit, the Roadside Woodgrill went dark, just as Hard Times Cafe took a dive, along with Harry’s across the street. Green Turtle went belly after a year or so. Whitey’s Broasted Chicken went a long time ago, but the famous “EAT” sign stayed lit with the presence of Talulu’s, but that folded, and it is currently a Texas BBQ joint, which is more like the original Whitey’s, but it is still a jolt. The Odd bar and Eventide didn’t make their second birthdays, and there are rumors about the demise of the venerable Whitlow’s on Wilson, which we used to patronize on Wednesday for half-priced burger day.

Word on the street was that Carpool, the sports-darts and pool bar was going to breath its last today. So, some of the Willow Irregulars decided to hit the place to say that we had been there for the old bar in it’s time of need.

I never hung there regularly, but I used to duck in for Rockland’s BBQ when I worked across the street, and my sons liked the place the winter they lived in Clarendon. Just for old times sake, mind you, and a sort of protest against the dreaded Bar Blight that has devastated the area.

The place is noisy, which I guess is the point of the industrial ceiling that bounces the sound right back down and makes it impossible to hear anything. Not that much would be worth noting even if you could hear it, but that was the whole reason we loved Willow so much. It was the only grown-up bar on the strip.

Anyway, I was on my second Jack-and-Diet Coke when I asked if they still had t-shirts for sale, considering that the dreaded last day was today.

The bartender- I didn’t bother to ask the name, since I would never sit on that stool again- brightened. “We just got the word last Wednesday. The developers hit a delay in their schedule. We have been given 90 days from last week to stay open!”

So there it is: the Public Service Announcement.

“Don’t worry if you can’t make it to Carpool today- they will be around until after Thanksgiving.” There is a lot of football to come on the multi-screens that festoon the walls with the old auto advertising. That was what the place was in the beginning, before it turns into a hole in the ground for the high-rise multi-use structure that will rise on this spot. The County Board demands that retail and residential housing, with a percentage reserved for Section Eight rentals and two restaurants on the ground floor with a dry-cleaner have to be part of the plan. I don’t have a problem with that, though of course I think the market should decide what should encouraged.

One thing is for sure. Apparently we have too many bars already. But it is our pleasure to announce that Carpool will be around a bit longer. But act now. It won’t be long.

Copyright 2016 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com