Compassion at 12th Street Irish Pub

 

 

 

A Bar at the Folies Bergere
By Edouard Manet

 

Besides making drinks, bartenders do a lot of listening.

 

Many times when people go to a bar, they are looking for someone to talk to, someone who will listen to their troubles and sympathize with what has happened to them.

 

In our fast-paced world, finding someone who will sit and absorb our words is so helpful and comforting.  Listening is a powerful thing.

 

Someone is pouring out their problems to you and in the telling of the problem, they are working through what has happened to them.  The retelling and retelling may go on but eventually the person may work through it for themselves what they need to do next.  Or maybe not. 

 

I'm not suggesting that you go to a bar to drown your troubles, but I saw this interesting piece of information and thought I would pass it along because it comes from someone who has probabably heard it all, yet he understands the human psyche and feels deep compassion.

From a bartender's point of view, this is how comforting works.  In the October 2012 Oprah magazine, Jimmy Vecere, a bartender at the 12th Street Irish Pub in Philadelphia, gives us his sage advice:

 

"We're a block from a hospital, so in my 31 years here I've met many people who've just received bad news.  If you see someone in distress, don't hesitate to talk to them.  Once you've heard their story, sometimes all you have to say is, 'I'll be thinking of you.'  Your words are more powerful than you think."