How do you get a biker gang to obey the law? During a visit to a bar in Arizona, the USA correspondent of the SZ meets a waitress who has developed her very own method. Three anecdotes from around the world.
In the middle of… Tortilla Flat
Illustration: Marc Herold
Tortilla Flat is a tiny town in the desert east of Phoenix, Arizona, accessed by a winding road. There is a saloon there and both the street and the pub are popular with motorcyclists. It’s cold outside on this winter’s day, so the seven guys from the “Ulceros” motorcycle club order seven cans of cold beer to warm themselves up. They want to take it out to their Harleys, but a waitress blocks their way, an elderly lady dressed as a cowgirl. She has a light blue plastic toy gun strapped on. “I can’t let you out with the beer, that’s forbidden,” she says. “Yes, ma’am, of course,” says the leader of the Ulceros. The boys sit down. Either the rockers in Arizona are very polite. Or they saw that other waiters also carry pistols. These aren’t toys. Hubert Wetzel
In the middle of… Bishoftu
Illustration: Marc Herold
Ethiopia is a country caught in a bitter civil war. But Ethiopia is also that: There is a wonderful hotel on a lake in Bishoftu, with a view of the water. After a restful night and a bottle of Ethiopian wine, you are still completely enchanted and forget your card in the cash machine at reception in the morning. When the mishap is noticed, the card is gone, confiscated, swallowed by the machine. No problem, says a friendly lady at reception and picks up the phone. Five minutes later, as a Toyota Land Cruiser speeds up from nearby downtown Bishoftu, a Commercial Bank of Ethiopia employee jumps out, opens the ATM, and hands over the card with a friendly smile, as if you’ve been their best customer in decades. That too is Ethiopia. Bernd Dorries
In the middle of… Barbate
Illustration: Marc Herold
Small pandemic escape, the German corona winter blues escaped to the coast of Andalusia. The tourists have already gone, a few bars are still open, the babble of voices and the clinking of glasses are recorded as a precaution. Just not to forget how beautiful this is. Because the surfers are waiting for the big waves further south, the beach is almost deserted. Far away, a lonely man appears flying a kite. As you get closer, the kite turns out to be a parrot. What is he doing there? He’s training to fly with his macaw, says the man, and wraps the clothesline around his hand, which he tied around the bird’s claw. The macaw caws half-heartedly and would rather hack holes in the man’s shirt than move. This bird doesn’t belong in the air, it belongs at the bar. Definitely. Iris Mayer