CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Once I had been promoted out of the kitchen, from washing dishes to busing tables, more opportunities came my way. I was soon offered the chance to tend bar, which was exciting and at times quite fast-paced. Cocktail, starring Tom Cruise, Bryan Brown, and Elisabeth Shue, was one of my favorite movies at the time and I entertained brief visions of spinning around, flipping glasses, and putting on a show behind the bar. Perhaps it was a good thing that Coyote Creek had only a beer and wine bar.
I soon learned that a bartender’s most valuable possessions are a friendly smile and a sympathetic ear. Everybody who came into Coyote Creek had a story, and simply by listening as I poured, I became friends with all sorts of people from many different backgrounds. Some were my own age, some much older; some were wealthy and living lives of leisure, perhaps after many years of hard work, while others struggled financially. But Coyote Creek seemed to be the place that brought everyone together. It wasn’t unusual to find a local doctor, a tourist from Europe or San Francisco, and a dishwasher all sitting next to each other at the bar enjoying a drink and a good conversation.
One day, a group of guys sat at the bar and ordered lunch. They said they worked for a catering company called TomKats from Nashville, Tennessee, and they were in town to work on a movie set. But the most exciting part was that they could use some extra help for the catering crew.
I talked to my boss, and he gave me the go-ahead to work on the set with them. Although I had to wake up at four in the morning, I was thrilled to do it and it turned out to be an amazing experience.
The movie they were filming was Bad Girls, a Western with four actresses in the lead roles: Madeleine Stowe, Andie MacDowell, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Drew Barrymore. I met several of the cast while preparing food for the crew during the filming and at my regular job at Coyote Creek where they dined. Being a big movie fan ever since I was a kid, I gained a new level of respect for movies, better realizing the effort and the sacrifice that go into making movies. I recall James Russo, who was also in the film, particularly enjoying the Chicken Bayou Sandwich at Coyote Creek. A few years later, I saw him in the movie Donnie Brasco and was reminded of my small but meaningful movie experience on the set of Bad Girls near Sonora.
I met Andie MacDowell on the set and enjoyed a brief conversation with her; I was nervous, but she was very nice and humble. I also served Drew Barrymore lunch a few times at Coyote Creek.
I later heard that parts of Back to the Future Part III had been filmed in Sonora a few years earlier, and that I had therefore missed the chance to meet one of my favorite actors, Christopher Lloyd. Many of the people I became friends with had been extras in that film, and one of them, a guy named Steve, had a couple of scenes and had actually gotten to speak a few lines.
Steve and I waited tables together. He was a great guy and a musician. I always enjoyed hearing about his movie experience with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd over a cold one at Coyote Creek.
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