Bob and Gene's

A friend recently sent me a Facebook link about Bob & Gene's, a now-vanished bar in Madison, Wisconsin. If you attended UW-Madison, I think you will agree the Facebook link's photographs present an accurate depiction of the bar. My wife saw the photos and affectionately characterized Bob & Gene's as "a dive."

I never thought of Bob & Gene's in that way. I knew people who went there, the beer was inexpensive, and the atmosphere appealed to me. The conversations were pretty earthy and often a lot of fun; the highbrow talk was consigned to a bar across the street that served "schooners" of beer.

I've only consumed green beer on St. Patrick's Day once in my life, and that was at Bob & Gene's. The green stuff was godawful, and I've avoided bars on St. Patrick's Day ever since that episode.