Sometimes I am reminded that listening to all kinds of stories is part of a bartender’s work. Across the counter, conversations wander from work and family matters to the places people come from. Perhaps keeping a gentle, broad perspective, without getting too deeply involved, is what makes that distance comfortable for guests.

Listening to so many people, I sometimes wonder which subjects I find most interesting. Yet I also make a point of not becoming too emotionally invested in any particular story. Not pressing too far may be precisely what allows a conversation to unfold naturally.

When we become too absorbed in one subject, other things can slip from view. Here, a level, unhurried attitude seems just right: accepting the drink in front of me and the conversation that comes with it, without making too much of either.

Not stepping in too deeply, but never becoming cold. Keeping that delicate balance, I listen quietly again today, arranging spirits and words on the 83rd shelf.