Good Night and Good Luck…
Where have I heard that before? Back in the day I remember watching our beloved Wisconsin senator getting fried on TV but that’s not where that parting ‘ good night and good luck’ greeting came into play.
Back before the advent of the "Night Club" our fair state had a thing called a beer bar. After the 19th amendment or was it the 16th? was repealed the beer lobby in Milwaukee put it’s foot on the state assembly to open things up a bit. Thus the Beer Bar was born. It allowed 18 year olds to drink beer publicly in bars that served beer only.
Parents were happy about this as their kids had there own place to go and weren’t under foot at there own saloons. Nothing like walking into a saloon and seeing your folks half gassed.
It was embarrassing to both parties.
Our little watering hole was in a basement and it was called some like a basement. It was owned and operated by an older couple who had worked in Milwaukee and had retired to the north for the quite life. Lacking for the something to do, they opened a beer bar in their cellar hoping to draw a few customers off the highway that ran in front of their retirement home.
Correct, the place went boonkers!
It became the hunting grounds for opposite gender. After a few dozen shortie beers, named after one of the bar tenders, the owner would play a slow dance on the jute box and rush everyone out of the place at closing time… rushing them upstairs he’d tell everyone
" good night and good luck…"