cheers

The woeful economy is now even going after our nostalgia, as Eddie Doyle, the bartender who worked for 35 years at the bar that inspired the TV show “Cheers,” has been laid off.

As one of Boston’s last fabled bartenders, [Doyle] served drinks and advice for five decades. During that time, his charitable deeds became the stuff of legend. Along the way he got to know thousands, introduced dozens of singles who would eventually marry, and held numerous fund-raisers that attracted everybody from the glitterati to the near-homeless.

But a few weeks ago he was told by Tom Kershaw, owner of the Cheers bar, that the recession had hit his industry and he was being laid off… Kershaw acknowledged that it was a difficult decision. “Business is way off,” he said, adding that he would continue to send Doyle a weekly paycheck until the end of the year.

Wait, why is everyone upset about this?  I would LOVE to get laid off and still get paid the rest of the year.  That’s a nine-month vacation.  I’d spend 8 months of that living in Aruba and not checking my email.  Then I’d come back in December when the economy’s better and get a new job.  Um, the economy IS going to be better in December, right?  Right?  Hello?