Bright red lips and all, mulling things over behind the bar in 1991. True, there were the charming and the obnoxious, even before the second round for the house gets bought. There's smoke, there are curious foibles and scams played out, it's a challenge to be on your feet all night, scooping ice, relentlessly washing glasses, keeping an eye on the door, on drink levels, and all the other little details. The skill holds a measure of respect in our society, and usually a reasonable income.
Many bartenders are lifers, if they can find a good working environment.
Many have college degrees, or are refugees from positions with fancier titles where they didn't get to do any of the true work of being with people. I started at age 21, learned cocktails first, and got the drink names, prices, glasses and call-order down, and within a few weeks was being trained to mix by coached observation. Free-pouring depends on those standard bar pour spouts, calibrated for this purpose. The act is done with as much speed, grace and flair as possible. 1974 was an odd time to learn to bartend.