Burt Clemens
Bartender/waiter/guru, Jade Pagoda, 606 Broadway E, 322-5900.

Burt Clemens, who has been a bartender and waiter in the cavernous Jimmy Woo's Jade Pagoda for more years than I have known the place (seven), made his last drink for that establishment on Friday night. It was one of the saddest drinks that the bar has ever served because Burt was loved by all manner of boozers. Tall, fast with words, fussy, assertive, and straightforward in appearance and approach--Burt's characteristics became the characteristics of the bar. You could not separate the two. His departure means only one thing: Jade Pagoda will no longer be the same place.

While celebrating the end of his long relationship with the Jade Pagoda, I had the chance to ask Burt the all-important question: Why was he leaving Seattle for, of all places, Dayton, Ohio? His response was as simple as it was immediate: "I'm leaving for the only reason why anyone would leave this city. For love. I love someone and want to be where they are. And that happens to be Dayton." CHARLES MUDEDE