Sometimes you want to go ...

For about a month, photographer Val Horvath and I have been working on a Preview story about bars beyond Shreveport's city limits. We've always had the impression that these hole-in-the-wall places were where you could find the friendliest people and the most fun. However, our first night on the outskirts proved us wrong.

We'd stopped at a little place just beyond south Bossier. There were no windows in the rectangular shack and few parking spots left when we arrived there at about 8 p.m. We sat down at the bar, and to make a long story short, we were kicked out not too long after. I guess people are always suspicious when new faces walk into a place filled with regulars. We were given the "it's best you gals get to moving, now." It sort of freaked me out and nearly turned me off to doing the story altogether.

But this weekend, we hit the jackpot in Vivian. The place was called Clark's Bar and Drive-Thru Liquor. A two-in-one deal. There was a DJ called the "Master Blaster." It wasn't your typical karaoke scene, but if you felt inspired to sing Master Blaster would pass you a wireless mic and invite you to sing. Which is exactly what I did for "Love Shack." Master Blaster told me to get the party started so I took the microphone out to the dance floor and sang as everyone danced. Val took this picture and as my cousin Patrick described it, I looked like the Coors Light Idol.

Val had her fun too. In between snapping pictures she danced the Cupid Shuffle and the Chicken Dance with the locals. My friend Drake tagged along and after a few hours the shock had not completely set in.

"We just did the Cupid Shuffle in Vivian," Drake said.

Yes, we did. And maybe I'll make a point of driving out of town to go to Clark's.

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