Get Smart 5 - Missed It By That Much! (18 page)

After
Caligula
, Johnston—who had amassed millions of fans yet little meaningful literary recognition—tired of writing and decided to become—

—wait for it—

—a bartender.

Then living on Long Island, New York, he attended bartending school and graduated to find that he was considered too old to hire. His solution was to buy his
own
bar, which he did. It was called
The Blind Pig;
it was located in Massapequa, and he ran it very successfully until his retirement.