LEFTY'S LOUNGE
This article is about the man behind the social club called "Lefty's Cocktail Lounge", Mr. Lawrence "Lefty" Williams of Washington, D.C.
I patronized this club when I was in my twenties which was located at 12th and Kearny Street, N.E., in the Brookland section of Washington, D.C.  It was a small neighborhood club where lots of love and camaraderie prevailed.  This is where the women and men '"dressed" to party.  Lady JC and a variety of deejays were rocking the roof off of the place by playing a selected set of "Oldies but Goodies" that kept the club jamming.  During that period in time, Lady JC was the hottest deejay in D.C. 
The leader of the pack was Lefty born in Washington, D.C., on December 12, 1925, (a true blue lucky Sagittarius).  He served in the Navy, attended Howard University where he majored in Ancient History and minored in Sociology, and gained his street smarts while matriculating at the "University of Hard Knocks".  After working in various capacities for the federal government , such as, the Patent Office under the Department of Commerce, Government Printing Office, and Post Office.  He found his true love of employment when he was hired as an EEO Specialist for the D.C. Office of Human Rights during the reign of Mayor Walter Washington and Mayor Marion Barry.  In 1974, he campaigned as a candidate for the City Council for Ward 4 but was defeated by Arrington Dixon (Sharon Pratt Kelly's ex-husband) for that position.  One of Lefty's athletic achievements that he is most proud of was being undefeated as a boxer in the 1943 AAU tournament representing the Police Boys Club located at 12th & U Streets, N.W.
He was affectionately known as a "Short Street Dude" because he was raised on Hanover Street, a street that was only one block long; other similar streets were Patterson, Fenton, Pierce, Myrtle, Defrees, and many more.  Lefty's wife is named Jeannette and he has two sons from a prior marriage, Lamont and Vernon.
So where did Lefty obtain his brilliant business skills?  Because of the economy in the years of his youth, he realized the importance of a "dollar" .  With the combination of being blessed and the expertise gained from the "University of Hard Knocks", he knew that to live the life style he so desperately wanted to live, he had to make some money.  Being work wise and streetwise, he also knew that you have to give to receive.  His legendary complimentary picnics and pool parties--where everything was free--went a long way in helping Lefty's Cocktail Lounge become, as he labeled it, the "hottest spot in town".  He
became a part owner of the club in 1972 and sole owner in 1974 at which time he changed the name to "Lefty's".  The club was peaceful, safe, and operated in an environment where everybody felt relaxed and was ready to entertain and be entertained.
It is noteworthy and understandable why this atmosphere prevailed at the club, because his patrons were politicians, law enforcement officers, professionals, TV stars, sport stars, like Doug Williams and Ricky Harris of the Redskins, and native Washingtonians like Elgin Baylor of the Los Angeles Lakers, Dave Bing of the Detroit Pistons and many, many other people who just wanted to have a nice time in a peaceful, relaxed, economical, and fun-filled environment.
When one of my jobs was abolished because of a reorganization in about 1980, I took a bartenders class at Bartenders Academy.  Lefty hired me to replace a bartender who was on vacation for about a week.  The first and second night I made anywhere from $25 - $32 dollars in tips.  But being new, the other days, I had to work the wet bar.  No tips, maybe a $1.00.  That was it for my bartender career.  I thank Lefty for letting me experience it. 
It was obvious that Lefty worked hard to make the club successful, so I asked him what does success mean to him?  His reply was, "when you don't owe anybody a crying dime".  During this interview, Lefty took me on a tour of his home.  His home is immaculate and beautiful.  It has four floors and is very, very spacious with a very large swimming pool.  The home is decorated in soft colors, except, in one of the rooms where there is a red couch that I admired.  Lefty was, as usual, the perfect host; as I was sipping my wine, I felt like Barbara Walters interviewing a "PRINCE".
I asked Lefty if he had encountered any obstacles in his life and, if so, how did he overcome them.  He replied, "obstacles are part of life and relatively unimportant.  How you handle the obstacles is what is important.  At any early age, my Aunt Thelma drilled in me the importance of not catering to the fear of obstacles but to "try, try, and try" again to push myself forward."
In summation, Lefty is a modest person, who dealt with segregation in his school years, work years, business years and survived.  He loved the club scene, loves the hand dance scene, and is very proud of his business career.  He counts his promotion of the Millie Jackson Show at the DC Armory as one of the highlights of his promotional career.
Lefty has sold his cocktail lounge and the last time that I saw him was at the Classics.  It was an honor to interview this great wonderful, fun loving man! 
WRITTEN BY MARCIA FOSTER
LEFTY, THANKS FOR THE FUN!
Lefty and his wife, Jeannette