The truth is things aren’t always going to go the way you planned. It happens all the time. We, mostly, don’t notice when they go better than expected, but when things go downhill, it can shake your faith. When that happens, all you can do is step back, take inventory and find a way to move on from that new starting point; make the best of the situation and see if, maybe, you can salvage some lemonade from all those lemons. So, in the spirit of doing the best you can with what you have, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Coco No Coco.
I dropped my phone this morning and had to crawl under my desk to retrieve it. Huddled there in the dark I was taken back to the school drills of my youth which always seemed to ramp up during tornado season or whenever Comrade Brezhnev, Andropov or Chernenko decided to rattle their sabers. Duck and cover, that was the answer. Do that and you will be just fine; we can worry about the fallout later. We believed in preparedness. In the case of global thermonuclear war, jump under your desk, duck and cover. If it is a tornado, head into the hallway crouch and place your head against the wall in a position similar to, but not branded as ducking and covering. Was it effective? Well…it turns out that there were a lot of lessons that we learned while growing up that were not quite be true or at least not for the reasons advertised. While looking for my phone, I saw through the propaganda of childhood and found a bit of an existential crisis that I was definitely not looking for. I guess that is how it happens some days. So, in the spirit of misplaced nostalgia, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Eye Opener.
The assignment seems fairly easy. Make a drink, write some words, call it a night. I did that everyday for the better part of two years with little difficulty. To be fair, I had a significant amount of spare time to fill and lots of things to say. The world seemed to call out for commentary just a little more often during those unprecedented times. Still, I find myself unable, or unwilling, to just go through the motions lately. Some days you have a thirst; some days you don’t. It is that simple. Well, not quite that simple, so let’s dig a little deeper as we stand and make the First Time Caller.
We all like to peek behind the curtain. To learn the secrets of the trade, how the sausage gets made. To feel like we have an understanding and appreciation of the process that others don’t quite get. It’s human nature. We are inquisitive. We want to know more, to understand the secret language of the professional. So, with a nod toward our own longing to belong, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Industry Sour.
A teenage boy sees a thirteen year old girl at a party and develops a crush. I apologize, I meant to say, falls instantly and deeply in love. His crush, I mean love, is requited and three days later six people are dead, including our titular underage lovers. Ah, but then, the course of true love, never did run smooth, did it? So, with a nod toward bad romance, deeply passionate speeches and epic miscommunication, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the modern classic, Juliet & Romeo.
My grandfather would have been 94 today. He wasn’t much of a drinker, not opposed to it, he just rarely had a thirst. Sure, he’d have a beer on a hot day if one was offered, but he didn’t keep it at the house and the whiskey in the cabinet was mostly for sharing with others. The only real story I remember hearing of him drinking involved him trying to have a quiet drink while camping only to be given away by a telltale “glug-glug-glug” pouring sound coming from behind the truck. So, choosing a drink that reminded me of Pa was challenging. Well, that’s not exactly true, but none of you are interested in learning how to make sweet tea. So, with a grateful eye to the man who walked this road, only 50 or so years before me, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Bourbon Smash.
I did not really intend to take a month off, but sometimes life happens. We got busy in the new year and honestly, this man did not have a thirst, at all. That evolved into a “mostly” dry January, which to be honest was a nice break. I am big on doing things with intention rather than out of habit. Choosing to not drink was a small thing, since I don’t really drink that often, except when I have a thirst. As I have said many times before, if I feel like I need a drink, I am not likely to actually have one. Like I said, it is all about intention. So, here we are with a new month and a new day in a new year; sounds like a great time to make a fresh start with a new drink. So with faith in better things to come won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Al Amanacer.
The Twelve Drinks of Christmas: Volume 2, Drink 12
It is funny how we think of things in the past. It seems like our pictures of folks in history usually paints them as serious people, dealing with the serious business of just being alive in times less, ummm, civilized than our own. Maybe it is because our forebears tend to look so grave in those early portraits, maybe it is because we lack the imagination to see them as humans, just like ourselves finding their way through their own unprecedented times. I do love how that view sometimes gets turned on its head. For example, later in his life, Sir Isaac Newton, having discovered calculus, sorted gravity and retired from teaching, was appointed Master of the Royal Mint, a mostly ceremonial position. However, frustrated by counterfeiters, he took to disguising himself and hanging around taverns in order to catch and convict these treasonous fellows. Yeah, Sir Isaac Newton, in his later years, would dress up and go drinking in disguise in order to capture hardened criminals, for fun. So, keep your minds open and remember that folks then were much as folks are now as we stand and make Charles Dickens Punch.
The Twelve Drinks of Christmas: Volume 2, Drink 11
I have had hot chocolate out of these glasses a hundred times. They used to sit at the back of Grandma’s cupboard just waiting for one of the kids to slip them out for a treat. I had no idea what they were for, or why they had those guys in top hats on them instead of Tom the cat and his rodent nemesis, Jerry. What can I say, we did not grow up in the Midwest where the drink and these glass were everywhere, allegedly. So, let’s take a moment and try to learn a bit as we stand and make the classic Tom & Jerry.
The Twelve Drinks of Christmas: Volume 2, Drink 10
Robert Burns knew all about scheming and I am often reminded of his immortal words about the “best laid plans, of mice and men,” whenever I get ready to do something. This was supposed to be a towering achievement of holiday drinks, the gem in our imaginary crown, but like so many plans this year, things “gang aft agley-ed” and it became more of a lesson in hubris. Ah, but did we not have fun? So with a nod toward just one more thing that did not quite work out during these unprecedented times, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Midnight Clear.
