The Past Few Days

I was going to subtitle this "Or, What Happens When Old Geezers Try to Party Like College Students" but that's not fair to some of my companions, who have more sense than I do, or to a couple of college students at our event, who partied like old geezers.

I guess it's fair to say that I like to drink. Beer. Wine. Booze, once in awhile. Not often more than one of those per evening. Wine has come more into the mix the past few years, and to a certain extent booze, because there's less sheer volume, and somewhat less waking in the middle of the night to pee. Those of you who waded through some of the blogs about my health concerns will understand how any reduction in peeing without giving up any buzz might be appreciated.

But I do like beer. For one, I have it timed out better for the arrival of the buzz. For two, I can handle a few. For three, I generally hit way full or other measures of having had enough - queasy, sleepy, etc. - before I hit full puking or, worse, full asshole ( disagreement has to be based on the level of asshole you think I'm at when I'm sober). And, perhaps both the good thing and the weak spot, some of it just plain tastes great. For instance, I'm having a new Rush River (River Falls, WI) product, Lost Arrow Porter Ale. One of the empty bottles joins my collection of Porter bottles - hey, it's the family name, and I'm up to about 40 - and all those beers made their way past my taste buds. This is a bit richer and creamier than many porters, and while there's a hint of smokiness, it's smoothed out very well.

Last Saturday, I met my old college roommate Don at the Tyranena Brewery in Lake Mills, WI. We each had a Sheep Shagger Scotch Ale. That beer had a little sharper edge than the Rush River, but it was good enough that I had a second, and bought a growler to take to Jefferson. Don followed me to the home of Bob and Lynn, where it occurred to me that Don married his bride Helen and Bob wed Lynn on the same day in September 1979 (I stood up at Don's ceremony in Beloit but bailed out early and made it to Appleton for some of Bob and Lynn's reception). Bob and Don had met several times through the years but not in many a year, and it was kind of fun to have them meet again. We all went to dinner at The Edgewater, along the Rock River just south of Jefferson, which must have the lowest ceiling of any dining establishment (not quite six feet in some places) and which offers a nice supper club menu with excellent steaks and a few upscale touches. By this hour I wasn't driving, a damn fine idea as a couple of beers accompanied dinner. After dinner Don headed for home, in the Milwaukee suburb Shorewood.

I went with Bob and Lynn to the Jefferson Optimists' annual Trivia Contest. This was my fifth visit, out of maybe fifteen or so contests, and we had won on my first two but hadn't placed since.
This is done in an interesting format, and seems to be part of a little circuit in southern Wisconsin; some of the participating teams travel to a number of contests. The most challenging part is that no sources are permitted: if someone on your team doesn't know, you must guess, and our team has over the years talked ourselves out of right answers more than once. There's an entry fee, multiple raffles are offered, a couple of side games are available for individual play - at a price - and food and beverage (Leinenkugel's, and a couple of light beers) are offered. This is, at its heart, a big fun fundraiser for the Optimists, who picked it up when the Jaycees disbanded, and a willing participant can cough up $40 to $50 by buying into the concept. The whole thing was over in three and a half hours, including the awards which saw us earn third place medals (yes, actual bronze-colored 3rd place medallions on ribbons).

Bob and Lynn's home is a historic 19th-century place, and they have filled it with various collectibles including a lot of Christmas stuff. They moved some of it aside to get me into a bedroom, but I stayed up very late talking to Lynn and putting an end to the growler. I have finished growlers before, but I haven't been up until 2:30 for a great long time. Although the net result was a necessary caution on Sunday morning, I was still the first one moving and had coffee made when Bob came down.

Their old garage was a later addition to the property and was not satisfactory; they had been looking at ways to make the upgrade for a few years. This year the old unit was gone and a new beauty, three car bays with a second story, is up and beginning to be finished off. Bob and I took coffee to the upper level, which Bob intends to develop into a mancave, and sat in the unheated room to talk, and to size up its light (windows in place) and its potential: where, for instance, to place the 42" TV? While it was a bit chilly up there, I probably burned off a bit more of the previous night trying to stay warm.

As I left, I realized that I needed more than coffee to get all systems working, so a visit to the Kwik Trip fed me as well as the car. It was a delightful March weekend, and only the normal number of idiots was loose on the highways, and our little car did as well on mileage as it ever has. Safe, uneventful road trip. Big nap upon arrival home.

If you know me, you know Don Lee: we both stopped at outlet malls on the way to the brewery on Saturday, Don at Johnson Creek, WI, and me in Wisconsin Dells. We both arrived responsibly early in Lake Mills, and rather than sit in the parking lot at the brewery we each set off to cruise the town. We passed each other at least once...and were both still early for the opening of the tap room at Tyranena. Ah, well... brewery touring with the anal-retentive roommates:-)