Drinking for the sake of drinking

They say Al can't hang, but he can inspire. For the last week I have read about his malady. I was happy to read that he was back in the fold.

But I was also awakened to my own condition. Yeah I had enough beer in my system last week to push Miller's earnings up a whole penny per share, but that was while gambling. I mean, how do you not drink during a poker game? (sidenote: who wants to go to Vegas in June. I need to be here.)

I realized I had not been out enjoying the taste of alcohol in a long time. I hadn't been drinking for the simple sake of drinking. So, with a slew of emails going around about Saturday night (BAR REVIEW COMING NEXT WEEK), I tried to organize happy hour. Sounds like a good idea, right?

Apparently not to some. But Lisa and Nancy showed up. That is all the mattered because we had a good time. We discussed the important topics of the day- Nancy's Vegas trip, my big win at Let it Ride, a fund raiser for the kids, the 1st grader's homework-of which I believe I should call the teacher on because in the math area, I would argue that 69 is greater than 96 ;)

The 7&7s were going down well. Always get the pint. More is better. After a bunch of those, I decided to switch to beer because I still had to drive home. I tired the Red Hook ESB Ale in honor of Dave. Not bad. In fact, it was quite good. Bartender gave it to us for free if we would stick around and play trivia. Sure, I am buzzed up. I do some of my best thinking while drinking.

There was all of two teams playing so Lisa and I had a good chance of winning. It went to triple overtime but we lost out on the $25 bar tab. I did buy a round of SoCo and raised a toast to Al. I felt it was right to give credit where it was due for this round of drinks. If I hadn't read his post and felt the need to have a cocktail, I probably would have been at home working out and playing poker, being healthy or something. It is strange to raise a glass to someone you have never personally met. It is better to see the strange looks on people's faces when you announce "To Al!" and toss down the Comfort. I hadn't had Southern in a long time. I believe the last time I had I drank half a liter and redeposited it on the carpet an hour later. College. Such fun.

We are going to try and arrange this to be a bi-weekly event. Either next Wednesday or the following Wednesday we are meeting at Club Garibaldi. Come have a drink, won't ya?

Finally, who wants to go see my boys play on April 20th? Night Ranger is coming to town. For 15 bones, you get to see 5 guys having fun playing guitars on stage. Damn good guitarists too!