Brewed Beverage of Choice: A Cup of Fresh Brewed Green Tea
For most of my adult life, as you may already know, I have been a commuter. Many of my thoughts were conceived and crafted on a bus, train, or a gentle stroll with the dog. I was a craft brewer before ever putting a mash paddle in the mash. A brewed thought is ever so satisfying…Almost as much as a pint of my fovourite ale.
Since moving to Bend, that has all changed partly because I drive more often, but also because my commute to work before being laid off was ten whole minutes. Not much can be conceived and brought into fruition in that amount of time. And so those thoughts that were given time prior to the move have not been watered and, as such, have withered in the high desert air.
So last night before going to bed, my beloved and I decided that we should take a hike in the morning around a path situated on the west side of town. At 10 am we did just that. We packed up the auto with the dog and headed towards this path that is conveniently situated on the Deschutes River. I grabbed the dog and went on a walk about. The significant other went on a 1.5 mile jog.
It did not take long - a quarter of a mile or so - for the white wonder to get out of sniff-and-mark mode. She quickly realized what this whole walk meant and was quickly at my side smiling and trotting along. After a bit I just dropped her leash at her side and she walked somewhat unimpaired for the rest of the way. It was at this time that my mind began to wander.
The first thought was, obviously, beers, brewing and breweries. Most of this is just crumbs from what I have been thinking about for the past week and was really in my mind because it was the most convenient thought. The next thing was how I was not studying philosophy like I used to and that I should really re-read the books of Confucius, Thomas Aquinas, and other noted philosophers. That was quickly followed by how well the dog was responding to walking with a leash dragging behind her. I guess watching the Dog Whisperer has paid off. Finally my last thought was how I could turn the last 1.5 hours to a blog post.
It was not until I sat down at the local pub to watch the Saint’s (Aint’s) game that the whole thing came to be brewed. I sat for a good hour without saying a word, just watching the game and enjoying a beverage. After a while the man next to me and I started talking. He is a born and raised Bend-ite…Someone you do not run across too often. He was telling me of his fantastic dives off of Hawaii and Jamaica. As he was regaling me with his stories, I was thinking to myself, “Only in a pub could this happen.”
And it is true. Only in a pub could two strangers meet and start talking about who knows what. Only in a pub could these two strangers talk for 30 minutes or so, knowing full well that they would never see each other again (more than likely.) Only in a pub could these two share experiences that may or may not have an impact on the others life. Anywhere else but a pub, one or the other would completely ignore the other perhaps out of selfishness or a want of privacy or out of complete shyness. Only in a pub.
When I got home I was too jazzed to let this energy go to waste. I told my beloved of the tale. Afterward I still felt I needed to release. So as I sat in my favourite chair reminiscing over tea, my mind kept racing…Kept telling me, “You need to write this before it goes away. You need to put it down before the best becomes a memory. You need to commute.” And so here I am with a big cup of green tea in front of me, on a Saturday evening, commuting. Please do not ask the final destination. I am not the driver. Merely a passenger.
Prost!
the confucian brewer