Festing Hometown Beer

After all the physical labor involved in hill removal activities my Favorite Panamanian felt I deserved a break. I wholeheartedly shared her opinion in this area. I know, huge surprise. For those of you concerned about the selflessness of my wife’s action, she knew there would be an afternoon filled with tax free shopping involved for herself as well. Yes, we headed north so I could drink beer with friends while she disappeared into the local shopping emporiums. With her mother and granddaughters due in to the house shortly, she wasn’t exactly panting at the opportunity, but it was close. Before we started our journey though I was in the back yard finishing off the last part of the wall. In a truly amazing turnout when I bought the last batch of blocks, I accidently purchased the exact number needed to finish the wall. After that I started the great leveling exercise which I continued today with a shortened pre-church effort. I should finish the leveling tomorrow and then the concrete “fun” will start.

With Keene Friend and the Cantankerous One at the Fest

Day 27, Wall Complete and Leveling Started

Day 28 Leveling Continues

The Cantankerous Friend had a great time at last year’s Wyman Tavern Brewfest despite or maybe because he ended up in the ER afterwards. He invited me to join him for this year’s fest and assured me of two things, the food trucks would serve hamburgers and we would run into other friends. While he failed to deliver on either promise, we still had a great day.  Wyman Tavern is one of the historical landmarks of my hometown, dating back to the 1700s where minutemen gathered and left to participate in the Revolutionary War. Despite growing up in Keene, this was the first time I’d ever been on the grounds.

The Fest

We rallied at Keene Friend’s home and walked over to the nearby tavern. We passed by what used to be Elliot Community Hospital. This was where I had my first job as a dishwasher during high school years. So, a lot of nostalgia and some risqué memories of what went on near the end of those long ago shifts, but I digress. Keene Friend achieved free admittance to the fest when we declared him as our designated driver (they didn’t check us for a car). To insure he didn’t sneak any beers, they festooned him with two wristbands loudly declaring him a DD, those bracelets came in useful later in the day. Cantankerous and I were issued a free beer glass and a bunch of tickets. The tickets were for beer samples from the different local beer vendors.

The Former Hospital, If Those Walls Could Talk!

It was miserably hot and humid but, beer, so, bearable. With the promise of available hamburgers, I hadn’t had lunch yet. I knew I needed food before grazing through the beer vendors. We therefore made a bee line towards the food truck, yep, just one. It turned out they only sold hot dogs and fried dough so, a couple hot dogs were sacrificed to assuage the hunger pains and lay the groundwork for beer consumption. We began circulating and vending those tickets. They only provided a little more than a shot glass worth of beer each time but this was some potent stuff. One of the first ones I tried was called Face Plant, with 8.9% alcohol content, so, powerful.

Wyman Tavern

While we didn’t encounter anybody we knew, we got to meet the Cantankerous Friend’s group of fellow bicyclist enthusiasts who seemed like a great bunch. The only problem was the heat, as we stood around under the tent it felt like we were inside an oven. Keene Friend and I wandered out into the open to escape the swelter. We took in some of the Irish ballads being sung by a kilted vocalist. Eventually the heat relented a little bit when it was replaced by a rain shower. Keene Friend stood out in the rain to get some relief.

At Penuche's with Kindergarten Friend

After a couple hours of this, I finally exhausted my supply of tickets. Keene Friend and I then walked over to one of our favorite watering holes, Penuche’s Ale House. Entering the air-conditioning felt like a small taste of heaven. We reported the move to Kindergarten Friend who showed up shortly thereafter to join us. This was such a great environment after the baking we’d taken at the Brew Fest. We were also able to get our usual fare of Coors Lite versus the exotic brews we were subjected to in the heat. We immediately launched into our usual repertoire of comradery. Another high school classmate, the former Connecticut River Boat Captain, was vectored in to join us and the Cantankerous Friend, breaking away from his fellow bikers, wandered in as the last addition to our very fun group.

The River Boat Captain and Cantankerous

We made the obligatory drunken phone call to the Pittsburgh College Roommate. Luckily his wife was also in the room so he couldn’t blow us off as easily as he has for the past few calls. Too much fun. I was introduced to the bar tender who was an active duty Army sergeant, one of the local recruiters. We started comparing notes and he turned out to be an infantryman who had served in several of the same units I had. I was marveling at this very small world when Keene Friend brought me back to earth by saying I had already met the guy during another trip to Penuche’s and had the same reactions when we compared notes that time. So that was a little embarrassing; the evils of demon alcohol.  I was rescued from further embarrassment by a phone call from my Favorite Panamanian who directed me to look out the window. She was parked out front and gestured for me to join her for dinner. I reluctantly agreed as I didn’t want to leave the very fun group we had assembled but the two hot dogs I’d eaten hadn’t served their purpose and I needed food. My Kindergarten Friend donned Keene Friend’s designated driver wristband for his drive home.

Keene Friend joined my Favorite Panamanian and I at our usual dining spot, Margarita’s. The walk there was interesting and not a little bit concerning for my wife. It may have been my shock at the amount of wifely purchases the back of the car was filled with. In yet another sign we were a small town, our waitress turned out to be Kindergarten Friend’s daughter. It was a fitting end of a truly epic day. I love returning to my hometown not for geographic familiarity but for the special people I get to hang out with. Yesterday was a great example of what makes Keene special for me. You just cannot over emphasize how redeeming it is be around old friends.

Two movies fell in my A-Z effort, both keepers, guilty feeling notwithstanding, but keepers: American Pie (Nadia!) and American Pie 2 (unfortunate super glue).

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                        

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather namad after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course