Whiskeys and Memories

Today is both Memorial Day and Whiskey Day. It's Memorial Day because of an act of Congress back in 1968. It's Whiskey Day because five years ago today, a handful of no-account, knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers decided to turn things around and try to make something of themselves. It is remarkable to consider the respective journeys of all those men who participated in that storied celebration and reflect on how their lives have changed since then. Also remarkable is how little my life has changed since then. Seriously. Take the car out of neutral, son.

Whiskey Day and Memorial Day are two annual observances that I like to acknowledge on This Blog and You but it occurs to me that the recently quelled hiatus prevented me from acknowledging a few:
Four Chaplains' Day and Casimir Pulaski Day. I think that there may have even been one or two more but I can't think of them at the moment. For the record, yes, I did celebrate both of those holidays with coffee and pancakes.

So what have I been doing for the past week? Getting certified on a high ropes course. I'll explain why I was getting certified at some point in the future but what's pertinent for this post is that the ordeal involved jumping off of telephone poles, walking across a rope bridge backwards, fumbling around in what is essentially a suspended lobster trap, and tying and retying this knot at least [a high number] times. It was actually a good bit of fun though I found that I was picked on a fair bit by the ropes director who must have pegged me as being a suitable foil for all his demonstrations of the "don't ever do this" variety. Fun thing about the guy is that he is 6'9''. No, really. Here's a photograph of he and I standing next to one another. I felt petite. In any event, I found that hanging from a harness that is secured about your loins for any period of time greater than forty minutes is bound to wreak havoc on your equilibrium. At the very least, your feet fall into a pretty resilient slumber.

Hey, the Chicago Blackhawks forced a game seven! What'll happen now? What'll?

-Ryan