The Champagne of Beers

“Watch where you’re FUCKING driving!” 

Standing in the middle of a crosswalk, I threw my hands up as a car cut me off. 

I’m tired. 

I’m tired of walking back and forth to the freaking store. I want a car. 

Of course, I had to pick out the heaviest possible groceries – whole wheat flour, plain yogurt, dried beans, six-pack of Miller High Life. 

My back hurts. This can’t be good for me. 

-- 

Sidenote – one of my top 2 influences is David Foster Wallace’s This Is Water, a commencement speech he gave at Kenyon. Sidenote-within-a-sidenote – the other, Mountains Beyond Mountain. Anyways, This Is Water is about two young fish swimming in a hurry. They run across an older fish that asks, “Howdy boys, how’s the water?” The fish continue on their way, but after a minute, one of the younger fish asks the other, “What’s water?” 

I loved the connection to Kenyon, I loved what DFW stood for, and I loved his edge, so I gave This Is Water to all my groomsmen as a wedding gift. I’ve been emailing with one of them about the significance of the book. For me, it boils down to the word, “This.” 

“This” represents the act of pausing and seeing the water around us. The currents flowing, krill swimming, whales giving chase.  

Sidenote2 - I read a couple of Bulls/Lakers/future-Heat coach Phil Jackson’s memoirs. My favorite was Sacred Hoops, a great read about the intersection of spirituality and basketball. What I took from it: 

The 90’s Bulls said the Lord’s Prayer before every game. I figured if it worked for the Bulls it would work for me, so I’ve been saying the Lord’s Prayer every time I shower. I imagine it helps me in the same way it helped the Bulls. Obviously, life gets tough for everyone - even the Bulls had tough losses, but at their core they were twelve guys that wanted to go down in the history books. With the Prayer, Jackson gave the team a few precious seconds to remember that they had to push through the struggle, and keep playing their game. 

That’s why the best part of This Is Water, is “This.” DFW knew the tough moments in life were the most crucial - that’s where the battle between good and evil exists. But sometimes, the hard part is noticing when we’re engaged in that battle. Sometimes it’s about taking that second to see the battle. 

-- 

After a grueling walk I made it home. I slammed my sweaty clothes in the laundry basket, still pissed off about everything. 

I wish I could just buy frozen burritos like my roommates. I wish I could drive to the store like them. 

As I turned on the shower I remembered. 

This is water. 

No, wait. I walked to the fridge. 

This is beer. 

Shower beers. Ah.

See you on the other side, 

from ken 

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