2-4-1 "It's the Water"

June, 1971. Like most guys I inherited the old family car. a 1965 Blue with White top four door hard top beast that screamed " Mommy and Daddy". It had a 283 four barrel and was in mint condition. It ran like a "spotted ape". I drove it for a year or so and because it only got about about 10 MPG my parents decided that I should get rid of it and get another. So I put a bid in on my Dad's soon to be retired 1968 Impala with almost 65,000 miles on it. I won the bid ($ 1,300.00). It got nearly 12 MPG so I could save some money since gas was going up to nearly 19 cents per gallon. The second day I had my new white land ship, my parents and little brother left for a two week trip to Colorado. I had heard of this heavenly brew available only in Colorado. It was called Coors. I asked my father to bring me back a six pack. That evening my best friend and I were going to prowl in my new car. Long story short. (well a little shorter) I was taking a left hand turn in a intersection of two four lane roads. Before I turned I looked to see if anyone was coming towards me. All I saw was a car taking a left coming towards me so I began to turn. What I did not see was Donald approaching that car and then swerving into his right lane. It was determined by his skid marks he was traveling nearly 7o mile an hour. The right quarter panel of my car was pretty messed up, and Gary nearly pissed his pants. I got a ticket (Careless and Reckless) and to this day I have never had another accident. The policeman who gave me a ticket did not look at the skid marks and it was later determined that good ole Don was his next door neighbor. Fortunately for me, several persons stopped later and provided good accounts in court (since I took the ticket to court). A local television reporter happened by. I was dating his daughter at the time and he took pictures of the skid marks and measured them. With the witness accounts, especially the TV guy's presence and the pictures my ticket was dropped and the judge had a citation written to good old Don instead. But the really good news is that Dad brought me two cases instead a single six pack.

As I have stated in a previous epistle, There was not too much to choose from as far a beer was concerned. Forget if the beer tasted good or if you like it or not. It was was what was cool to drink that made your choice. You good get Falstaff, Hamm's Busch Bavarian, Old Mil, Jax, Pearl, LSD (Lone Star Draft), Ballentines and probably a few others but the big three (Bud, Schiltz and Miller) were what everyone drank and not many of them drank anything other than Schiltz. Well, except if you had Coors. Having Coors made you the coolest of the cool. Personally, I did not think that it was any better than the Bud I was drinking and it was really a bonus when I found that several of my friends would be more than willing to give me two six packs of Bud for one of Coors. Back where I am from we call that "Such a Deal". I learned later that Coor's was actually available in the Dallas /Ft. Worth area and my Dad was going there about once a month. So dear old Dad became my "beer mule", and in most cases he paid for the beer and I got two for one so it really was "Such a Deal"

Now let me stop here and state that I find no cause for me to rate any of the national brands of Beer. They all taste good ( or close to it) and available everywhere. Some "Beer snobs" will put them down and I will too from time to time. The best analogy I can use is this:

You can go to the grocery store and purchase a Betty Croker Cake mix. You can take it home and if you follow the directions correctly you can make a good tasting and attractive cake. Or you can go to the same grocery store and purchase the best flour and best sugar and farm fresh eggs and whole milk and the best flavorings and ingredients etc. You can take them home and follow a time tested (Grandma's) receipt and prepare a cake and you can also make a good tasting cake. I suppose it really depends on what type of cake you like and and I have stated in an earlier blog...."Everyone is entitled to their own stupid opinions"

I reckon the oldest actual friend I have in this life is Terry. We have known each other since we were both in diapers. The last time I have actually seen or spoken to him was in June 1980. I hope he is well. Close friend eh? While in college Terry and I happened to be attending the same university. He had a roommate whom I later learned lived only a few blocks from my girlfriend, wife, ex. In a short time, Larry became my very best friend and ultimately he an I became roommates as well. In the Spring of 1972 we began talking about going on a Summer trip that would take us to Alaska. As we continued to plan and look at the time we would have allotted as well as our finances, the trip shrunk to the Cascades N.P. being our final destination, then Yellowstone N.P., then The Grand Tetons N.P. We finally had our trip planned and we had two whole weeks to camp and explore. Shit Happens as they say and our dear friend Terry and his soon to be bride decided at the last minute to change their wedding plans and moved thier nuptials back a week. This cut our trip into half. Since Terry and I were such friends I was one of his groomsmen and Larry was an usher. There was no polite way to say no. So we altered our trip to culminate in Rocky Mountain N.P.
At least I could find some Coor's.
We left right after the reception at about nine thirty. We told each other we would stop whenever we got tired but we never did. We drove his loaded down blue/green VW. As we crossed the plains of Kansas, I tried to understand why anyone wanted to live in that God forsaken flat place. It was if we passed the same sunflower field and windmill every ten miles. Our excitement was growing as we anticipated entering into Colorado. We both had never seen mountains (well Arkansas does not count) and we both expected to see a glorious vista soon. But to our dismay there were no mountains in Colorado. We had been deceived. We drove nearly a hundred miles and actually entered the mile high city and still we sited nothing but flat land and smog. We stopped at a store to get gas etc. I looked in the beer aisle and there was no Coor's. It was like we were in another dimension. Of course there really are mountains in Colorado and yes we did find them and later that evening we settled down in our sleeping bags and dreamed.

So it was August 29, 1972. My uncle Calvin's birthday and the day before my 21st. Larry's birthday fell within that nine day span of my friends Steve and Gary. So we decided to celebrate in Estes Park Colorado. It must have been around one or so and we strolled into what we perceived to be a pretty cool place. Larry purchased us a couple of Colorado Kool-Aids and we settle down into our chairs. The next round was on me so I walked to the bar and asked for two more Coor's. "You 21?" he asked. "Will be tomorrow" I proclaimed proudly. "Then you need to leave....NOW!" "Damn I will be 21 tomorrow" I said. He asked me where I was from and I told him Louisiana. He then explained something to me that I never really stopped to realize. Each state has it own peculiar laws regarding alcohol. Although you could legally purchase beer in the Bayou State at 18 years of age, you had to be 21 in Colorado and the law was strictly enforced. Actually the law in Louisiana was that you could purchase only beer in a liquor store or other retail outlet if you were under the age of 21 but over 18. In a bar you could purchase wine or a mixed drink but not a straight shot of liquor unless you were 21. So Larry and I were essentially thrown out of the bar. So we left with our tails tucked behind us. Come to think of it that is only time I have ever been thrown out of a bar.
The next day, my 21st birthday I was insistent on returning to the bar Larry and I were asked to leave the day before. Larry was not too cool on the idea. Hell we could go anywhere, but I wanted to go. So on we went. When we walked in the bartender shouted "Happy Birthday" and he asked me to come over to the bar. He told me he apologized about being an asshole the day before. I told him it was no big deal. He told me to make it up and since it was my birthday, He would give me a pitcher of Coor's "on the house" or... We could drink Oly on the house for free. Once again "Such a Deal"

My Rating: AWESOME (hell it was free) Olympia is no longer. Yes you can find Olympia as well as Lone Star, Pearl, Rolling Rock and Stroh's but I feel they are not the same if someone else is brewing it.


The funny thing is, although it really was my birthday, the bartender never did ask to see my I.D.


Later Gator..... The Third