Dies Natalis Solis Invicti

Well, once again I begin penning a new testament. As I have stated previously, my "blog" is a work in progress and since no one may ever actually read any of this or take it seriously, I must state this, my opus, is for no one other than yours truly. Perhaps one day in the distant future I may assemble my ramblings into one single volume and who knows....

The Christmas season has finally begun for me. My personal family history dictates that the season begins on December 13. That is my younger brother's birthday. Johnny hated his birthdays because in addition to his birthday gifts, he always received extra gifts which consisted of mostly ornaments and lights. John Lane is gone from this life but I must admit that when I see Christmas lights I always think of my departed brother. December 18th plays another significant part in my life. For some strange reason, I am drawn to this date. December 18 is actually the day I first met my wife. So I guess the day is still big. Several years back my Dad mailed to me a $ 1.49 bag of "15" bean soup. I received it on the 22nd of December and I recall that I ended up following it's directions and made a pot of bean soup on Christmas Eve. Now over 20 years later, I still do. The beans need to be soaked overnight so I do that on the 23rd and then mess up the kitchen on the next day. So the annual "soaking of the beans" has become my own Christmas tradition.http://www.nkhurst.com/products.aspI give this tradition to anyone who wants its. My wife hates cleaning the mess and my daughters do not like beans or soup. So I suppose the tradition will die with me.

I would think most persons at one time in their life, has some sort of traditional thing. A lot of tradition surrounds the Christmas holidays. As I grew up, Christmas eve always found my mother, father , brother and I visiting my my Aunt Pete (my Mother's sister) and Uncle "Jay". Later the Christmas gathering was at my Uncle Claude and Aunt Mable's down in the "country". I guess the older you get the less certain traditions are in fact traditional. Then again people do die so you can no longer gather at their house. Or in Aunt Mable and Uncle Claude's house, it blew up. That's another story I suppose.I am not fond of fake trees (well except the aluminum one my Aunt Pete had in her picture window.), nor do I care much for the statement that "Christmas is becoming more and more commercialized. " Of course it is commercialized. that started back in the Third Century.

I am a convert to the Catholic faith. For many years I was a "religious education" teacher (actually "certified" by the Cardinal) at my parish. I feel that I did at least an adequate job. I was the only teacher the kids had that would teach them religion as well as instructing them on the fine qualities of a good cigars and good beer. Now you may be offended or think less of me but somehow, I made it work. The facts speak for themselves. Two of my former students are currently in the Seminary studying to become Catholic Priests. Another is seriously contemplating the priesthood. Jeff, one of the two former students in Seminary will be ordained, (I believe) sometime this coming year. He has a "Cuban" I once gave him and he swears he is waiting to smoke it upon his ordination. (I hope to be there) My strange influence will somehow continue through this future Father and currently Deacon Jeff. Scary thought eh? it. Anita, Cody, Danielle, Matthew (Phatty), David and Adam are names of persons of whom I stood as Confirmation sponsor. Most Catholics are never asked by anyone to sponsor them for Confirmation. I do not claim to be real authority on any particular subject, but I do know certain things and I am not afraid to repeat such. First of all, the Bible (at least the Christian one) was written by Catholics. That is an undisputed fact. (Trust me I can prove it). Yes, it was edited by many including the Protest Ants. The actual date of Jesus' birthday is not contained anywhere within the bible. The sneaky fish eaters came up with a plan that ultimately stole the 25th of December form the Pagans. Now the Catholics do have a feast day (Holy day of obligation actually) called Annunciation (Luke, Chapter 1, verses 26-38). It is celebrated on March 25. So if you deduct nine months later you have December 25.

Lately there seems to be a significant amount of uproar from some hard core and possibly not so hard core Christians as if "their holy day" is being taken over. The truth is that the day was a Pagan holiday a long time before the Papist or the Jingle Bell Protestants decided to dilute it by placing such a significant event to it. Personally I feel the celebration of the day of Christ's birth is far less important that the actual life of God made Man (Emanuel) and the sacrifice that he made.

Enough of my Religious rant.

A lot of good beer is brewed in connection with the holidays and to me, that is a good thing, regardless if you are Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Heretic or Pagan.


With all of this aside, I set here staring at my computer screen and and contemplating the perfect Christmas or Solis Invicti wish. My mind is blank as I look forward to the next few days being spent with my two oldest daughters and one of my sons in law. (I am looking forward to both their arrival and departure). I have many beer (s) for The Jim to sample. I have a case of a beer from the oldest brewery in America (as one of his gifts). I sure hope he does not read this...It would ruin his surprise. Anyway....... Only one thing come to mind and I shall leave on that note.....


Pax Omnem Per Terram



The Third.

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

Old Faithful

April, 2006, From Central Texas, it is 2222 (or so) miles to the banks of Puget Sound.
As most know, Texas is called the Lone Star State, I suppose it gets that nickname from the single/Lone Star in it's flag. Tejas could be called the Lone Wolf State because of the famous Chuck Norris role. ( "In the eyes of a ranger, the unsuspecting stranger had better know the truth of wrong from right. 'Cause the eyes of a ranger are upon you. Any wrong you do, he's gonna see. When you're in Texas, look behind you. 'Cause that's where the ranger's gonna be. ... oops that is another great Texas Ranger role http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/). (Sorry Bub, I know he is your favorite actor) Then again the best and apply named state nickname is " The Green Mountain State ". Translate that into Francias and you will see what I mean. They call Washington the Evergreen State and trust me....it is. I had hoped to see the Space Needle and Mt. Rainier but damn it was raining...a lot. My time in the Seattle area was pretty much uneventful except I found to my amazement that there were tons of Mexican Restaurants (and whores) and the food was very good. Who would have thunk! Now that I think of it, who really does pick all of those apples? The week we were there El Presidente Vicente Fox was visiting the Governor of Washington. I recall the last day we were there I finally got a glimpse of the mountain, I would have to wait a while to see the needle. We decided to take the long way on the return trip home and make a pass through Yellowstone National Park. Once again I found myself wondering/wandering into a beer aisle at some roadside store. (where we stopped for fuel). We were somewhere in Western Montana and I happened once again at new brands of beer. One stood out above all of the rest. I purchased a six pack and tossed it in the back end of the company truck we were driving. Let me state here that I am not an advocate of driving while drunk or while drinking. It is stupid and irresponsible. I admit beer does have alcohol in it and of course, there have been times when I drank way more than I should have. But you know I think I am finally learning to know when to say when. In future writings I will address more on this subject, but I felt now was a good time to broach the subject. When I got home a few days later, ( at about 6:00 AM and much to my spouse's displeasure -since she was getting ready to go to work.) I tasted a few of the beers. My Rating: VERY GOOD. I find this beer in the Western States but I have found in the St. Paul Mn. area and I have purchased some in Oklahoma as well. The brewery makes other beers which I shall review later but I must say they are all good. http://bigskybrew.com/index.aspx
So on we went. We arrived at the North entrance ( the Roosevelt Arch)of the park at around midnight or a little after. There were no clouds in the sky neither was the moon shining, so it was pitch dark. Plus to our dismay we found that the speed limit in the park in 35 mph. By this time, we had been on the road for about 12 hours. Sight seeing was not big on our agenda. I do remember Mark slamming on the brakes about an hour into the park and exclaiming "Holy Shit". There in front of us and in the middle of the road were three of

the largest buffaloes I had ever see. Later we arrived at this large parking area with signs indicating we had arrived to the Old Faithful area. I noted it was 9 degrees outside and I was wearing shorts and sandals. I had to go to the bathroom and found I could run a lot faster than I had realized I could. I attempted to convince my travel mate to stay there in the parking lot until the sun came up so we could witness one of the greatest natural phenomenon on earth. But he was ready to go so I rolled the window down hoping I could at least I could here the geyser. No luck there either. Well at least I had my Moose Drool. Cool pic on the label. This started a new hobby of mine, collecting tee shirts, caps, pint glasses and bottle openers. More on that later.....




Happy Birthday tomorrow, Bub,


The Third

I'm Waiting for My Real Life to Begin

August, 1969, Shreveport, Louisiana. "Hail, Fair Park High School"

Our 18th birthdays were separated by nine days. Mine was the last (the 30th). We did what I guess all teen aged boys did in the late 60's. when they reached such a milestone, we registered for the draft (hoping not to be invited to the party being held in Southeast Asia) and went to a liquor store (Thrifty) and purchased some "legal" beer. I do not remember who was driving or whose car we were in but I do recall Steve purchased a Miller , Gary a Schlitz and I selected the Beer of Kings. You know the one in the Red White and Blue can. Each of us choosing a "Tall Boy" of the "Big Three" . That was the way it was in my small world. Not much choice but then again who needed choice. I chose a Bud because that is what my Dad drank. Gary chose Schlitz because it was the number one selling beer among our contemporaries, and Steve purchased a High Life just to be different from Gary and I. I suppose it was that night that "The Beer Run" began.Now let me take some time here to state my intentions and purpose of this and future blogs.
I suppose we have and should follow our muse. My inner desire is to be a traveling troubadour songwriter, musician , pop culture icon, Cool as Dylan, Cohen, and Reed but free of all the aloofness. My inner desire is to pen the ultimate novel for the ages and compose the one tune that will surpass all others. My inner desire is be an extremely generous contributor to good causes and charities. My inner desire is be completely free of personal ego and not have any hidden agenda other than pure good. My biggest inner desire is to be happy within my own skin and be able to lay my head down at night with peace in my heart. I want those whom I love to know I have, do and always will love them unconditionally. I want to contribute to something and be able to pay my bills and be with my friends, family and persons who I admire. Finally I want to live my life with the express desire to leave a legacy. My tombstone or monument should be the lives I have enriched.

Ok, so much for my desires. I just wanted to get that all out on the table.

"After all, it is not the find. It is the quest."

It should not take much to decipher what the name of my Blog Site implies. But for simplicities' sake My ramblings will primarily discuss the topic of Beer. For the past several years I have had the opportunity to work for a company that required that I travel a lot in the United States and even once to Canada. My very first assignment was in a small town in Maine (North Windham) the first week in December. (In all of my previous fifty five years I had never traveled further North than Memphis Tennessee during between October 1 and April 1.). Thirteen below zero was not as fun as I had perceived. While there I was dragged to the local Wal Mart. The persons I was with, my in laws ( who actually own the company I am employed.) were there to purchase new jeans and underwear. It was either that or wash what they had. While they shopped I wondered/wandered to the "Beer aisle" It was a true Epiphany. In front of me were brands of beer I have never heard of before. Smuttynose, Long Trail, Harpoon, Allagash and Magic Hat to name a few were setting side by side whispering " pick me, pick me". Not just brands, but "types" like Number 9, IPA, Milk Stout and Belgium White. I picked a "sixer" and took it back to my room. The damn beer had "spices" in it! (At least it did not have Milk in it.)When I returned to my room I put a few of them in an ice bucket and filled it with snow from outside my door. I liked it. My Rating: GOOD Available in the Northeast (New England States) and at up scale liquor stores in large (750 ML) single bottles(I found some in California) . http://www.allagash.com/


In future blogs I will attempt to relay to you the beers I have tried or experienced and what my opinion is of each. Keep in mind that my Father drove Chevy s and my Uncle preferred Fords. To each their own. Also I will attempt to relay where you can reasonably expect to find certain beers.

"Everyone is entitled to their own stupid opinions" Larry Ryan, Dee Jay, KEEL, AM Radio Shreveport, La.

My opinion is simply that, my opinion. But I must warn you, if I say a beer is bad....trust me it is. I recently drank a beer made in West Virginia. On the side of the bottle label they had written, " West Virginia deserves better beer". Well after one swallow I know they still do. My Rating : BAD Available in West Virginia, Maryland and Western Pa. (but why look for this swill) http://www.mountaineerbrewing.com/

There are a multitude of websites that have "experts" tasting beer and rating them. I will from time to time, post some of these sites here. My rating scale is simple. Bad, Good, ever so often, Very Good,and in some select instances an Awesome rating. I do have my favorites and I will freely state which ones they are. So here we go.......

*Born Brewed and Blessed in Texas*

I am thinking of opening a Micro Brewery / Brew Pub / Restaurant / Live Music Venue in Austin, Texas.I anticipate the cost to acquire the location, build the facilities, hire the right personnel, develop actual brew line, market and set up all of the facilities will cost in the neighborhood of three million dollars. As it stands now I do not anticipate actual production or operation for at least two years.

But what the hell, I plan on using other peoples money anyway. And I am willing to take the right amount of time to insure this idea actually is successful. I know very very little about brewing beer but I am willing to find the right people who do have such experience. I would never let my pride stand in the way to see success. I feel with patience and fortitude we just might make this work.

Right now this idea is mostly in the "joke" stage but to be honest I have mentioned this to several people and every time they actually think it is a good idea.

If my idea was actually to come true, I foresee brewing and marketing our beverages along the I-35 corridor ( San Antonio up to Dallas/Ft. Worth) the Houston metropolitan area and the Corpus Christi / Padre Island area. In that area are three of the top ten largest cities in America. Also several major Universities ( including UT, Texas A & M; Baylor, Rice, UofH, TCU, SMU and Texas State) and several beaches and "spring Break locations". We could have a policy to limit our market area. We would limit our range but reduce our liability. I want the company to be an actual employee/family owned company.( I have two nephews who both unmarried and are in their mid 30's. One lives in the Austin area and the other the Houston area. Each would be great salesmen) Other members of our family would be useful in various capacities in our operation. I have a daughter who has a college degree in Marketing.Her husband has a Master's in Engineering. In addition, there are boy friends and husbands etc. of children and nieces who have accounting degrees and backgrounds and others with construction experience as well as restaurant and food services. I also have a couple of cousins and friends who are attorneys.

We could also market a line of merchandise with our logos ( ie. caps, t shirts, glasses etc.). Also in order to truly be blessed we would establish a policy to establish a charity fund where a percentage of our profits would go to worthwhile charities. I propose that we make a commitment of this policy and, of course a large portion of the contributions would be to the Catholic Church. As a result I feel confident I could find a Priest or Deacon and maybe even a Bishop to bless the brewery once a year. Yes it would be a big event of course. You know like the Blessing of the Fleet etc.

When I say employee/ family owned that is exactly what I mean. I would think each of us could benefit from the profits of the venture. I do not expect to get rich financially from this but who knows.I have to admit to have my family and friends with me would be better anyway.

I also foresee establishing a live music venue. We would be in the "Live Music Capitol of the World".

We could get some really good artists to play on our "back porch". We would have a really nice sound system set up so even when live music was not there, the music would be nice. Who knows, maybe we could make a deal with a local radio station and have a " Live from the Back Porch". We can have open mike nights, karaoke and local talent nights. And of course we can sell the crowds our beers and ales. And we will feed them too.

The restaurant would be food that is meant to make you wanna come back. I anticipate a wide range on the menu. From Gumbo to Enchiladas to BBQ to Hot Dogs.

I foresee an area located on the banks of a local creek with Live Oak and Mesquite trees as shade from the sun and to sway in the gentle Texas evenings. We could have an area for horseshoe and washers and of course an area for some serious "42" games. The restaurant would serve darn good food at a reasonable price and would be set up to compliment the brew pub as well as the "back porch"

We would not "sell" this as a bar but rather a Texas style Brew Pub. Although we would sell other beers and ales than what we make, we would promote our own. We would also sell wine and spirits as well. But the idea is to make this a place where true beer aficionados can experience a remarkable experience. It can be the Mecca of beer nutz. But I do envision each month we feature a brew or brews from other micro breweries from all over the country. Our beers and ales would be crafted to meet the taste buds of our patrons. Because Central Texas has a massive amount of bohemians (Temple is headquarters of SPJST), (Slovanska Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas, or Slavonic Benevolent Order of the State of Texas.)

we would craft a good Pilsner or Czech beer (Pilsner Pivo). We will brew several specialty ales as well as a true Bock beer ( Back Porch Bock) to compete with the Gambrius Company brewery down in Shiner. And of course a truly original ale (Deacon J Nut Brown Ale). I foresee an aggressive marketing campaign. We could budget a lot of "giveaways" at the beginning. Hopefully this will establish us as the "in" place to be and the brew of choice of Texans. But I still want this to be a place where people can bring their children as well. Most micro breweries have the capability to brew root beer too. I propose one as well (Kid's Cup Root Beer).

Of course this is only my dream now but I thought I would share my dream with you. I have dreamed before with pretty good results so what the hell this just might work too.

Think about it, we would be the only brewery in America that promotes truthfully, that it's product is "Blessed".

Sláinte, The Third

And so it began. . .

June, 1959. After just two days and I was beginning to think that being in hot humid Houma would be good after all. At nearly nine years old I was terrified of those beings known as "coonies" (no that is not a racist comment....well maybe it is) (More on that term later). But here I was at some park and the sounds and smells were awakening something from within my soul. I was born. Then the next day came and my throat was sore I could not swallow and my neck was swollen as if it was some form of deformed squash. The whispers from my parents confirmed my worst fears. " He has the mumps". I remember rolling over and burying my face into my pillow and praying. Not the "God bless mommy and daddy" type of prayer, but the kind like " Please God do not let this be true" The following weeks were spent indoors at the Bayou Chateau ( I learned many years later the the motel served as the towns local whore house).
When I was finally "well" I was treated to a fishing trip to Bayou Black. I caught more fish than I had ever had before. As I write this I realize that was the first time I had ever caught any fish. It was thrilling to have a large bucket of fish. But I was faced with an odd choice when my father informed me that I could clean the fish and we could eat them or we could go to Dulac. Of course I wanted to clean the fish and eat them . I had no idea what Dulac was or where it was. As I was mulling the choice I witnessed,to my dismay, dear old Dad pouring my dead fishes into their watery grave. So Dulac it was.
Dulac Louisiana was (and almost is today) at the "end of the road" ( State Road 57)in south Louisiana. On the left hand side of the road and just before crossing another bayou, was a place I grew up to know as Dulac. It has been nearly 50 years but I still remember the feel of the oyster shell parking lot and it's distinctive smell after a summer rain. As we walked inside, those smells and sounds woke my soul once again. I was baptized.

"Well you learn to dance with your rock and roll ...but you learn to love at the fais do-do" .



The tables were small and surrounded by lots of people. As we sat at our table. it was quickly covered with pages from the local daily rag and followed by buckets of boiled shell fish. I sat next to a daughter of one of my Dad's fellow employees. And in front of me was my very own brown bottle of "Orange Crush". "You two need to go dance" was what I was hearing as the Cajun music filled the room. The thought of dancing with a girl was not exactly a good one. I was shown how to peel a shrimp and open a crab and then was informed if I wanted to eat anything else, I had better be prepared to peel or crack my own. I felt natures call so I was directed to the "outdoor" bathroom. I still recall the long metal receptacles that served as urinals. As I sat down again at the table I reached for my brown bottle expecting that tangy sweet orange taste. Instead I grabbed another brown bottle. I had taken a big swallow of a cold Jax. I was confirmed. Dear old Dad thought it was funny and my mother was in shock. But I liked it. From the first mistaken taste, I liked it.
That day, I went fishing, ate sea food, danced with a girl and tasted beer for the first time.
My Rating: Fishing--VERY GOOD; Sea Food --AWESOME; Dancing --Embarrassing, but cool as hell : Beer -- AWESOME* and LIFE ALTERING This Beer is no longer brewed (Thanks be to God) thus it is not available. They stopped brewing in the early 1970's. It was brewed at the Jackson Brewery located along the banks of the Mississippi in the Vieux Carre. The buildings are now an upscale shopping mall.

* Throughout the years and up until the Fabachers stopped brewing Jax-Lax my opinion of it dropped considerably, but more on that later.

And so it began.
And now with this, my very first blog, ... So it begins.

Peace, The Third