Foggy, Foggy Night

What is the fun in having fun if you can't remember all the details?  The answer lies in the forgetfulness.

So here it is at 21:43, with me trying to sort out what I did between 16:15 and 21:30, a mere short time of the night on St. Patty's Day, don't you think?

A few names stand out: John, Ryan from ???, Elizabeth from Huntsville, Kristan from Anniston, the Spoetzl Brewery, an Irish car bomb or two or three or four or ???, A.D. J. Security and a shirt that read, "I'm not lucky, I'm good."  Rosalyn stopping by our table at Mason's Pub.  Many a lad and lass wearin' or not wearin' green while waltzin' past our table.

A bunch of flat panel TVs playing ESPN games.  Receiving some Jameson's hats, T-shirts and drinking glasses.  Eating shepherd's pie and corned beef & cabbage and warm cookies and cold ice cream.  Drinking Guinness, Murphy's, Smithwick's and Left Hand Porter.  Seeing servers who remind us of Nair adverts of the 1970s and "who wears short shorts."  Who was the marketing assistant from Avocent who we once saw at Finnegan's and tonight saw at Mason's?  Why did we stay there and not go to Lowe's Mill to hear an Irish jig band?

Watching people watching us to see if we were about to leave our two-person two-topper table.  Watching people watching people.  Swapping ciggies/fags for bracelets.  Swapping bracelets and hats for smiles.  Sharing drinks.  Drinking Olde Towne and drinking in old town. HYP (Huntsville Young Professionals) and us, HMAR (Huntsville Middle-Aged Retirees) recently intermixed in the town where Moody's elevates Huntsville to No. 1 city for job growth prospects.

A city known as a great place to raise children but also a quiet place to have a good time, from Cafe Michael with Russ D. and wife to downtown with the single scene and in-between.

Central to the South, where Chinese and Russian spies listen carefully.  Not far from Bristol Motor Speedway and Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, where cost of living doesn't knock you out, just keeps you on your toes.


Sober up and you'll hear the blues, the news and a few patrons at Blue Plate Cafe.  Neal, Tricia and Ginger.  The ever-present Will and Kasey.


If you're paying close attention.

Have you ever eaten colcannon after sending a text via mobile phone.  Do you know a smart, good-lookin' gal when you see one?  Or, like me, would you rather be proudly married to one for 24+ years and everyone else, good-lookin' and smart, pale by comparison?


Drink Saranac or be Irish, you take your pick.  I made my choice when I was 12 and haven't looked back.  Can you say the same?


Breakfast, blog and read - that's all it takes to know one.  Can you be one?