When I drive on a summer night I feel like a teenager.
An incredible feeling.
I was driving home Friday night, sun roof open, windows down, feeling glorious. A rogue thought popped into my head as I cruised - I wished I had some place to be. Some place fun.
A party. A barbecue. A bar with an outdoor patio filled with my friends.
Instead of my inevitable destination - the recliner.
I may be 64 but I still have, and always will have, that party spirit. That drive to fill up every warm moment with fun. Insanity. Friendship. Laughter.
Got a little down and a bit confused as that thought wrestled with the feeling of sweet abandon I was feeling.
However, I was rewarded yesterday.
Carol and I attended a backyard barbecue wedding reception on another glorious summer day.
Stacey and Ed. Congrats, guys. May your marriage be filled with happiness and good health.
I packed a cooler. Whiskey. Beer. Water. Of course I had to wipe 6 inches of dust off the cooler first. Still, the ritualistic packing of the cooler is a comforting thing to me.
I have done that hundreds, maybe thousands of times. And, of course, I believe I have created the optimal method of ice positioning to guarantee the coldest beer in the entire recorded history of mankind.
We picked up Jason and Karen and made our way to a backyard in the woods. Fucking boonies, baby.
First thing I noticed is that they had a table set up with booze, including Crown Royal and Crown Royal Reserve. I never had to touch the bottle I brought with me, which is a gift from the gods.
We set up our chairs in the sun, baby (my melanoma dermatologist would have cut my balls off, but what the fuck - I am feeling fatalistic. Got me a red face today and I look damn sexy.)
They had music playing. There were a lot of people there. A big crowd. A band showed up later.
Live music, booze, good friends, a happy couple, good and plentiful food, a gorgeous fucking day - THAT is living, my friends.
Something about an atmosphere like that greatly increases the capacity to absorb booze without causing major damage. Which reminds me of a great Hunter Thompson quote: "Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel.........................On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio."
I believe that as well.
Anyway, if I sat at home and drank as much as I did yesterday, I would be in pain today. Instead I suffer no hangover. Just feel a little beat up.
But that is not really the point.
The point is that yesterday represented the perfect use of summer weather. We all thought we would only be there a couple of hours. We stayed for four hours.
And then we went out to dinner. Me, Carol, Jason and Karen to a great restaurant where we ate outside on the deck. Perfect ending to a perfect day.
Friday night I had that primal stirring for summer fun. Wind whipping through my now very short hair, music loud on the radio, warmth, comfort, ease. Had me a little regret too.
Saturday the regret got wiped away. In a big, loud, meaningful, over the top way. Great. Just fucking great.
I hope to say that a few more times before I am forced to scrape ice off my windshield once again.
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