Keep the change, Mr. Stonebender.
Tonight, Mer and I polished off the dregs of a bottle of Glenfidditch 12-year. This particular bottle was a gift, 5 or 6 years ago, from someone I used to know, and perhaps never really knew at all. This bottle has traveled with me through 2 major relationships (and into a third) and into and out of 4 apartments (and now a house). It’s kept company with a bottle of blackberry schnapps covered in a decade of dust, and stood resolute watch over empty space when an infestation of fruit flies forced me to kick my genuine Italian grappa to the curb.
That damn bottle of scotch was my last concrete tie to the person that passed it along, and I can’t say I’m sorry to see it go. I would have dumped it a long ago, but I’m not one to waste alcohol, lest I be suspended in it when I die.
It seems to be the time of year for looking back and letting go — it must be in the stars. One of the dearest people I ever had the honor to know, Chris Trauger, was killed in a head-on collision 6 years ago last week. He was only 27. Chris was one of those people who changed your life in a heartbeat, even though you didn’t know it. It’s taken me a long time to get here, but Chris’ tragic death and his stupid-ass grin are inspirations to me as I work towards a simpler life. Happiness is what really matters, and life’s too short to live otherwise. Thanks, Chris.
My Grammy also left this earth at far too young an age. I came into the rest of my inheritance last Saturday, and while it amounts to nothing more than a nicotine-stained rocker and a box of corroded costume jewelry, I am reminded of all of the things I learned from her. She was feisty, bawdy, smart, and opinionated. She could soothe my grandfather’s temper and hand me a fudgesicle all in one breath. She walked away from the deli counter to answer my aunt’s questions about lard, and she is single-handledly responsible for my love of cheese. I may not have appreciated it during her lifetime (I was only 15 when she died), but she had a major impact on the way I see life. Sometimes, it’s not worth the anger; sometimes, it really is as simple as an iron in the refrigerator.
To all of those we’ve lost to death or other means, to all of those that have shaped our lives, I dedicate this new bottle of Glenfidditch.
Smash.
| posted July 4th, 2007 | tagged as callahan's, memories, scotch |
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