Take me out to the old school ball game!
I am not about to begin this column by berating the game today. As is the case with all professional sports today, I remain steadfast in proclaiming that the games today are far superior to those of yesteryear. The players are superior. They are in top shape all year long. They eat well, they work […]
Scotland’s best kept secret
As we found out on Robbie Burns’ Day, whisky distillation has a long history in Scotland. Prior to 1860, however, it was illegal to sell any brand of blended whisky in the United Kingdom: only single malt whisky could be sold. Single malt whisky, however, was an “acquired taste” that did not cater to a […]
Baseball perfection 2012
Amidst the excitement of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a spectacular gem took place last week in Seattle, Washington. Phillip Gregory Humber, a journeyman pitcher from Nacogdoches, Texas, pitched a perfect game. It was the twenty-first perfect game in major league baseball history, and the first since Roy Halladay blanked the Florida Marlins in 2010. At […]
Unkempt
It’s time for my April moral dilemma again. The spark to provoke it is the annual uprising of those prolific yellow weed-thingies: dandelions. They are all over my lawn, and so I again pose myself the Shakesperian question: to weed or not to weed? I’m all over these day-to-day moral dilemmas. In March, I was […]
It’s only the first round
We are only in the first round of the hockey playoffs. There has been more sizzle, more controversy, and more physical play in the past week than we have seen in many a playoff year. The intensity was always there. Year after year, fans began to tune in to hockey once the playoffs began. Players […]
Gimme, gimme
Saturday was a “first” for me. Ya, I’ve been asked if I had a cigarette I could spare or a “light,” but Saturday was the very first time I saw a beggar on the streets of Picton. Yup. The very first time. A woman of a certain age was sitting on the bench next to […]
A legendary spirit
Normandy has been renowned for its cider and beer since as far back as the eighth century. The first distillery, however, was not established until the mid-fifteenth century, on the south bank of the river Seine in the area now called Basse- Normandie. From their already-famous dry apple cider, the Normans an equally legendary distilled […]
The road to the Stanley Cup – 2012
Sixteen hockey teams are about to hit the road, searching for the magic that will lead them to the Stanley Cup. It is the most difficult prize to attain, in all of the major sports. We are in early April, and the struggle often lasts into late May, even early June. My early morning chuckle […]
Water of life
In the past few weeks, we’ve seen how Europe’s introduction to the secret of distilling arts opened a veritable Pandora’s box of alcoholic “evils.” And yet everyone described the resulting cornucopia as the “Water of Life.” The Latin “aqua vitae” underwent a variety of local interpretations. The Swedes gave the name “aquavit” to their grain […]
The smart County—in a box
It’s all just a theory at this point. But you can join a few dots and a picture begins to emerge. You start with the County commissioners’ proposal to sell off our libraries, museums and town halls. Obviously, they are trying to find that big fix that will shake up Shire Hall and still keep […]