Thank christ seltzer water is free at bars. I must have put back 10 of those over dinner and the first two periods of game six in the Bruins vs. Flyers semi-final playoff series. If it were beer, my bill would have fattened considerably, possibly tripling in price. Instead, it remained a soft, $12.00 blow to my bank account.
Despite the absence of bars lingering in my periphery like false oases or back-alley apothecaries full of salves and heal-all tonics, they still remain powerful in their solid wood solemnity. And I felt normal, set up on my stool, drinking seltzer with lemon while my friends drank their beers. It felt exactly the same, except I didn’t feel like I was trying to smother my life with a chloroform rag.
I look forward to a time when my life’s focus returns to the important calls of the world, whatever they are. Truth or heart or art or teaching. For now, the pleasant clarity I feel is a welcome space, the rest is work, because nothing falls in your lap except the occasional free beer, and, well, I don’t need those right now.
Bench in Skatepark. Courtesy of someone at Reddit.
