One of those moments

I had an unstructured weekend ahead of me. Nowhere to ride, nowhere to be, no reason to set an alarm in the morning. Plenty to do, but no deadline to get it done.

I had gone to the Mariners game with Steve on Friday night, and in typical fashion, I had left my backpack at his place. It had my laptop and the book I needed to finish this week, so I didn't want to leave it until Monday. I used to curse out loud for these lapses of memory, berating myself for the stupidity, but as I realized my mistake a half hour too late, I just sighed and told myself there was now a trip to Seattle on the schedule. Not getting any smarter, but at least a bit better at keeping things in perspective.

I spent Saturday morning tackling one or two of the boxes that still line my walls and cover my floors. I have been in and out of town the past few weeks, and unpacking has dragged out through unsettled procrastination. Putting off the next round, I decided instead to write. I am writing a bit more these days, and without my laptop I actually spent an hour with pen and paper. In some ways it seems to flow more quickly that way and it was nice to avoid the screen time.

After picking up my backpack full of electronics, I headed back to the eastside. Not ready to go home and face the boxes, I decided to check out a brewery that my friend had recommended. It is within a mile or two of work, but I had not made the time to stop by. Like most small breweries, they had a tasting flight of small pours so you can sample their creations. I haven't brewed in a while, and I was chalking this up to research into my next batch.

The bartender looked very familiar, though for the life of me I could not place her. Strangely, I had run into someone that I hadn't seen in a decade just a few hours earlier, so maybe I was just feeling a wave of connection. I did not see a click of a recognition in her eyes, so I assumed she reminded me of someone I could not place.

I pulled out my book to read. I have been having trouble lately shutting things out and falling into a book. I am still trying to resist the pull of signing up for cable at the house, hoping to spend the time reading and writing instead watching tv. Fortunately the novel I am reading now is different, quirky and good, so I could feel myself being pulled out of my world and into the one on the page.

As I sat there reading and working my way through the tasting flight, left to right, light to dark, a woman from Florida stopped by to chat. She had not seen the tasting flights so common to these breweries, and the curiosity of it made her stop by. As we chatted, the bartender cooed at and kissed a baby rocking in a carrier on the table in front of me.

With the good writing awakening my imagination, the room took on a strange feeling of family and familiarity, in a place I had never been to, having only stopped by on an impulse. Just one of those moments where a layer of fog and routine is peeled back, and your senses feel peaked to peek behind the curtain.

Then this song came on over the sound system. I don't remember it getting a lot of airplay when it was new twenty-five years ago, so it was odd to hear it after all this time. It is not right on the nose, but it does speak to time and moments passing us by while we aren't paying attention. It was a nice moment.




A million young poets
Screamin' out their words
To a world full of people
Just livin' to be heard
Future generations
Ridin' on the highways that we built
I hope they have a better understanding

Check it out
Goin' to work on Monday
Check it out
Got yourself a family
Check it out
All utility bills have been paid
You can't tell your best buddy that you love him
So check it out
Where does our time go
Check it out
Got a brand new house in escrow
Check it out
Sleepin' with your back to your loved one
This is all that we've learned about happiness

Check it out
Forgot to say hello to my neighbors
Check it out
Sometimes I question my own behavior
Check it out
Talkin' about the girls that we've seen on the sly
Just to tell our souls we're still the young lions
So check it out
Gettin' too drunk on Saturdays
Check it out
Playin' football with the kids on Sundays
Check it out
Soarin' with the eagles all week long
And this is all that we've learned about living
This is all that we've learned about living

A million young poets
Screamin' out their words
Maybe someday
Those words will be heard
By future generations
Ridin' on the highways that we built
Maybe they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Hope they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Maybe they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Maybe they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Hope they have a better understanding
Check it out.....