I’ve just read in the NY Times that, for the first time in 96 years, the sale of certain brands of absinthe will be allowed in the United States.
After years of trying to find a way to try out the liquor of legends and literature, I am pleasantly surprised by the news.
But, if I don’t particularly like the flavor of anise or licorice — why would I ever want to explore absinthe now that it has been removed from the list of contraband liquors and age-old myths regarding hallucinatory and madness-inspiring qualities have been disproved as utter bunk crafted by Prohibition fanatics?
I have several reasons. There is the aspects of culture that were inspired by it — think Van Gogh, Baudelaire, Hemingway, Rimbaud, and heck, even Johnny Depp.
There is the mystique, the myths, the stories. There is the fact that it was once illegal for no apparent good reason and I want to see what the hubbub is all about.
But if I buy it, you can be rest assured that I will not cheap out. Rumor has it that there are plenty of radiator-fluid vile brews overseas. When I buy a bottle, I want to have a chance at enjoying it, not drinking something for the historical value alone.
The wind was fierce again today, rattling the walls of the trailer I work out of for the time being. On my drive home, flags stood out as if they were frozen in place. On the news, I saw a SUV involved in a rollover — due in part because of the wind.
Chuang Tzu said that if you find good in something, then there is some good in all things. If you find bad in something, then there is nothing that is absent of bad. If something is useful, then all things are useful. If something is useless, then all things are useless.
When we argue that something is only one thing and not its opposing counterpart, we are lying to ourselves.
I am already growing weary of politics, and the race has yet to really begin for President. Already the discrediting and name-calling has started.
With candidates acting so immature, do I really trust any of them to govern?
It is quiet tonight, soundless but for the hum of the furnace and a hungry cat who wants to eat before coaxing me to bed. How could I have not seen the perfection before? I surrounded myself with people, noise, and lights but found no comfort in who I was. Now I am comfortable, now that it is quiet. No more banging the drum, no more late-night debates.
There is beauty here — I just didn’t see it for the din.
Whisper.