Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Three Beautiful Things 05/21/19: Breakfast with Rita, Coffee and Billy Mac's, Oakshire and Sam Bond's Bluegrass Jam

1. I powered up the Sube and blasted south to Creswell to see Rita, my team teaching partner back in the 1990s and longtime friend. We scooted right over to the Creswell Bakery for a light and delicious smoked ham, egg, and swiss cheese breakfast sandwich on a brioche bun.  We talked about any number of things for about an hour and then went back to Rita's house and continued to discuss the ways of the world and different things in our lives. It was good to see Rita's mobility having improved since her knee replacement surgeries last summer and both of us were mightily impressed with how our grandchildren are growing up and looking so good.

Altogether, we spent about three hours together. I returned to Jeff's house, put a live Zero show on the cd player and took a refreshing nap, sleeping to the sounds of Martin Fierro's lyric saxophone, the blazing variety of Steve Kimock on guitar, and the always solid backbone of drummer Greg Anton and bass player Bobby Vega. I dreamed I was back in the WOW Hall for another three night run of live jams and dancing back in the mid-1990s, nights of live music ecstasy with Zero.

2. Invigorated by my little bit of sleep, I met up with MB, Michael, and Nate at Perugino, downtown Eugene's elegant coffee house. Jeff was busy with work and couldn't join us, but the four of us talked about any number of things, doing all we could in 90 minutes to catch each other up on how our lives have been since we last saw each other in September.

I then blasted up to 19th and Jefferson and returned to one of my favorite haunts, Billy Mac's, where I joined Pam, Michael, and a table of their friends. I loved seeing our server, Amber, again and, for the first time in many years, I saw Derrick, who had been on a hiatus from Billy Mac's when I last lived in Eugene. What a superb evening! I relished having a couple of Billy Mac's margaritas again, featuring Billy's homemade margarita mix, and I indulged in New York strip steak smothered in savory mushroom gravy. Table talk ranged far and wide as we discussed everything from our parents' hospice care to The Magnificent Ambersons to the U of O's women's basketball team. When everyone at our table headed home, I went to the bar and stuck around for one beer, one of my very favorite Oregon beers, Pelican Brewing's Kiwanda Cream Ale, and some quality yakking with Derrick.

3.  I had a little time to kill before the Sam Bond's Bluegrass Jam would get going around 9 or 9:30, so I stopped in at the Oakshire tasting room for a short pour of Hazy IPA. I sat in Oakshire's spacious and happy space and thought back to 2011 when I first visited Oakshire's tasting room. Back then, Oakshire's facility was tucked away in an obscure corner of northwest Eugene near the Trainsong neighborhood. Its hours were very limited. I think four beers were on tap. It was very humble. I marveled at what I saw tonight: a great crowd, multiple Oakshire beers on tap, and a great location in the Whiteaker neighborhood near a cluster of other neighborhood places to get together with people: a distillery, a cidery, coffeehouse, wine cellar and other spots.

Cheered by my visit to Oakshire, I parked near Sam Bond's, waited in line to order an Irish Red Ale, and talked with a young woman who, like me, has a good friend battling cancer. "I need a Pabst night" she told me. I told her I was in a similar mindset. She got her long necked bottle of PBR, we wished each other all the best, and I grabbed a table near the stage where I sat alone. Slowly and surely the musicians began to gather. A mandolin player was on the stage and one by one others joined him. There was a banjo guy, who was tonight's jam leader, a stand up bass player, and guys and a couple of women with other instruments: dobro, resonator guitar, acoustic guitars, flute, harmonica, even a trombone. I had to be a little patient. My short glass of Irish Red Ale made patience easy; in time, a terrific jam got underway. The players were having a great time. I enjoyed solo after solo and the leader's vocals. I don't know how long these players jammed, but by about midnight, I was fading and I returned to Jeff's and called this full and invigorating day to a close.

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