1. Meagan, Patrick, Debbie, and I swooped into Radio Brewing around 4:30 or so and Diane and her son, Marc, were seated at a table waiting for us. It was awesome. Niece Molly was our server. Marc, Patrick, and Meagan are peers, all in their late thirties, and they hit it off beautifully. It was impressive and uplifting that we all blended so well together, fell into easy and continuous conversation, and enjoyed our meals and beers, too.
2. Oh, I don't know, I suppose it was around 6:15 or 6:30 that we all bundled up and walked down Main Street and took a left at McKinley and made our way through the frigid air and the ice and snow on the sidewalks to the Inland Lounge. The good cheer and interest in one another that started at Radio only improved and grew at the Lounge. We grabbed a table in the non-smoking side room area. Marc and Patrick explored big ideas, social, philosophical, and technological, together. Meagan and Diane became much better acquainted and conversation between Debbie, Diane, Meagan, and me went in countless directions. Old friends visited our table. Jake dropped by. So did Carol Lee. Harley wished us all a Happy New Year. I got around a little bit and talked with Bucky, Eddie Joe, and others and slipped in a few quick chats with Cas.
I limited myself to one pint of Pulaski Porter (SAVE THE PORTER!). I was our group's driver and kept myself safe and sober. When it came time to break up our party and head home, I walked back to the Sube, parked across from Radio. I walked with Marc and Diane who live just a block or so south of Radio. I piled into the old Sube and picked up Debbie, Patrick, and Meagan in front of the Lounge.
3. Patrick, Meagan, Debbie, and I arrived back at 516 around 10:00 (I think) and, once we settled in, we took care of some most pleasant unfinished business.
It turns out Patrick and Meagan teamed up to recreate Patrick's memories of opening Christmas stockings by sewing homemade stockings for Debbie and me and filling them the way Debbie and I used to fill the kids' stockings back when Patrick, Molly, Adrienne, Debbie, and I celebrated Christmas together in Eugene.
So when Patrick and Meagan presented Debbie and me with our stockings, it was suddenly the late 1990s. The toe of our stockings were filled with M&Ms. Above the M&Ms both of us found an apple and an orange. At the top of the stocking was a magazine. They perfectly recreated the stocking exchange we used to have at Christmas time in the Hennessey-Diedrich-Woolum household in the years after Debbie and I got married.
I now have a copy of the "Friendship" issue of Lapham Quarterly, a periodical I'm unfamiliar with and that looks very promising, jam packed with great writers reflecting on this single subject.
We all stayed up and awake until the chimes of midnight rang and welcomed in the early minutes of 2022. As is pretty usual, I was the first to retire to bed and I have no idea how long the party continued without me.
What I do know is that we closed out 2021 with solid food, a great time at The Lounge, great conversation, and warmth with one another.
With that in mind, here is icing on the cake.
Stu wrote a limerick to help all of us welcome in 2022.
Here it is:
To think with your head AND your heart.
Pitch in, make good choices,
Help those without voices.
It’s best when we all do our part.
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