Interesting flyer on Nextdoor this morning… it says not to feed bread to ducks. It can cause their feathers to grow too fast, which leads to problems flying. Lettuce, peas, and sweetcorn are suggested as alternatives.
There’s also an “Indy 500 in Downtown” post on Nextdoor. I agree – revving engines woke me up in the middle of the night, and I am a pretty sound sleeper. It kills me that cops can’t manage to get this under control, yet they seem to have plenty of time to sit on the north loop of I-40 and hand out tickets for going 73 in a 65.
Blind Bear regulars… don’t forget to vote for Mary today! We need to read about her in Yoga Journal a few months from now. You can vote for free once a day.
The DM reports (subscriber-only link) that the Memphis basketball program has a good chance of landing either Chandler or Johnathon Lawson or perhaps both. Chandler entered the transfer portal after being underused as a sophomore at Oregon, and Johnathon is the #1 prospect in the 2021 graduating class. They are the brothers of K.J. and Dedric who played here, and the sons of Keelon Lawson who had a job in the U of M basketball program when Tubby was coach. Penny coached Chandler and Johnathon when they were in high school.
A coveted rental unit in the Broadnax Building on the southwest corner of Main and Monroe is available. It’s a 2-level, 2-bedroom, 2-bath unit. It’s got a Manhattanesque monthly rate of $3400, but you’d have stellar views and a shorter walk to Bardog than I have.
Outside the Lorraine, a photography exhibit, is now open at the National Civil Rights Museum.
FEMA’s mass vaccine site is moving closer to its goal of 3000 a day. The sooner we all get vaccinated, the sooner we can kiss the remaining stupid restrictions goodbye.
It’s National Barbershop Quartet Day. Hey, does Rhodes College still have The Wool Socks, the double barbershop quartet? That concept was founded by classmates of mine.
I’m still in awe of the fact that I went to college with a Supreme Court justice, even if I barely knew her and disagree with a lot of the decisions she hands down.
Yesterday was one of the most fun days I had since the pandemic started. It took a couple of unexpected turns, but they were worthwhile. I led off at the Farmers Market, then walked over to Max’s Sports Bar. I planned to only stay for a beer or two, but plans changed.
That was the best time I had at Max’s since 2014!!!
With Bjarni, Jessica, and later Mike behind the bar, they had an all-star bartending lineup as good as any in town. They had their Saturday crawfish boil going on in the courtyard. My original plan was to eat at the Blind Bear, which was having a crawfish boil of its own later in the afternoon. However, once people began bringing in crawfish from the back of Max’s, I couldn’t wait any longer! Besides, Glaze’s crawfish are the gold standard.
Man! Those taters were covered in spice from the crawfish boil! So good. As for the crawfish, most of them have reached a size you usually don’t see until May.
I had a little teaching to do. I explained to Perjorie that the crawfish nearer the top of the photo was probably worth the time and energy investment digging around for claw meat. The crawfish at the bottom of the pic, just suck the head, eat the tail, and move on to the next one.
I finished up my crawfish and thought, “I could head back north now…
… or, I could stay and have a cup of Purple Drank!”
I had a cup of Purple Drank.
Purple Drank is the most lethal of the frozen drinks available there. Max used the pandemic downtime to rebuild his bar and expand the frozen drink machines to five.
Drink offerings change, but yesterday’s lineup, left to right:
- Purple Drank
- Mai Tai
- Blackberry (I think?) Sangria
- Blood Orange Margarita
- Dreamsicle
You can also get a mix. Guy down the bar from me got half Dreamsicle, half Purple Drank.
Interesting phenomenon… by mid-afternoon, the machines holding purple and red drank had ice on their front, which the machines holding orange and green drank did not. See photo above. A high school science teacher gave her opinion that it could have to do with the alcohol/contents of the drinks.
Absolutely stellar vibe in there yesterday. The restrictions are not totally gone yet and people are still being careful, but it was the first day that I really got the sense that the Roaring 2020s have arrived. I WILL BE BACK. Maybe not next week, because I need to catch up with my fellow Bardog Saturday morning regulars. But maybe the Saturday after that! Or maybe another day of the week.
Jessica was going to the Silly Goose after she got off and gave me a ride up there. The Goose is a PBR drinker’s paradise right now, even though they carry the 12-ounce cans as they wait for the 16s to come back in stock.
The trouble with having one of the most awesome days since COVID was that I ran up one of my largest bar tabs since COVID! Oh well, it was money well spent.
Blind Bear – I do apologize for not making it by there yesterday. That was my original plan. Of course, I will be up there this week, just haven’t figured out which are my going-out days yet.
Today will be a stay-home day, because I spent too much money yesterday and because it’s night 2 of Wrestlemania. Back tomorrow with more news.
