Wisdom Comes With Age

Wisdom comes with age, they say, and I believe them. I wouldn't suspect that The Old's monopoly on wisdom has to do with their fear of death, their declining mental faculties, and a last ditch effort to hold onto self worth. No, the thought hasn't passed my aging, wiser mind at all. I know that experience does in fact beget greater wisdom. Take tonight as an example.

Tonight, after enjoying a walk with my girlfriend Jennifer, I stopped in at a local establishment called Terrapin Station to take in a show featuring my friend Travis and the band he plays in, Rammed Earth. Having heard that there were some other quality bands playing tonight in the same venue, I settled into my new environment, expecting a musical experience that would likely last a couple of hours or more.

So I purchased a beer and listened to The Rammed Earth. I emptied the beer, and purchased a Jack and Coke. The band finished. I talked to a guy I knew from Moos Cycles from back in the day-a friend of Travis's named Zane-and emptied my first Jack and Coke. I ordered a second. By this time I was feeling my alcohol, feeling rather good, and talking with Travis while enjoying band number two, called The Very Most.

The next and final band up hailed from Portland, Oregon. I anticipated good things from this band because, well, they're from Portland, and I don't know if there ever was a bad band that came from that place. In addition, a couple of the band members were extraordinarily skinny, which could only mean that they were REAL rockers who did nothing but play their instruments and inject themselves with some funky drug or two on a regular basis. To celebrate this special occassion-the eye witnessing of a Portland band that I'd never heard of before-I ordered a third Jack and Coke and sat back to enjoy the show.

My suspicions were validated. The band was a veritable talent bomb. They rocked the house, as I prefer to say. My good buzz turned into a very good buzz/nearly really drunk buzz, just as I had planned.

This is where experience and wisdom comes into play. I've consumed enough alcohol at this point in my life that I know what works for me and what doesn't, and in what proportions n' rates I should consume these beverages in order to achieve the optimal buzz without overdoing it. Tonight was the second time in just over a week that I was able to carefully injest just the right drinks in the perfect amount to ensure a quality buzz without any negative results. If this doesn't demonstrate a wisdom that comes with age, I don't know what does.

Last Tuesday I attended a Modest Mouse concert at the Big Easy. It was one of the best performances I've ever seen. What made it even better was the fact that I had consumed two Long Island Iced Teas immediately before the show, and throughout the show I enjoyed a couple pints of beer. My inhibitions were lowered, I talked and joked with those around me, I sang along, danced my ass off, and really just had a great time. At the end of the show I felt very accomplished for having such a good time and for having used that which was available at the time to ensure that the best time was indeed had. In short, I felt very wise, though still relatively young.