T&G

Gay was tired of being pregnant and the waiting list for an induction was so long that we decided to go into Seattle to take Gay’s mind off it. We all went to the RV show at Qwest Field and while there, the OB/GYN called and said that we were next on the list to be induced and that we _may_ get a call tonight or early tomorrow. The RV show was boring so we left and went to Elysian Fields, just down the block for an early dinner and hoping that the hospital would call. We had even packed the car with everything we needed to take to the hospital, just in case.

We’d never been to Elysian Fields and it’s a cool space, and much larger than the original Elysian. There was a large party nearby, seemingly to celebrate a newborn baby (3 months?), that Havana was fascinated with:

Little did she know her baby brother was soon to arrive.

I had a schooner of the Imperial IPA which was very good. It’s been a while since I’ve had a good Imperial IPA at a brewpub, probably since “we went to Steelhead in Eugene”:http://troyandgay.com/blog/2008/03/08/seattle-to-eugene-or/.

I had the Kobe beef burger with bleu cheese and finished it off with a schooner of their Dragonstooth Stout. They make a very good stout and I’ve loved it ever since moving to Seattle; it’s right up there with Old Rasputin (but not quite _that_ good).

It would have been very convenient if the hospital had called since we were minutes away, but they didn’t. So we went home. At 8pm, an hour-and-half after we got home, the OB/GYN called and said we could come in. We called Kelly to come over to watch Havana. Bam, she was at the house 10 minutes later and we jumped on the 8:50pm ferry.

We checked into the hospital at 9:30pm and the OB/GYN broke Gay’s water at 10pm. It was all very smooth and quick from there…

There’s a movement, called the “Amethyst Initiative”:http://www.amethystinitiative.org/article/view/21556/1/3831/, to have a national discussion on lowering the drinking age to 18. They understand that a 21 year-old drinking age just doesn’t work and is “supported”:http://www.amethystinitiative.org/signatories/ by universities across the country. It’ll never pass in America because America has a culture of governmental parenting rather than information, education and responsible parenting. I wonder how many parents tell their kids not to drink “Because you’re not allowed to” rather than “Because it’s dangerous and must be done responsibly”.

I’m not just for lowering it to 18, I think it should be abolished altogether. Half the fun of under-age drinking is that you’re not allowed to do it. Take that away and there’s little incentive to drink as a kid. In Europe, most countries have no drinking age and when you go to pubs, there aren’t any kids in them, in my experience. Drinking just isn’t “cool” to kids in Europe as it is in America. I think that’s because of the existence of a drinking age in America, not in spite of it.

We will allow our kids to drink beer and wine in our home and we’ll educate them on it and, hopefully, demonstrate that moderation is a requirement. I think when they are teenagers and their friends are trying to get alcohol (and they will succeed regardless of the number of laws in place), our kids won’t think it’s that exciting because they know what it’s like. And more importantly, they will know when enough is enough and won’t feel the need to get completely “blotto”:http://www.thefreedictionary.com/blotto. If they can survive the teenage years with an intelligent and mature understanding of alcohol, they’ll be far better at surviving the years after they turn 21 when the government says “Drink all you want!”. We better have taught them correctly by the time they’re 21, because by then, we will have little influence or control on their behavior.

I’ll probably forget this next year when it’s been 20 years, so I’ll post this while I’m thinking about it….

It’s been 19 years since I’ve eaten at McDonald’s. How do I know this? In 1989, at the age of 19, I spent the summer backpacking around Greece eating and drinking beer. I hadn’t realized it then, but while I was consciously nurturing my taste for beer, I was subconsciously developing a taste for quality food. The food in Greece is very fresh, especially the seafood and vegetables — the tomatoes in Greece are red and are sweet, unlike the orange watery ones in the US. So after a summer of eating very tasty food, unbeknownst to me, my body had become accustomed to good fresh food. The morning after my arrival back at home in late August ’89, my parents took me to breakfast at McDonald’s “as a treat”. They love the place and I think they still go there at least once a week. But that day I couldn’t finish my food and had an upset stomach all day from what I did eat. After 3.5 months in Greece eating the opposite of McDonald’s, McDonald’s cholesterol-enriched stale food was too disgusting to smell, let alone eat. I vowed to never eat at McDonald’s or any restaurant like it again.

And I still haven’t. I’m 38 now, so this no-fast-food thing has lasted half my life. When you can say “half my life” or talk about things you did 19 years ago, you’re officially old. Technically, I did go to the McDonald’s drive-in one morning at 5am back in 1992 or 1993 when I was heading out on a road trip and wanted coffee and couldn’t find any other place that was open that early in the morning. And I looked for an alternative because the coffee at McDonald’s back then was like drinking instant coffee. This was well before Starbuck’s made its way to Virginia. I’ve had the Sourdough Jack cheeseburger from Jack In The Box a couple times late at night while in Seattle as late as 1999. The Sourdough Jack is actually pretty good, for fast food.

I don’t avoid McDonald’s because of my teenage vow or because of health reasons (although that’s a good reason to avoid it). I simply avoid it the way I avoid eating things I don’t like, like anchovies and lousy beer. We’ll see how long I can continue this when Havana and her soon-to-be-brother are begging to go to a McDonald’s.

I love my view…

Eric stayed with us this weekend and we had dinner for him Saturday night. He’s leaving Thursday for a 10+ month trip around the world.