People are cheap

So I am trying to sell a car. It is a great car in great shape. I know what it is worth and I know what I want to get for it. So why is it that I get all these calls and emails asking me to let them have it for thousands ($5,000-$7,000) less than what I am asking for it? Why, because people are cheap.

When I was a kid looking for a car, i scoured the auto trader looking for the fastest car possible at the cheapest price. I must have called 20 different adds before my dad would finally let us go look at one. As luck would have it, we bought it.

What a sweet car it was. As far as I was concerned, it ran (continue reading) and it was my first car. It wasn't exactly fast, but it was cool. It was a 1951 Chevy pickup. We drove all the way across town so it took a lot for my dad to take me. They were asking $1200 for it. I could hardly stand the anticipation of actually owning my own car. Man, that was a long drive.

As soon as I saw it, I knew it was mine. After a little bit of negotiating, we bought it for $1000. Wow, what a deal. We stole it for $200 less than what he wanted! That deal was a great deal until it broke down on the way home. That $200 we saved was used to tow it the 35 miles home. Either way , it was mine.

So what happened to that time? A time when getting a deal meant saving a few hundred bucks. That few hundred bucks then has turned into a few THOUSAND bucks today! What the hell?

I get it. Times are hard. Gas is $4.00 a gallon. People don't have any money because they lost their job. Just because your house is worth $100 grand less than you paid for it last year, doesn't mean I am going to let you have my car to make up the difference. But why are they the one calling me? Why are they calling to buy a car they can't afford to begin with? Why? Because people are cheap? No, because people are dumb!

Pride of London

Have you ever had something that reminded you of a better time or a better place? I have that something just about every week. You might say it takes me to one of my "happy places". What could it be that has such a powerful force on my psyche? It's called "Fuller's London Pride". She was my first.

Every time I pour myself a pint, it takes me back the dark wooden booths of the London pubs where I first had one. Upon arriving in London, my first stop was a little pub in the Paddington neighborhood. I went up to the bar and asked for a beer that was brewed in London. After a funny look from the bartender, he poured me a pint. It was a Fuller's ale. This was a defining moment in my life. As I sat and savored the wonderful caramel tinted ale, I realized what I had been missing all these years. Beer wasn't meant to be served 1 degree above freezing. It wasn't meant to be drunk out of a bottle or a can. Beer was meant to be enjoyed like that moment. It was brewed with love to bring pure pleasure to the sence of taste.

In the states, lager is the norm. Bud, Miller, Coors, (all of which I avoid as much as possible) are all to common. I have never considered myself to be normal, so they are not for me. Anyways, ale is more common in the U.K. To drink a traditional English Ale (although a corporate version) such as Fuller's in London was quite the religious experience.

I will admit that Fuller's wasn't the best ale I had in London, or even my favorite today at home. The local brewed ales in the U.K. are far superior. But it was my first, and you never forget your first. Fuller's is a little difficult to find. However if you are so lucky to find it, buy it. I promise, you will enjoy it. Cheers.

Mmmmmm..Beer

I think you will quickly realize that I love beer. So much that I intend to write about it as much as I drink it. I plan on talking about all the different beers of the world, well as many as I can find. Taste is subjective, but this is my blog, so I am going to give my opinion. Feel free to recommend a beer for me to try. I am constantly looking for the next great beer.

1st Amendment

The 1st Amendment forbade Congress from prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. However, I am sure when Sam Adams signed the Constitution, he wasn’t thinking about what his friends or family might read on his blog. I’m sure his boss was a jerk and his cousin John got on his nerves. I’m sure he hated wearing those stupid wigs. It had to be a pain in the ass trying to keep those hairs out of his beer. He would have loved to be able to talk about it in a public way without fearing the wrath of his peers. The 1st Amendment gave him the right to do so, but the consequences would have kept him quiet.
Fast forward 128 years. Along comes the 18th Amendment abolishing liquor. O, the horror. Sam Adams was a known brewer of beer. In fact, many meetings of the founding fathers were held in pubs while drinking pints of their own homemade ale. So how could the country he loved so much betray him like this?

Then in 1933, Congress pulled their head out of their ass and passed the 21st Amendment. It repealed the 18th Amendment bringing peace to the alcohol loving people of America. All was right again.

That brings us to date. So I thank God for the 21st Amendment, Sam Adams, and my blog. Without these three, where would I be today? Probably without a job, any friends, or any family. By no means am I an alcoholic. I just really like beer. Screw the 12 steps. I don’t need no stinkin’ steps. There are thousands of reasons why people are driven to drink. I do it because I like it. However, there are thousands of things that piss me off. Thousands of things that would drive me to drink if I didn’t already. This is why I started my blog. This is…why I drink.

So to you Samuel Adams, I say "good burp".