Airports, and Why Florida Doesn't Suck...

Help! We're Stuck! Stuck in the Mother-Effin Airport! Trying to beat the band, and make our way home early to rescue our baby kitten and puppy, we decided to fly stand by. Waking up at 4:10am, not only to be skunked once at 7am, but then twice at 10am. And here I sit, after watching a NetFlix on Demand, having a few pints, charging our computer and phones at the bar...and oh yeah, commiserating with my mother-in-law whose flight was canceled and now re-vamped to a 12:10am arrival to Raleigh.

We had the chance, we coulda, we shoulda just stayed at the beach. Airing out the last day of sun, gettin' straight red-brown tans only to saunter into our late flight complaining of the hot sun, the great winter tan lamenting the fact we should have tried to fly our earlier.

Well, we tried. No regrets. And for the amount of money it would have taken to reschedule, we've taken to the bar in food, drink, and the Best Buy machine to purchase goodies for our laptop in order to view our Netflix on demand.

But seriously, am I complaining? Hell no, no way would I complain about this. In fact, I've enjoyed this little adventure of airport squatting. A real day of napping, drinking, movie watching, people watching, and no control of when you leave except when you actually booked your flight...unless it got cancelled.

Small notes...our bartender has been great...the food, surprisingly Florribean, fresh, and good...note to self...start airport chains of yummy food and not the crap everyone is subjugated to eat. Imagine if you design a Vegas like atmosphere of airport celebrations...Imagine?

Listen, all my life I grew up hearing why Florida sucked. "The Traffic, Rude People, Too Busy, Blah Blah Blah". And all the while I never really hated it. It was my folks who outgrew the hustle and bustle of city life way back when. They love to be bumpkins...they love the country and are personified country mice. Hustle Bustle you say? They look the other way. And there is NOTHING wrong with it. Except I LOVE city life, especially in little doses. Because there are still doses of the stories and the cultures I would never know had this little country mouse never journeyed to the city.

Good day to you Miami City Mice from this little country mouse.

Ah...stories to follow from our Fort Lauderdale Christmas Mis-Adventures!

Das Kegerator

"What's that"? I asked my friend Samantha...who had just bought a new house. As she was showing us the pictures and layout of her new digs I spied this ancient white fridge...rusting away and hanging out in her future man cave basement. "Oh, it's an old fridge" she replied. Feasting my eyes I wondered on the magic I was beholding...1950ish, rusted, still working, glorious fridge.

K-E-G-E-R-A-T-O-R?

Yes friends, yes indeed.

Best present ever from a friend...dropped off on our back patio intact and still running. My Cuban buddy said, "That's the same fridge my folks have back in Cuba...still runs".

Wheels spinning, mind grinding and turning, grocery list in hand, we went to work.

Outfitting a future Kegerator is modestly expensive. The double barrel tap system with CO2 was about 500 bucks, the endless cans of spray paint, furniture dolly, sandpaper, outdoor electric cord instead of the factory indoor cord, cord protector shield, hole saw bit, wrong drill bit...I guess we could say it cost around 650 to outfit.

So why didn't you just buy a brand spanking new one Matty J? Other than the quote from my Cuban friend, here is more reason.

See from the picture? It has character. And...it's something anyone drools about. It's a conversation piece. People have come over to our house just to worship the kegerator (guess you have to keep it filled). Hell, my old friend Dick Nesbit gave me the idea 7 years ago when he had us drag up an old Sears Kenmore from a faculty housing basement...it became a magic faculty party machine. We all marveled at it....it was like talking to a proud father about his kids...whatever party he had, was mo' better because of his beloved Kegerator.

Armed with two tap handles, it is equipped for two home brews at a time and has a super cold freezer for storing mugs, DAS BOOT (thank you to my bromance JP)...it's a liter sized glass boot fit for drinking beer, and MEAT. What man wouldn't camp out in the freezing cold just to wake up and have a pull from those stainless steel nectar dispensers? Pull some meat out to thaw, have a few brews while you grill, and what the hell could you ever bitch about?