Greensboro

Greetings all my gaffs and flaps,

Remember that hubbub a couple months back surrounding Michelle Obama's statement, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country."? Of course you do. Cindy McCain won't let you forget it.

Well, this week I am ready to say that for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of America ... the band. You remember America ... folk rock band from the '70s. They hit their stride with songs like "Tin Man" and "Sister Golden Hair," then really went down hill in the '80s with "You Can Do Magic."

I've never been a huge fan of America. They made some crucial mistakes here and there along the way. Questionable leadership at times. Periods of misguided facial hair. Forays into Western wear.

But then last week, as I was walking through the Death Valley desert, sweating, not really sure where I was heading physically or mentally, I got America's first and greatest hit stuck deep inside my head.

I've been through the desert on a horse with no name.
It felt good to be out of the rain.
In the desert you can remember your name.
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain.

I latched onto that song. Repeated it over and over. Made up new lyrics for the parts I didn't know, and essentially let it set my outlook.

It was at that point when I realized that for all its flaws, America can be great. It can speak truth. And if you go back the early works, you'll find something remarkable.

If you'd like to participate in a good ol' America sing-along, come out to Drinking Liberally tonight at 7:00. We'll be at the Green Bean on S. Elm Street, probably on the outside patio, weather permitting.

Bring your Western wear,

Ritchie Rozzelle
Chapter Host
Drinking Liberally
Greensboro, NC

Greetings all my penguins and puffins,

Lately my lips have been very, very dry. Like little beaches attached to my face. At some point while I was asleep last night one split. I woke up in blood. Gross, I know. Blood is one of those things that you never want to see first thing in th morning. But it's probably not the WORST thing to open your eyes to.

Other things I would not want to wake up in:
-jail
-hot water
-cold water
-Canada
-charge of a sinking ship
-outer space sans spaceship
-Tijuana
-side a whale
-another day in Bush's America

If you're sick of the latter, or have a story to tell about waking up in any of the former, come to Drinking Liberally tonight at 7:00 at the Green Bean on S. Elm, Greensboro.

If all goes well, maybe tomorrow you'll wake up enlightened,

Ritchie Rozzelle
Chapter Host
Drinking Liberlly
Greensboro, NC

Greetings all my time and space capsules,

Lately I have found myself spending far too much time staring out the window at the sky. Just lookin'. And for all this staring, I don't find a whole lot. Clouds. Bugs. Occasional bird. Can't see much beyond that — what with the dang sun always in the way. At night, it's not much different. Dang moon. But one thing all this staring into space has allowed me is time to think ... think about space.

Man, that thing is HUGE! Einstein thought it was so huge that it transcended the categorization of "huge." Space blows past huge and on into infinite. So big that it wraps around and touches itself. So big that if you could see out in front of you for forever, you would see yourself. Wooza.

Now, when looking at things on this scale, we down here don't amount to much. Literally, the mass of Earth is so small in comparison to the total mass of the universe that it is mathematically zero. So why then does it matter if you come to Drinking Liberally this week?

Well, for starters, Drinking Liberally doesn't believe in math. No math. No infinity. And we're not so sure about this Einstein fellow either. We believe that the smallest actions of people here on earth can amount to something. And we believe in the power of beer to make those actions happen.

So leave that impossibly big, vacuum-sealed ziploc Mobius strip of space to NASA, and come on out to Drinking Liberally tonight, at 7:00, at the Green Bean on S. Elm Street.

Ritchie Rozzelle
Chapter Host
Drinking Liberally
Greensboro, NC