maynard

I just returned from the Recovery Room Restaurant and Verde Valley Wine Co. In Cottonwood, AZ. Paula and I were working our way through some Spanish wines. Because we can. Also because we're wine geeks and can't help ourselves. We just need to know. A'ALTO from the Ribera del Douro region. Do yourself a favor. These guys are rogue. Not playing by the rules at all and it works. The A'ALTO P.S. isn't easy to locate but well worth the effort. I probably shouldn't tell you all about it. Might make it difficult for me to "get mine."
I lead a blessed life. Most people tend to take a moment to count their blessings. I tend to live in a constant state of giddy disbelief. Like a kid on Ritalin who's just got ahold of some Cherry Twizzlers, I giggle. Out loud and often. Like a form of goof ball turrets syndrome. It makes some people a bit nervous. They tend to keep their distance. Which is good, cuz I tend to spit when I chortle.
Tonight I'm standing on my deck looking at the perfectly clear Arizona night sky. The stars are so numerous and bright that it's almost difficult to make out the 3 Kings of Orion's belt pointing at the Dog Star. (No, not the Keanu band.) And there are the Pleiades. And the Milky Way. And the Hubble. I'm enjoying my dinner, which consists of small chop stick bites of freshly steamed Basmati rice sprinkled with chicken stock out of a cardboard box. (when my partner Jen is out of town, dinner tends to get a bit random, lazy, and experimental.)
I never smoke cigars, but I happened to find one that a friend gave me. (Cohiba is a small town in South Carolina, right?) I have no idea how I'm supposed to go about properly lighting it. But it's lit. and I'm chasing the puffs with sips of 1968 Quinta Do Noval Colheita Port. My dog is staring at me with head cocked and one ear up. She has that "Jesus, you're not about to go buy a Hummer, are you?" look on her face. No, Miho. Relax. I'll be back. I'm just enjoying yet another moment. Another in a series of endless unbelievably inspiring moments.