Thursday: Bartenders

Tonight, celebrated a birthday at Poole’s in downtown Raleigh. It is a fabulous restaurant with its menu on the wall, changing with the season, the bounty of the earth and the imagination of the chef. It is the kind of place that I love – where there are no reservations, no classes of patrons, and a wonderful spirit of people working within its four walls and three dimensions.

But the well-made drinks and unique wines were described with an artistry that few can truly appreciate. A citrusy wine that were not words memorized from a sales rep, but remembered from a personal experience. I had a bourbon drink to start the night that coupled an expressive orange with a ginger liqueur that morphed with each sip. The wine was opened with ease, and served cold, with an ever fresh glass to keep it where it should be – not so cold that it freezes the teeth and masks the taste, but cool enough to remind you that it was 100 freaking degrees outside.

A good meal, served in a sincere way, is one of life’s great joys. Most of mine have been had in a restaurant, of varying environments, and I could remember most by the food, the company and the conversation (in that order). Tonight’s was a keeper.

The aftermath, of just enjoying what God has painted on the sky, and in our lives, was good, but I felt the melancholy in my soul began to strengthen then overwhelm. It kept me from really enjoying – the alcohol was not cutting the sting – and I fall asleep tonight with the distinct thought that I cannot keep my eyes a moment longer for fear they may be filled with tears for reasons far more complicated than a wilted love or an uncertain emotion.

But the moon – from the parking lot of Whole Foods in Raleigh, where I can never go without thinking of my friends Matthew, Ann and Peter, was remarkable in its dance with the clouds and colors of a closing day…