Remembering the weekday Happy Hour

Detail with Frame

Remember those carefree days before parenthood, when 5:00 on a Tuesday or Wednesday meant something different than just going home because you’re tired and your feet hurt?  Do you remember the weekday happy hour?  Where else could we unload work day episodes about clients, customers or co-workers?  Where else could we share career advancement strategies, anxieties and sucesses?  And where else could we share juicy office gossip or find a little romance, smart or not-so-smart.  Well, the circle of work life still spins, my friends.    

   

Upon walking past “The Wurst”   http://thewurstpdx.com/  on my way home, I stop to observe two people enjoying quiet conversation.  Framed by the glass wall of bottled spirits, they look almost cliché sitting in the backdrop of a crisp, green pool table.  It feels like the calm before a storm, perfectly staged in anticipation of a raucous crowd moving in.  

I pause before leaving, basking in the glow of the weekday happy hour.  I’m tempted to say something – to share the wisdom that age brings.  I want to reach out and say, “Savor these moments they only last so long!”  They look at me as I approach.  I can tell by their expressions what they’re thinking:  “Who is that weird creeper garden gnome dude?”  I come to my senses and remember the first rule of escape – no eye contact.  I exit quickly.  I’m tired and my feet hurt.  

Acrylic on board - 24" x 28" Framed