Happy Birthday, Neal
I know. And you're absolutely right. Why is the inaugural post of what
surely is a Boozer's Blog about this guy, this creep? How
could I?
What can I say other than that's the way I'm wired.
That's
how I roll, Yo.
I'm also a terrible procrastinator, always have been, so I have to set
deadlines for myself just to get things done. Like this blog, f'rinstance
I
had resolved that this would be up by New Year's day.
Nothing
happened.
I prayed that I'd have this going by St Amand's Day,
the patron saint of bartenders.
Still nothing.
I was certain, as
sure as the day I was born, that I'd have this up by my 40th
birthday (March 4th, for all those who still owe me a drink).
Nope.
I
paraded around touting St. Patrick's Day as the kick-off.
I
hadn't done shillelagh.
So I absolutley laid out March 20th as
the drop dead deadline for this here blog. I mean, if I can't get my
shit together to write about booze before the birthday of the Napoleon
of Prohibition, I'm a lost cause.
So welcome to The Thirstin' Howl where, if you'll pardon the occasional "yacketayakking screaming vomiting whispering facts and memories", we'll have a few drinks, crack some jokes and possibly learn a thing or two along the way. And don't mind the mess, we still have some decorating to do.
So just who is the old duffer above? Glad you asked. I'll be brief.
Neal
Frederick Dow was one of the weirder cats ever to come out of
Portland Maine, the little town where I live. He was born in 1804 of
solid New England Quaker stock, the kind of New England Quaker stock
that thinks Hate-Evil is a man's surname. In 1851 he became Mayor of
Portland with the backing of anti-immigrant, anti-Irish, and various
Temperance groups. In June of that year, Dow cajoled Governor John
Hubbard to sign a bill into law that outlawed the sale and manufacture
of alcohol. Thus Maine became the first state to enact a blanket
Prohibition law and Dow became a movement's standard bearer.
So Happy 103rd General! And I won't forget to put Rose's (Lime juice) on your grave.