So, I'm at the liquor store. I have a purchase in mind (Glenfiddich 15 for those of you who are curious). When at the liquor store, I like to take my time and window shop and see if anything new, exciting, or exotic has been stocked since my last visit. I slowly go up and down the aisles, taking in all the bourbons, Scotches, Irish, ryes and Canadians. As I'm doing this, a nattily dressed gentleman of about 70 years of age briskly walks into the store. He immediately goes to one spot ignoring all the other glistening bottles around him. He grabs one very specific bottle of something (a Scotch of some sort...I didn't look that close...it all happened too fast) and makes a beeline to the register. He pays and directly leaves. Time in store from selection to purchase to exit? About 47 seconds. This guy knows what he likes, and doesn't have time for all the other superfluous bullshit. He's probably been drinking the same whiskey for 40-50 years, and could give a rat's ass if another brand has an essence of honeyed heather or has been aged in port barrels. He simply doesn't have the time for such meaningless distraction. "Listen junior...are we having a dram? Or are we pulling our dick? You want to go "shopping"? Then perhaps you'd be better off looking at shoes with your lady. You want a drink? Get in. Get out. Go home. Pour two fingers (all things in moderation) and begin." I had the impression this guy was the Yoda of distilled spirits. I had to fight the urge to go over and shake his hand.
Although there's a fair chance this guy may be an alcoholic, I was left pondering on the greater philosophy that his approach to whiskey purchasing reflected...especially with romantic relationships. Find one you truly like, stick with it, and be satisfied. You can go on some sort of Quixote-like quest endlessly searching for perfection and undetectable nuance (triple matured in two kinds of oak and finished in three kinds of sherry casks!), and hold onto the belief that different is always better. It's not. It's all just marketing...even with people. Different is different, and not always better...and sometimes far worse. If you truly know yourself, and are capable of making rational, mature, as well as heartfelt, decisions, the odds of you continually finding something better are non-existent. So, really, stop fucking around, grow up, and start really enjoying life. Stop continually wondering what is just around the corner, and start enjoying what's actually right in front of you.*
* There's probably a joke to be made about enjoying a special someone and "two fingers" (to complete the whiskey/relationship analogy) but I am FAR too classy to make it here...although, safe to say, in my head, I already did.
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