The decision to dedicate my purpose to my boy is a seamless one. I want to demonstrate to him that the challenges, the failures, and the successes learned from those struggles are the most beautiful, rewarding moments of life. And what better way to teach him how to overcome the bleak botches of existence than as an Evertonian.
Read More5:30am CST. I wake up, filled with anxiety. I’m consumed by the stress that is the reality of Everton facing the league leaders, The Arsenal. After weeks, no, months, wait, years of turmoil, the Toffees were forced to reckon with another new era. Within the next hour, our boys at the bottom of the table would meet the Premier League leaders, maybe even the best club in all of Europe.
Read MoreIn tiny groups, a server escorted us to another room. Down a short, narrow staircase awaited an open door to a speakeasy of sorts. Inside the secret room, stood a small bar with an invitation for guests to stand. Behind the bar was Takuma Watanabe, founder of Martiny’s, and an experience of a lifetime. Takuma greeted us and the ceremony commenced. With a homeopathic setup, he delicately crafted individual elixirs with surgeon-like precision. One by one, the aromatics poetically filled our senses, breathing life back into our tired souls. Smiles furnished our faces. Our hearts thanked our maestro without words. We took our finals sips, replenished and rescued, then, faded away like our eyes were wide shut.
Read MoreI wrote this essay one week after Antony Bourdain passed. Mental health is an ever-growing issue in the United States (and I’m sure many other parts of the world) that is disturbingly ignored. I battled severe depression for many years, but I was unable to articulate/share how I felt.
Read MoreThrough my twenties I travelled across the country for my job. I took every opportunity to stay on the road; no one, nor one thing held me back from avoiding the mundane interactions of life. Ironically, though, I was barely experiencing life, because I was spending it alone.
Read MoreAs I write this article, a bottle of Pappy Family Reserve 15 is bidding for $1,500.00 on Ebay. Last Saturday, my cousin Peter carried a bottle of the same Bourbon through Starved Rock State Park in a brown paper bag. He cradled the bottle like a bum whom panhandled enough for a ceremonial bottle of malt liquor.
Read MoreBitter Pops is a neighborhood bottle shop that’s created a platform for brewers to engage–face-to-face–with their enthusiastic patrons as we all journey through the emerging world of craft beer/spirits.
Read MoreHe embraced the two-foot trophy with the tender care of a child and the pride of an olympian.
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