Americans are overall suspicious of Pleasure. The political Right  focus their disdain on pleasures of the flesh; The political Left tends to go for things ‘bad for you’.  I remember once putting a bottle of my favorite fruit/vegetable juice in my shopping cart at Whole Foods, only to be accosted by a stranger telling me how much sugar is in it per serving and it was bad for me. One of my favorite authors wrote about ‘Endangered Pleasures”, stating we need to guard zealously against the Gloom those lovely things* that make daily life a pleasure.

I vote for the restoration of the good will and name of Happy Hour.

Happy Hour was once upon a time the delightful reward at the end of the week for the working man or woman. After work you scuttled down to your favorite watering hole, where the bartender knew you and what you liked. It was the Friday evening group therapy session, but focused on good cheer and a bit of gin. Back when we weren’t so worried about rigid boundaries, you went to happy hour with your coworkers to shake off the week’s work and loosen up for the weekend.  It was a happy hour indeed.

Nowadays we aren’t supposed to go to a bar but to the gym or rush home to cram as much activity as possible into the next 48 hours.  Everyone should be doing something more productive and/or more healthy than wasting time (the horror!) nibbling bar food (bad for you) and having a beer.

Puritan Heritage combined with The Surgeon General makes a sour austere couple indeed.

My weekday evenings are full up with exercise, lean eating, and home work, but Friday night is a few drinks at Kobolt  on Main St. They make a fabulous manhattan there. I will have one next Friday, in honor of Spo-fans far and near.

*Naps, Profanity, Martinis, and Bacon, to name a few. 

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