December 31, 2021
Apparently I need to brush up on my lowest level addition skills/algebra fundamentals, that or maybe just return to trusting the basic, linear movement of a calendar. *I hope he doesn’t talk about the passing of time again.* I’m not. Or, at least, not like that. In miscounting the days I spent my remarkably shallow reserve of sentimental material on last week’s newsletter, one assumed last hurrah for the year. Almost. Time to put on some Willie Nelson and try to wring out the final drops of the sweet stuff.
We’re all largely accepting of a constant low level uncertainty in our lives, because - well, we kind of have to be. An accepted subtraction from our autonomy that is exchanged for all varieties of adventure, romance, and tragedy. We’re now passing through another year where that quotient of uncertainty has been higher than we want or need. And yet, up against new hurdles and an easy retreat to pessimism, we continue to overcome.
It was another year where we were quick to define and redefine a night out with friends and family. Where rhythms were cautiously settled into. I spent a great deal of time at Eastbound this year, and saw those rhythms become set, disrupted, and reset. I watched new staff pick up relationships with well established regulars, as they forged new relationships of their own. Familiar faces went from picking up their nightly pint at retail, to the patio, to back along the bar, treating each with a sense of comfort and belonging. After a day spent lugging benches and chairs in and out of vans, weaving carefully through the brewpub, referencing old photos and foggy memories. Would anyone be excited to be back to the original layout? Would anyone really notice? Of course you did. Because you’d been here through it all, and were as excited as any of us to have it resemble the home-away-from-home of your memories. Those nights where one more drink became pluralized, and maybe just a snack turned into a coursed meal.
If last week’s newsletter was truly from all of us at Eastbound, then let this be from me on everyone’s behalf. From someone who happily spends too much time at work, and wouldn’t trade it for anything.
To everyone who continues to make Eastbound Brewing Co everything that it is, from regulars to drop-ins, front-of-house staff to the kitchen (and of course Brewmaster Dave). Thank you for filling these four walls with light, joy, singing, dancing, and an undying commitment to sharing the finer things with those we love.
Cheers.