Summer Treats

Hey there,

How are you doing? Living the dream? As for me, I've been enjoying the summer here in the Northwest. You know what that means- bike rides, kite-flying, mowing the lawn without a shirt on, skinny-dipping at the local community pool, etc. But do you know what I like best about summer? Root beer floats. That's right, my friend. Call me old-fashioned, but there's nothing I like better than a frosty mug on a hot summer day. Why, it was just last weekend that Cindy and I were driving back to Seattle from Portland. About halfway through the three-hour drive, we stopped off at a roadside diner to take a break. The weather was hot, we were tired, and we were craving something cool and refreshing. Cindy ordered a root beer float, and goddamn, it was delicious. It's amazing how a mere two ingredients can combine to create something so wonderful. And do you know what my favorite part is? It's the leftover soda-melted ice cream mixture at the bottom of the mug. Hell, I would be satisfied just drinking that stuff by itself. Which brings me to my latest invention: Root Creme. That's right, I'm going to take that creamy, vanilla-flavored root beer (the "dregs", if you will) and put it in a bottle. Pretty soon, you're going to see this thing in the refrigerated section of every grocery store across the nation. And people will go crazy. Is that a genius idea, or what? Now I need to come up with a mascot to promote this concoction. I'm thinking of a beige-colored hippo wearing a parka, but I'm still working out the details.

This week's tune is from Andrew Bird, who we saw perform a few days ago at the Woodland Park Zoo. It's a cover of an old WWI-era ballad about soldiers returning home from the war. Enjoy: