WRINGING OUT MY EXISTENTIAL UNDERSHORTS

As many of you could guess, I have been in an introspective mood as of late. A lot on my mind I guess. The nuances both inside and outside the wine industry serve to percolate in my brain, and at times, I simply want to belch out my musings into the open air, whether those standing in close proximity wish to experience them or not.

I feel some things are shifting around, priorities and such, that I am in a perpetual state of reevaluation. With the economy still in something of a fugue state, it’s really hard to gauge what people are really looking for in a wine except the descriptions “good” and “inexpensive” – geography be damned these days.

And with the nonsensical litigation that is HR 5034, it’s hard to say how it will affect the wine business without saying the words “monopolies” and “bankruptcies” – you know it is only going to benefit a select few, and be a massive detriment to everyone else.

I could get caught up in the whole “the-little-guys-are-always-getting-screwed” debate, but then I would be stark raving mad, running naked down the street, urinating on any green Mercedes Benz I pass by, yelling “I’m Bill O’Reilly’s bastard love nephew.” You can get angry about how the concept of free market economy is a lie, unless you’re already a big corporation, but this and all the other conspiracy theories can land you deep in a padded cell.

I was at the warehouse today (which doubles as a small convenient store) and a guy came in to buy a pint of Seagram’s Gin. Our cashier went to get the money and the guy – obviously inebriated (and mind you, it’s only 9:30 in the A.M.) – begins to crack the seal on the bottle and says, “I left my credit card in my other pocket.” Not only was he trying to pull a fast one, but he was soused and it was immediately obvious he was destitute. The guy wreaked to high heaven, and I realized this guy was at the bottom. The cashiers chased him out of the store, but his ghost hasn’t left me since then.

I had recently written (or should I say emailed) Senator Mitch McConnell, the Minority leader of the Senate from right here in Northern Kentucky, and was surprised yesterday by a response from his office. Yeah, it was a form letter, but it was surprising nonetheless due to my gross liberal leanings. I feel that we are at a time when we have an aging and obsolete infrastructure that is in desperate need of rebuilding, and now is not the time to think about the deficit. I am sure a lot of folks don’t and won’t agree with me, but in my brief travels, I have seen roads with enormous potholes, I stare at one of the country’s worst interstate bridges every single day, our schools, hospitals, police forces, fire stations, the power grid – I could go on and on. I was intrigued by the tone of Senator’s McConnell’s letter, alluding to a bipartisan tone I don’t hear about in the news or see in my daily life. Seems like the powers that be have divided us all and aim to keep us as far apart as they can – using wedge issues to make us choose sides when all we should be doing is mending fences and building bridges.

I probably seem as if I am talking about a million different things all at once, but it all comes back to one thing – a better tomorrow. We all want a shot at prosperity that for many of us, is just out of reach. I won’t sit here and tell you I have it bad. I don’t. I am no Bill Gates, and I don’t tool around in a brand new sports car. I have big bills like the majority of you, and wonder how they’re going to be paid from week-to-week. But I am not where Mr. Seagrams Gin guy is, though I’ve been close. I am sure many of you have.

A lot of times, when we get all consumed with the wine business, we find ourselves forgetting a lot of the little things. Passion consumes, and when you throw your passion into a business with as much abandon as I have with wine, you often realize (or are forced to realize) how insignificant it is in the grand scheme of things. Granted, many people whose whole livelihood resides in the passionate pursuits of consumers and retailers, it is something else entirely. I mean no disrespect to any of them, for I count a great many of them my friends. At the core of this business is a commodity that embraces so many different facets of society – art, science, commerce, philosophy, and yes, politics and even religion (Biodynamics anyone?) – and the commodity is grape juice.

It’s ironic that a group of lawmakers would find a non-issue and make it potential legislation that would complicate many lives and enhance the bottom lines of only a small group of people. It’s sad that when these lawmakers should be tackling issues that matter – the economy, the wars in the Middle East, financial reform, education, immigration, etc., etc. Likewise, we as a society tend to take the easy roads, complaining and taking stock of our shortfalls and unrequited desires, when we should find ourselves blessed for each breath we take, every moment we live, and every opportunity we get.

I know I let the day’s machinations overtake me, and I get caught up in the hyperbole to the point where steam vents from my ears and I can feel the cauldron of my inerts begin to boil. Yet where does that lead? The ER? The unemployment line? The nuthouse? Everyone has a boss that is excessively demanding and won’t believe in your work, but that shouldn’t mean you have to hate your job. Just because the politicians enjoy gridlock and fight to complicate everything doesn’t mean we don’t still live in a great country. And just because your lottery numbers weren’t the winning numbers doesn’t mean you didn’t win something?

Holy cow! I can really get up on the existential soapbox sometimes. We now return you to your regularly scheduled dichotomy.