At The Bar The Other Night
(or)
Did I Mention It's The Greatest Thing Ever Made For Television?

There is no better fuck-you to insomnia than going nuclear, or as I like to call it: The Vodka Solution. Sure, the doctor gave me some healthy Pavlovian solutions that work, but those may take half the night. And there is always sleeping pills, but they kill me for two days at least.

I got the coffee ready to go for the next morning and I could get a little extra shut-eye as it would be Writing Day and with my computer in the shop, all I really had to do on my list was to head to the library for research on Sorta Secret Project #1 and then return home to read some Hunter S. Thompson and then do some menial work on Sorta Secret Project #2. So I hopped on my bike and headed down the street to the bar for some cheap vodka and Premiums.

It was a nice night to medidate at the bar as no one was inclined to talk to me except for the bartender and waitress. I drifted off into an utter state of relaxation. Towards closing, I saw a guy I had talked to last winter. Then we had talked about sports and the conversation somehow ended with him telling me that I had to, just had to see "Band of Brothers." I told him I meant to, that my brother had been telling me the same thing for months. But this guy's testimony - something about him and his dad being really moved while watching it together - set me in motion to finally moving the miniseries to the top of my Netflix queue.

I walked up to the guy, re-introduced myself, blurted out something about how he had pushed me towards "Band of Brothers", and that it was the greatest thing ever made for television. We immediately leaped into a conversation about the series. As the bar folks encouraged us to leave, we recalled the episode where Easy Company discovers a concentration camp but weren't sure what it was at first. Maybe it was the smoke (nice try Tuomala, there's a smoking ban in effect in your fine city), but I think we damn near teared up while discussing that episode. We parted ways before the staff got mad at us.

Upon my return home I was strangely thankful I didn't own "Band of Brothers" on DVD - I could easily see myself watching it until the dawn's early light. I slept well that night after going nuclear.