One More Boot for the Road
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In some ways, I felt it had all built up to that evening. Six years of living in New York. One final goodbye party. Had I overcome the challenges of growing old and living in the City and actually made relationships? I already knew the answer to that. It's nice to have that point you can hold on to though.
And let's be honest: saying "it had all built up to that evening" is a bit dramatic. Sorry for going a bit strong on that one. There's a tinge of truth to the thought though. Just a tinge.
Foolishly, I had scheduled the event to start at 8:00pm. 7:43pm actually. I still can't remember why. I never make it out that early for something - why would I expect my late-arriving friends to do so? I told the Koelner Bierhalle, the bar hosting the event, that I was expecting about 50 people. By 8:30, there were maybe 5 people there. The bar started giving away my table reservations. By 10:30, we had done a pretty good job at clogging up the bar's main thoroughfare.
Boots of beer began to arrive. Das BOOT(S)! Knowing how fleeting events like these are, I tried to keep track of the time. So many people I wanted to go one-on-one with, delve deep into conversation. So many good people. Why do we always wait for these kinds of moments to get get-togethers getting? You all are such great people and mean so much to me - throw away that schedule and all that work and let's get together for a good chat.
I looked at my watch and it was suddenly past 3:00am. So much for keeping track of time. The group had been withered down to a few who wanted to be sure that I didn't get stuck with the tab. Thankfully, surprisingly, everyone had contributed to the $1500+ tab and we didn't need to worry about anything. Dale, the owner of the Koelner Bierhalle even gave me a parting present: DAS BOOT!
Thank you all for coming out. It truly meant the world to me. Walking up to the bar at the start of the evening, I found myself getting somewhat emotional. "No tears" I told myself. I held to that, all the way to the end. Thank you all.
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