LEJ stomps a crust of snow from his gaiters n' boots, bangs his slats against the moss-rock hearth to loosen the ice, then leans them near the crackling spruce fire Alright, dammit, I'm ready for a turn behind the bar! Mick, Doug, Alison...still Guinnesses(Guinni ?) for you all? Spaw that'd be a giant Jack rocks? Hell,yes! Just came down through the trees where the powder's three feet deep, litte crust on top from a warm day yesterday and a cold one last night, but when you bust through, the crystals shatter and blast around you like little stars of light. I won't lie and say I made the run stone sober, because I had the bota full of warm cider and whiskey under my down vest. At the bottom of the Mountain, I could see the Tavern- little blue plume of smoke drifting from the chimney, sun shining warm on the comfortably indolent phoak soaking up sun and umbrella drinks on the deck. And who's the new waitress in the Santa Claus bikini?

Anyhoo, saw Cassady,Kerouac,Neil and seed smoking a giant Mexican ratweed splif under an enormous Ponderosa pine, so naturally I had to stop and...umm.. scold them (lotta good it did, lot it'll ever do), then I continued my leisurely ramble down to this hospitable abode, my altered consciousness causing the occasional crossing of my ski-tips which only once resulted in a quite refreshing face-plant.

Bottom line is HELL YES it's good to be among friends, and I will treat myself to a Carlsberg and a large juicy cheeseburger, all the while wheeling and dealing drinks to my loyal,hilarious,and quite enetrtaining clientele. And Spaw, NO- THE POSSUM MAY NOT BUY A ROUND! It's just an excuse for you to get double Jacks, and Bert still gets stuck with the tab...where the hell is Beebs? I can't sling all this hooch on my own!

And Lowe, you quaff that Absinthe with a clear conscience...I have reason to believe that Kesey has a litre stashed in the box marked Medical Supplies on the bus.

The once and future LEJ