Derby Day

A colleague asked me to taste his mint-infused Maker's Mark yesterday, and it reminded me of some old friends.

We'd met at the Irish bar. They were a fun bunch of curmudgeons with esoteric interests. They'd get together and translate the lyrics to Secret Agent Man into Old Norse. They would argue over points of infinite granularity and have near break-ups over things like who made the best mint julep. One of them, H5, was famous for leaving greetings on my answering machine on Einstein's birthday or the winter solstice.

Because of the Maker's Mark and the Derby today, I am reminded of their mint julep contest held on a Derby Day in the early 80's. I am sure that I had at least one of each friend's recipe. I do not recall the race.

I do recall our carrying a friend to the car to drive him home.

I do not recall ever desiring another mint julep.

I tried to find a snippet of Secret Agent Man in Old Norse that would be a fitting end to this post. It could not be found. Even in today's world of the Internet, these men's interests are enduringly esoteric.