DANKEST HOUR DURING THE OREGON WINTER

If the “Darkest hour is just before dawn,” when is the Dankest hour?

I dug into a dictionary to figure it out.

“Dank: disagreeably damp, musty, and typically cold.”

In other words, most every day of an Oregon winter.

Pelican Brewing added to the definition:

Hunting for the deepest heart of dankness, the brewers at Pelican have explored new depths of adventurous flavor and emerged triumphant with the assertive resiny, earthy pungency known as Dank. A bold blast of hop character with notes of pine tree, blackberry and stone fruit sets the stage, while malt undertones of biscuit and subtle caramel round out the flavor balance. A candied citrus impression leads to a clean hoppy finish. 

Is it a good beer for Dry January? A mostly Dry January? If you break the pledge, this is a good seasonal choice.

Dankest Hour Lights Up Darkest Hour

From wiki:

In his ‘finest hour’ speech, on 16 June 1940, Churchill described the collapse of France following the German invasion as “the darkest hour in French history.”

I like to think French men and women would have raised a glass in resistance right about then. It would probably be a glass of wine, but the intent was the same.

Luckily, we have the Dankest Hour to raise before a shared Finest Hour.

Here’s a toast to the brothers in arms sleeping on the U.S. Capitol floors.

Add a toast or five to the Americans who showed up to vote in November to change the course of history. Not Blue America, not Red America, but the country we know as the United States of America.

In the recent past the ‘united’ part has been MIA. What clear-minded person with a national platform would say, “We’re doing pretty good if you exclude the states that didn’t vote for me.”

That’s not doing any good for anybody, not with the covid pandemic sweeping people away at a rate approaching the American deaths of WWII.

As the years stack up we move further away from the participants of what is called the greatest cataclysmic, catastrophic, upheaval inflicted upon the civilized world. That’s what I call it around here.

You may call it that too with no complaint from me.

With direct witnesses dying quietly with their memories, we’re left to either read and travel and do history first hand, or listen to it explained. That’s a problem when someone stands before gravestones and wonders why anyone would want to serve in the armed forces.

A quick heads-up from an Army veteran: They didn’t join because they were suckers and losers, or to be casually suspected of the same. Where does that idea come from? It comes from someone who is conflicted. I’m not the expert here, but I’ve been around enough and paid attention to where I was and what I heard.

One soft man who came home from Canada after President Jimmy Carter’s blanket pardon of Vietnam War draft dodgers enjoyed portraying himself as a salty dog of a veteran.

To enhance his image he shopped Andy and Bax and dressed in military drag. I knew his backstory, but if you didn’t you might guess he was a proud veteran symbolizing the sacrifice and dignity of his service instead of man in conflict with himself.

Jump boots and an Austrian loden cape works the magic.

Another man, a commander of no one, a non-vet who bought his big gun because nothing was going down on ‘his watch,’ who never stood watch, never showed up in any uniform, any formation, any march, anything resembling discipline and order, likes giving their opinion.

And it’s a forceful opinion that might stand as strong as the draft dodger in uniform to the casual acquaintance. For them, anything they disagree with is a lie. If they forget something and can’t find it, it’s been stolen. In classic ‘what about-ism’ they compare apples to horse biscuits without the all important taste test.

In a world of science deniers, of mask deniers, of diminished common decency, too many have found their sweet spot.

Why not give it a rest on MLK Day and raise a glass in union? If you’re reading this in a country outside the U.S., or in the haven of hate between your ears, this is who Martin Luther King, Jr was, and continues to be:

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.“

Last word from Muhammad Ali.