Rather than review a specific bar or brewery, this post is about some miscellaneous topics that continue to fill my cranium at the beginning of the year.

Welcome to Thebeerchaser. If you’re seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post #1) 

For the Record…

In previous posts, I’ve mentioned my eclectic taste in music as evidenced on my iPhone – previously on CDs, cassettes and before that vinyl – 33, 78 and 45 rpms, in part, from my dad’s platters. 

He had a great collection and it was one reason that from junior high, I became a fan of Big Band music – Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Bennie Goodman, et al.  Background is in the first post I wrote about my wonderful parents, who met in New York City in the mid-forties when both worked for American Airlines. (#2 – #3)

The young couple established their home in Merrick, Long Island, where my sister, Lynne, was born in 1946 and I in 1948.   Dad loved Big Band music and they danced to the Glenn Miller Orchestra at the Glen Island Casino.  They became friends with Paula Kelly and the Modernaires who performed there. 

I evolved in college and listened to groups like the Four Seasons, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, et al. (And as mentioned in my last post, during the time Craig “Dude” Hanneman was my roommate, The King of Cool – Dean Martin.)

As I progressed in my music (although unfortunately not in my selection of fiction) and I became enamored with both classical and jazz music.  How I became an ardent fan of country-western, I don’t remember, but a major share of my playlists are now the greats such as George Jones, Don Williams (yes, I often get asked), Alan Jackson and Merle Haggard.

Rather than just using iTunes or YouTube, in my home office, I have a turntable and receiver and often play selections from the albums and CDs shown below:

Not wanting to cling to the past, but the trend in country music is not positive.  The Roadie Music blog summarizes it well in a 2021 post, “What Happened to Country Music”:

“One could argue that country music from 30 or more years ago is close to extinct and that what you get now is a mix of pop and rock with a lap string guitar added and a southern accent.”

And Alan Jackson lamented the state of the music he loves during a recent interview by declaring that “country music is gone — and it’s not coming back.” 

He and George Strait state their position in a wonderful number “Murder on Music Row.”  Check out the superb melody on this link YouTube and this excerpt of the lyrics — Outstanding!  (#4 – #5)

“But someone killed country music, cut out it’s heart and soul
They got away with murder down on music row.

For the steel guitars no longer cry and fiddles barely play
But drums and rock ‘n roll guitars are mixed right up in your face.

They thought no one would miss it, once it was dead and gone
They said no one would buy them old, drinking and cheating songs
Well, there ain’t no justice in it and the hard facts are cold
Murder was committed down on music row.”

Another Perfect Example

Country-western tunes are often about aspirations.  I came across this one recently on YouTube (check it out) and added it to my playlist.  After all, who can quibble with the prayer “Lord Help Me Be the Kind of Person My Dog Thinks I Am ” by the Bellamy Brothers. (#6)

And the lyrics convey it well as evidenced by this excerpt:

“Sometimes I go to church on Sunday,
With Saturday’s whiskey on my breath,
But I keep praying and promising to quit
Before I drink myself to death,
Help me walk the straight and narrow,
Change this light into a lamp,
Oh Lord help me be the kind of person my dog thinks I am.

Now the preacher’s been real good to me,
But I know who’s really been there in a jam.
Lord help me be the kind of person my dog thinks I am.”

Country ballads often convey redemption such as George Jones’ classic “The Right Left Hand”:

“And the vows I took before
Were all forever more
But no matter how I tried, they came undone.

I put a golden band on the right left hand this time
And the right left hand put a golden band on mine.”

And this one I recently discovered is the epitome.  Check the lyrics and melody to this country-gospel hit, “Jesus and Mama Always Loved Me” by Confederate Railroad first sung in 1992 which rose to #2 on the US Country Chart. (#7)

Now to finish, I have to share some of the fictitious country-western titles I’ve kept in my files for years – from the Oregonian’s former “The Edge” column.  I don’t think either Kacey Musgrave or even Willie Nelson is going to sing any of these:

She was a bootlegger’s daughter and I loved her still

I’m sorry I made you cry, but at least your face is cleaner

I wish I were a woman so I could go out with a man like me

And in honor of the lawyers – “I can’t pass the bar and there’s one on my way home”

And Speaking of the Bar….

One of my favorite Beerchasing companions is attorney, Jim Westwood – a fellow Oregon City High School graduate where his mom, Catherine, tried to teach me the distinction between nominative and genitive cases for two years in Latin class.

In fact, to “honor” his mom, I’ll relate the dialogue at the last bar we visited when I gave the bartender my order:

Beerchaser                      I’ll have a martinus.

Jim:                                  Don, that should be “martini

 Beerchaser:                    Jim, if I had wanted a double, I would have told him.

Jim and I have been friends through legal-related issues and shared civic endeavors and then mug-raising for almost forty years.  I tried to relate some of his story on my blog post published in 2013 where he was named a Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter.

This outstanding lawyer just turned eighty and the collage below, which I sent for his birthday, demonstrates his personality and affinity for Beerchasing.

Regardless of your political affiliation or philosophy, it’s imperative – possibly more than any time in US history – that Americans have a good grasp of the US Constitution.  And I could go into a rant about the dearth of effective civic courses in our high schools.

That’s why Jim and his fellow Oregon coaches in the We the People National Competition deserve accolades both for their dedication and effectiveness in teaching these principles.

“In the last 20 years, teams representing the State of Oregon have earned six National titles, two National Runner-Up titles, six Third Place wins, and 23 top-ten finishes.

…The We the People National Finals, hosted by parent organization The Center for Civic Education, takes place each year in Washington, D.C. Approximately 48 teams compete each year, representing almost all U.S. states and territories.

Except for one year when he coached full time at Portland’s Parkrose High School, he was a unit coach at Grant every year between 2002 and 2020.  And he’s remained pretty involved at Grant and other schools such as DeLaSalle North Catholic.

Four times the team he coached or assisted won the National Championship!   The Grant Generals won the title in 2013, 2015 and 2018.  In 2024, the team from Grant beat more than 48 state winners nationwide.  

And you would be amazed at the regimen these kids face to prepare.  They may not run wind sprints, but the equivalent of football Daily Doubles might consist of immersing themselves in the Bill of Rights in the morning and probing the nuances of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment over lunch. (#8)

In 2013, Marilyn Cover, Executive Director of the Classroom Law Project (CLP), stated:

“(Jim’s) a great teacher, a great coach and a great model citizen.’  He was honored last year as the 2012 Legal Citizen of the Year by the Classroom Law Project.”

To demonstrate why Jim is such a good coach, I first want to preface with the historic figure he most admires – George Washington.  That’s why the Multnomah Bar Association in 2013 presented him with the individual portrait shown in the photo below by his Pulitzer winning friend, political cartoonist, Jack Ohman. 

As we entered one bar a few years ago Jim commented:

“It must have been easy for George when he got asked for ID at a bar.  All he had to do was show them a quarter.”  (#9)

Well in 2015, Coach Westwood announced to his team that if they won the National Championship, he would get a tattoo to recognize that victory.  “1783” was inked on his left arm. For those wondering, it was the year Washington bade farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern and resigned as Commander-in-Chief.

Grant won again in 2018 and his second tattoo followed with a continuation of the Washington theme.  Jim stated:

“The cursive writing above 1783 consists of the first two letters (with a small ‘o’ to complete the abbreviation of ‘George’) from George Washington’s signature on the Constitution as president of the 1787 Convention.”

He retired from being a full-time coach in 2019, but as Jim, with his characteristic modesty, then stated:

“I intended to fade into nothingness, but as has happened with other retiring coaches, Grant Con team is the Hotel California.  You can never leave. The best description of me is ‘involved volunteer.”‘

I would suggest that the alumni from Jim’s team would not only row him across the Delaware River, but even try the Columbia (in honor of Jim’s law school.)

Although he was a volunteer and not a coach at the time of the 2024 victory, the ink flowed again and requires an explanation as well as an illustration of a lawyer’s logic:

“The Washington family coat of arms features three stars in a row. When Grant won Nationals last April, that was my thought for a tattoo design – three stars. 

But then I was struck by the similarity of the Grant High logo – a ‘G’ with four stars in a row.  So I killed two birds by doing the four-star design to honor both Washington and U.S. Grant High School.” (#10 – #11)

The Oregon competition for We The People took place on January 25th.  Grant placed third and also received special recognition for their outstanding presentation. Cheers to the kids and their coaches for the exemplary commitment.

External Photo Attribution

#1. Wikimedia Commons (File:Vinilos distintos tamaños.jpg – Wikimedia Commons)  Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.  Author: Banfield – 5 April 2010.

*2.  (https://www.amazon.com/Orchestra-Live-Glen-Island-Casino/dp/B009H43Y3K)

*3.   Wikimedia Commons – Public Domain – (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_Kelly_(singer)#:~:text=By%20CBS%20Radio/CBS%20Photo%20-) This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1926 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice.  Source: CBS Radio 1951.

#4. Wikimedia Commons (File:George Strait on stage.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Author: Craig ONeal – 7 April 2008.

#5 Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Alan jackson at pentagon.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) This image is a work of a U.S. military or Department of Defense employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain in the United States.  Author:  Joe Burlas – September 2002.

#6. Wikimedia Commons (File:The Bellamy Brothers.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author: Jarrett Gaza – 16 April 2013.

#7. Wikimedia Commons (File:Confederate Railroad2019.jpg – Wikimedia Commons)  Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.  Author: Jdkwv  – 28 December 2021.

#8. .  Center for Civic Education (Release: Portland’s Grant High School Places First in Center for Civic Education’s Nationwide Competition on the Constitution – civiced.org).

#9.  Multnomah Bar Association

#10. Public Domain Wikimedia Commons (File:COA George Washington.svg – Wikimedia Commons) – This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Ysangkok at English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide. 2006.

#11.  Grant High School Facebook ((3) grant high school portland – Search Results | Facebook).