Title provided by my friend and neighbor Marci, who bought the wine. So the wine didn't cost me anything, really, and wasn't all that expensive (for an expensive restaurant), but read on. Subtitle (provided by moi): today was supposed to be a Really Sad Day. But Marci called at about 1 pm and asked if I'd like to go to the art fair in Olde Towne. I figured it'd be good to get out of the house for a while, so I said yes, and Marci showed up in her '96 Jaguar convertible, with the top down. So we went to the art fair in style, and at about 3 Marci said she hadn't had anything to eat yet today and should we grab a bite? I hadn't eaten yet either, but I hadn't planned to because this was supposed to be a Day Of Sorrow, and I didn't plan to do fun things like eating.
But I realized I was indeed hungry, so we stopped by Jackson 20 and they said, alas, they wouldn't be serving food until 5. We walked around for another hour, during which I saw two things I loved. I bought one of them: a decorative ceramic plate to hang on the kitchen wall. I passed on the other: a large oil painting, impressionistic, my favorite style, a cityscape of a rainy day, with reflections on a wet sidewalk. A few small brushstrokes of vibrant color became 5 ladies in kimonos on the sidewalk. I loved it, I thought it was a steal at the price of $1300. I didn't buy it, because I'm in debt after the remodeling, after all, and I have one more semester of law school to pay for and, and, I Do Not Spend Money On Unneccessary Things.
At 4 pm I was feeling tired and suggested we have a glass of wine at Jackson 20, then order food when they started serving at 5. I knew when I said it that drinking one glass of wine would change my perspective on life and open my wallet. This is a fact of which I've been aware for at least 20 years: when I've had just one glass of wine or one beer I become very nearly a different person. I lose the ability to do math or write code, and I buy things I like without worrying about the cost.
I've learned to trust this alternate me. I've never regretted a purchase I've made under the influence of a glass of wine. Some fundamental change in my brain chemistry makes me, maybe, someone I like better than my sober self. I tell myself I've worked hard to get a good job, by the sweat of my brow I can afford this painting, and anyway, anyway, it's a thing of beauty and I will love it every day forever. So after we'd ordered the food, before it arrived, I ran back to the artist's booth and bought the painting, and carried it back to the restaurant, where we'd snagged a small bistro table outside, and I leaned it up against the railing and we praised it while we ate. Then we loaded it into the back seat of the Jaguar, where it stood up well above the back of the car, and drove down the George Washington Parkway with the top down and the wind flapping the plastic wrapped around the frame, and it was probably the coolest pure moment of my life so far.
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