The CheckerBoard

To understand this you have to understand a little bit about the culture here. They just think about alcohol differently.

When I first moved down here from East Tennessee I had a little bit of culture shock. Having grown up Southern Baptist in the buckle of the Bible belt it absolutely blew my mind the first time I went to a men's retreat with my church and we sat around the campfire drinking beer and playing poker. It's just kind of part of what they do down here.

I was the president of our Chamber of Commerce for a year. When you went to one of our chamber events, you had beer, wine, or went thirsty.

A few weeks ago my wife and I went to see our 11-year-old neighbor play the role of Jasmine in the children's community theater performance of Aladdin. At intermission they served wine, beer, and a full wet bar. At a children's musical. On a Sunday. And it was a matinee.

Texans love them some alcohol.

On a side note, and I may catch some flak for this, I have recently been converted from Jack Daniels. If you can find it anywhere, try Rebecka Creek whiskey. Absolutely amazing.

So true. Not sure how it would play in East Tennessee though. I think there are enough teetotalers that there would be a lot of people who chose to give up their tickets in protest. There are a whole lot of people, especially in the spiritual south, who just refuse to be around it. Being in close proximity to it could potentially dull the glow of their halo.