One of the great things about living in Greensboro has been the rise of local breweries. Since I've lived here, three have opened and there are more apparently in the works. We like them because they're low key, the beer is good, and we don't get weird looks when we roll in with Elliot in tow (often we aren't the only parents with small children there). The first of these new breweries was Pig Pounder, and it's a spot that Elizabeth and I continue to enjoy. It's a brewery that specializes in British style beers, something that sets it apart from some of the others in town.
Yesterday, I went up there with Merlin, our lab/basset that also shares my love of craft beer, and met the assistant taproom manager, Tolan.
Tolan
Tolan has a true family name. Her first name is her paternal grandmother's maiden name, and her middle name is also a maiden name from one of the branches of her family tree. She was born and raised right here in Greensboro.
Tolan was always a beer lover, and her brother's girlfriend was the GM at Pig Pounder. The GM asked Tolan if she would be interested in covering a few shifts because of her beer knowledge. On her first day, the person training Tolan went over the computer system once and then left ("I was thrown to the wolves!" Tolan said). She ran with it, though, and did such a good job that the GM offered her a manager position that day.
"Now I give tours of the brewery in addition to helping to manage the taproom." Her favorite beer at Pig Pounder is the Boarrior IPA (mine is the ESP...Extra Special Pig). She enjoys what she does but doesn't drink as much beer as people would think for someone working at a brewery. "I'm here all day and it's not like I can drink behind the bar!"
As we were talking, one of her co-workers came over and asked why I had a HPU sticker on my car. It turns out the both the co-worker and Tolan are HPU graduates. Small world indeed! Tolan studied Psychology there, and we got a chance to compare notes about the professors we know in that department.
Tolan said that her New Years resolution was to pet more dogs. Seeing my opening, I ran and got Merlin and brought him inside. He was a hit (being a lab/basset, he usually is). Tolan made sure that he was the star of the bar.
What is your favorite joke?
Tolan: Why can't witches have babies? Because warlocks have hollow-weenies.
What meal reminds you of home?
Tolan: Crockpot chicken and rice. You put two blocks of cream cheese, a can of cream of mushroom soup, chopped mushrooms, vermouth, and chicken and rice in a crockpot all day. It makes this creamy, delicious dinner, super good. (I'll be trying this one soon).
If you could bring back one musician, who would it be and why?
Tolan: Otis Redding. I was on a huge kick for awhile with him. I wanted someone that I could listen to over and over again, and he's definitely someone I could do that with.
What is the most significant thing that happened this year?
Tolan: The advanced legalization of marijuana. I think that's a good step towards progress...and I'll leave it at that!
Will the world be better or worse in 20 years?
Tolan: Continuing on our current trend? Probably worse. I really wasn't happy about the election, and I've been even more unhappy with how things have been run. The nominations and everyone he's putting in his cabinet, I just can't see how this is a good thing.
Lars: How do we make things better then? What is something that we can do? Other than wait it out for four years?
Tolan: The best thing that we can do is educate as many people as we can about our views and values. And more than that, we need to educate people about what they are actually voting for. Trump didn't win in the major cities, where people are exposed to wider ranges of views. He won in a lot of smaller places where people are cut off or not exposed to people that aren't like themselves.
I've been making an effort to have that kind of mindset. Instead of feeling defeated or angry or frustrated, I'm trying to be more positive and more action oriented. What else can we do to make things better? I agree with Tolan that talking more about what's important to us, and having conversations with those that we disagree with, could go a long way towards healing some of the fractures that came up over the last year.
Lots of good beer could probably help too.
No comments:
Post a Comment