I know that Thanksgiving is over and many of us have already turned our attention to Christmas, but given the current circumstances of a wild card administration coming into office and the fact that a significant portion of our forests are on fire (all of which can feel a bit apocalyptic when I’m in a somber mood), I think it’s okay to take some extra time to focus on all of the good things in our lives that we’re grateful for. Also, I spent most of the holiday in a food coma so I didn’t really have the energy to reflect and be thankful. So here it goes.
I’m thankful for the trail crews that create and maintain the paths that keep me entertained and challenged. I’m thankful for the fire fighters who are working tirelessly to battle the flames. I’m thankful for the hippie environmentalists who will stand up for those forests and our air quality over the next four years. I’m thankful for my friends who are always willing to go on stupid adventures with me even though we’re probably too old to be doing these things anymore. I’m thankful for my wife who lets me go on those adventures, and my kids who always think those adventures are cool, even when they’re actually silly and immature. I’m thankful for magazines like this one, which open my eyes to how cool the world surrounding me really is. I’m thankful for mid-fat bike tires, which make me a better rider. I’m thankful for the people who make climbing harnesses and crash pads, which have saved my neck countless times. I’m thankful that my kids are into skiing and mountain biking and all of the things that I love to do, but also things that are foreign to me, like origami and gymnastics and science. I’m thankful for ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Because it’s really good. I’m thankful for rooftop tents. I’m thankful for maximalist running shoes with extra padding, because my back hurts.
And I’m thankful for double IPAs, which typically have twice the alcohol as a regular IPA and sometimes I need twice the booze (see wild card administration, above). Specifically, today, I’m thankful for Daniel’s Double IPA, from Appalachian Mountain. The High Country brewery already makes one of my favorite IPAs, Long Leaf, but they kick it up a notch with Daniel’s to create a massively hoppy, massively dank beer. And it’s named after Daniel Boone, which is awesome. Maybe I’m just an 11-year-old boy trapped in a 40-year-old body, but I think more beers should be named after Daniel Boone.
It’s a hearty 9% ABV, and packaged in tallboy cans, which makes it the perfect beer for when a reality TV star is elected to the White House and the forest is on fire. So I’m thankful.
