I had a full physical today and
all the indignity that is included therein:- nudity in front of strangers,
- poking,
- prodding,
- and let's not forget the fasting that is required to precede having blood drawn.
That last was the part that is always most alarming to me.
I cannot understate how much I
hate needles. This time, I calmly informed the Labtech people (because somewhere along the line,
sticking needles in people's arms has become a successful free-standing business model) that I had a "mordid fear of needles" and that they were
under no circumstances to allow a needle to cross into my line of sight. I did my part by staring in the complete opposite direction the entire time.
Afterwards, feeling the need for some sort of reward (boyond the mesmerizing concept of
breakfast), I stopped in to the Kroger Wine & Spirits store in Beaumont. It's a new concept for Kroger — and they now have three of these freestanding booze shops in town. The decor was plush, the store empty (it was 9:30am, it should be noted), and the selection was passable, if somewhat unremarkable.
A notable exception was the presence of
one bottle each of the celebrated
Van Winkle whiskies. Especially eye-opening was the presence of one bottle of
Van Winkle Special Reserve "Lot B," which I think is, for $44, maybe
the best bourbon money can buy — No offense to the
Pappy 20 year, but at $100 on a bottle it's not
twice as good as the
Special Reserve, though it is fabulous. But out of my current pay grade and that probaby won't change
. Anyway, the
Special may be harder to find than the
Pappy, I think due to transition intricacies of
Buffalo Trace having acquired Van Winkle a few years back. So it was a surprise to see, even this
one bottle. They're just not around much anymore.
I hinted to the manager that "you don't see this too often," and he immediately agreed, adding that he had a distributor who would, occasionally provide him with
no more than one or two bottles "that she gets from some secret stash or something. I don't know
where she gets them." This bottle he had put on the shelf 15 minutes prior to my arrival.
He didn't have to sell me. I already worry that I'll never see the stuff again, and
snapped that bottle right up, as a reward for enduring a full physical. Who knows when it will get opened, though. I just feel better having an extra bottle stashed away.
Check-up reward
Originally uploaded by mrtoastey
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