Some nights I can’t go to bed without waxing prosodic about the events of the evening. This was one of those nights.

Chris made mention last weekend of Futures and their scheduled show at Old Coast Ales. I remember when Jon and Matt registered their Kickstarter ages ago. All these years later, their brewery is well received by the community. So in celebration of year three in business, they had Futures perform a set of covers. The unveiling of their vanilla porter was the icing on the cake.

It was a gathering of friends old and new that made me feel 20 again. Becca and I laughed about how we used to text each other every single time we saw shooting stars because of our 07’ beach nights with Lisa, Ashley, Brent, Phil, and Joey. Most of us are parents now. I’m a sucker for coming of age moments and the reflection they elicit. We’ve all come a long way, but traveling back in time for a moment to reminisce isn’t beneath us.

The ability of this place and this music to bring decades of history and friendship together is energizing and heartwarming. Not far from the brewery, I remember playing volleyball with the Greens at the pier when I was 19. We had a good thing going with Sunday volleyball back then. Things were simpler...we all seemed less busy. We have to fight much harder now just to carve out time for some sort of recreational ritual it seems.

There was a lot of love at Old Coast tonight. Countless hugs, laughs, and anecdotes. It was a hub of support built over 15 years of calling this old city home. It’s been too long since this sort of appreciation has washed over me. I’ll live for these glimpses of paradise until finally we get to taste the real life.