I got some egg nog the other night, and I bought a bottle of brandy to put in it. Since it's just to add to my nog, I figured it didn't have to be particularly fancy stuff. So I got E & J, the plain, no-frills brandy made by Gallo, my hometown crew.

I made the mistake tonight of reading the copy on the back label. Here's what it says:

One of the most distinctive qualities of E & J Brandy is its remarkable character. This is accomplished by a vertical blending of brandies of different ages from the finest white oak barrels which we personally have selected. This expensive and time-consuming aging process also develops the full and natural brandy flavor of E & J Brandy.

I blinked, and thought about it for a minute. I gradually realized that this more or less means the following:

This brandy is like what it is like. This is because we make it the way brandy is made. Because we make it the way brandy is made, it tastes like brandy.

The 52nd Annual Sycamore Threshing Bee and Steam Show is August 14th through 17th. This is the kind of stuff that you will see there:



Photographs.

It is impossible to convey the wonderfulness of all of this. Live steam-powered and gas-powered tractors. Stationary engines of every conceivable size. Threshing. Demonstrations of straw-baling and saw-milling. A daily parade of tractors, mowers, bull-dozers, and other devices. Food booths and a flea market.

YOU WANT TO COME TO THIS. It does not happen in your big fancy modern city or sub-urb.

All are invited to gather at my place, 222 Somonauk Street in Sycamore, at NOON on Saturday, August 16th at TWELVE-THIRTY on Sunday, August 17th. We'll go down, check it out, watch the parade, and have a good time. Afterward, we can all come back to my place and party- relaxing, eating, drinking, playin' games, watchin' moobies, whatever. I will provide beer and sody-pop and the like, and perhaps even food, unless you would prefer to bring food or order pizza or hit Sycamore's fantastic Mexican Restaurant.

Comment here to let me know you are coming!

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