Firsts

It's so adorable, Mackie, dressed in his brand new Keds, crisp dark-blue blue-jeans, and an ironed pastel Polo button-down cotton shirt waiting for the bus on his first day back to school. He made his way to the stop; the Keds smarting against is toes as he tried with all his might to scuff and dirty the bright white canvas with the hope that the other kids wouldn't notice his brand new shoes and ridicule him. Twelve (12) new and sharpened #2 pencils await a day of copious note taking, and six (6) polished apples await their place upon six (6) professor's desks; nothing has been missed. Nothing, but Davis, WV. Davis, home of two (2) time kickball champs, amazing pizza, riotous burritos, and of course the greatest damn coffee in America. Yeah, first days are tough...

I'm taking Charlie on a first in the morning, a camping trip to Cooper's Rock S.P. I plan on some swims in Cheat Lake, long runs with Charlie riding rickshaw style in the jogging stroller (the way we used to), and of course campfires. Take care of my vessel whilst her captain is away on leave, I'll know what you do.

U Know 'Dis!

Bish's milkshake brings da boyz 2 da yard! We've been slammin' like doors this weekend, and because Bish pulled an all weekend appearance. The hikin' must be pay'n off cuz dat Bish starts-a-flex'n on da espresso machine an dead presidents appear like a George Bush nightmare...damn! Not jus' dat, but Gary be sellin' eggs like a hot surrogate mother...double damn! More of ya'll need to get married and bring in these nice folks jones'n fo they coffee, thanks.

Many-a whiner been bitch'n 'bout da frequency of dis blog, but dat jus' how it bees when the vessel's rockin', some bidness jus' slows down. I know Thomas ain't got much else 2 do but read dis' an get insulted; be patient, have 'nother beer, kill a few brain cells, an' I'll be wit ya'll 'n a shorty.

As a few of ya'll knows, T-Dog celebrated he thirty-ninth (39th) birfday dis' week, an he knows ya'll can't believe it since he looks nineteen (19), but it's true. Thanks to all well-wishers in da haus! Also gettin' older, be our ol' dirty bastard, Mackie. Say adios to dat long legged Mack Daddy as he makes he way to da WVU to get more learn on, but 'dis time it's fo good.

Welcome to The Mountain Institute and El Gran Sabor fo' they patronage of wholesale HypnoCoffee coffee. They gots they heads on! Finally, excellent espresso in E-town!

The Car Issue

Local Duke Boyz, Chip and Willie (of Mountain State fame) arrived via Willie's Cougar (the car, not his girlfriend, although much like many a Cougar, his is fast, looks good, but the interior is a little worn and needs some updating) to the HypnoVessel recently. Chip, in true Duke Boy fashion entered and exited the venerable Mercury via the window, and looked totally cool doing it! Not satisfied with just Duke Boy hi-jinks the pair fueled up this morning at the ship and head to Table Rock, where Chip put his trouser snake skills to use on real snakes...rattlesnakes! Charlies' buddy caught two of the sunny-bathing beauties and kept one (1). What's on the menu tonight Chip? Willie took a video of the affair replete with Chip doing this in flip flops...priceless.
Atop the mountain exotic cars are embodied by the mayor's mini-trucks from eastern block countries or Korea, so it was surprising to see so many Porsches parked in front of the HypnoVessel. It proves that owners of such sports cars obviously possess good-taste in other facets of their purchasing lives.

Thomas Fills With Crack-heads

Kudos to the whole Mountain State Brew Crew (especially the tres Supaks running that bar!) for hosting a great time last night. For those not living atop the mountain, Cracker (the band, not the snack or white guy) rocked the rafters at the pub last night. What a treat having a professional rock band perform in our little part of the world. Even with a local wedding competing for attention the turn-out was phenomenal, and spirits were high. As mentioned previously, all hands were on deck serving the thirsty rock concert goers, and best treat of all was throwing down with Mountain State's own Kate, who was there as cruise director, seeing to our good time. Thanks Kate. Mission accomplished.

Who Else? Davis! Who's Next?

And so it came to pass, that the towns of Davis and Thomas once again met upon a field and battled. And even though the result was the same as the previous year, with Davis victorious, the game was much more competitive. Thomas came to play, and jumped out to an early lead. They managed to hold on to said lead until the bottom of the sixth inning, but I digress.

Let us bask in earlier glories. Ben Nelson (of HypnoMugs fame) filled the role of umpire with great aplomb, and with no understanding of the game or its rules, managed to contain himself whilst under constant fire from both benches. Perhaps my favorite call of the game was a pop-fly to second base, that after bouncing off of Thomas' short stop the ball was pinned to the ground by Jocelyn, and subsequently called "out". After much protest from the Davis bench Ben walked to Jocelyn, asked whether or not she truly caught the ball, and Jocelyn being honest (she lives in Douglas) admitted the ball was on the ground when she "caught" it, thus Ben reversed his decision. Precedent had been set, and many a decision was reversed, but if minds weren't meant for changing, than what is?

Other stand-out moments include, but are not limited to, Rob S. playing first to third base from the position of short stop. Matt (Joe) L. touching all the bases while chomping a sweet stogie. Sheena (Joe) W. scoring an in-field home run via four (4) consecutive errors made by Thomas' stellar in-field, and of course, Davis' MVP John (Joe) L. throttling the red kick ball into orbit. With the bases loaded, John (Joe) L. launched the ball over the befuddled unkempt heads of the Thomas outfield, then rounded the bases with ease, thus sparking the bottom of the sixth inning come-back.

The final score of 19-13 reflects not only Davis' ability to shut down Thomas' scoring (only one ((1)) Thomas run crossed home plate in the last three ((3)) innings), but also our ability to rally, stay positive, and put points on the board late in the game. Thomas actually showed signs that victory can be had, but just don't have what it takes to close the deal (a fact that was known to Davis all along). Better luck next year...losers.

Thomas, It's Almost Over

The time is nigh for our foes down the lane of asphalt. The ties that bind us are now broken by competition and won't again mend until the final run has crossed the plate. Will mercy reign o'er the Thomas crew, or will Davis once again smash those drunken jesters? It is doubtful Thomas will even give us a good game, but playing is half of the fun. Winning just comes with the territory whilst living in Davis. At least Thomas can be consoled by the fact that defeat is now only one (1) day away, and that the verbal assaults suffered through this blog (and those of your parents, of course, you know, "get a job, go back to college, shower more often") will end soon enough. I, for one (1), do not advocate mercy. Once your opponent is down is when you begin to kick!
Tomorrow, 6pm, the ball-field on the edge of Davis! For you lucky denizens of Davis, your uniform requests and all other answers regarding certain victory can be answered at Hellbender, Blackwater Bikes, or the HypnoVessel.

If This Vessel's A'Rockin'...

You missed it! Of course the denizens of Thomas (formerly Limpwristsyvania) were still sleeping off a night of drinking (6 pm) when Cory brought aboard his drum kit and assembled the beast in the front corner. Before the last cymbal was even set, we were pounding out the phatest beats since Run bought his turntable. We played until the customers paid us not to, and then we just made amazing coffee drinks...

Speaking of coffee drinks, our usual Colombia green beans are being replaced. Colombia has apparently suffered a lousy coffee crop this year and the few beans still coming out are way too expensive for this tiny ship, thus we are switching to a Fair Trade Organic Peru bean! First run will be Wednesday afternoon. I look forward to a new coffee and can't wait to share...

Speaking of share, tonight is the ladies clothing swap. Bring yo-self to the ship and, as always, smile for the cameras! Also speaking of share, don't forget to sign up for Joel and Katie's bread share. We have the enrollment forms here, so start weening yourself off the WonderBread now.