I am Uncle Leo, not Aunt Singo. I live in the Basement for the most part and I must admit this is by choice, usually mine but sometimes not. That’s why this part of the blog is called “Uncle Leo’s Basement.” However, on occasion I join the rest of the family at Aunt Singo’s table and indulge myself in good conversations, foods and beverages. The rest of the time I entertain myself, and now maybe even you.
I’m old enough to remember when a man’s home was his castle. Well, that was before women’s lib, social change, and my own puberty. The smoking room is gone, the man’s den is gone and privacy is a thing of the past. Social networking and absolute transparency is the norm for almost everyone under the age of 30. Sigh, whatever happened to Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Errol Flynn and Alan Ladd? Ah, the machismo of a rolled cigarette and a good rye whiskey is only a nostalgic daydream now. Or is it?
A Little About Myself
Name: Uncle Leo
Gender: Happily Male
Age: TBD
Birthday: Depressing
Status: In a relationship with wife and cat and fish.
Hometown: Somewhere Nearby
Education: PhD
School: Several
Major: Comparative Literature & Linguistics
Minor: You name it
Occupation: Let me think about it.
MY CONTACT
Email: I’m not allowed to have one yet. Someday, maybe.
Instant Messaging: Don’t believe in it
Groups: Usually drinking clubs
MY FAVORITES
Books: I probably read one once.
Writers: F. Kafka, H.P. Lovecraft, Dostoyevsky, Shakespeare, Carlos Castaneda, and about 100 more
Quote: It is better to travel well then arrive. The Buddha
Food: Bacon, Ham, Pork chops and almost anything except beets
Travel Destinations: Anywhere but here
We are living in hard times, but you knew that. There are some things that can make life a little easier like being surrounded by loving people, a deep spirituality, nature and a stiff drink. I am fortunate enough to have all of these things in my life, and much more. This gives me ample opportunity to enjoy life and often abuse it and myself. But, this is who I am and what I am is genuinely human.
This blog is meant to convey some of that humanness since this is not a blog about love and family or any kind of spirituality except the pourable kind, my emphasis will be on liquor, wine and the occasional beer. There is something divine in that too.
Let me explain that last remark. Some of the oldest gods in the Indo-European pantheon are gods that have something to do with fermented beverages like wine and beer. When man became truly civilized and developed the art of alcohol distillation, well then, a whole new cohort of gods was needed. The Catholic Church in Europe, not to be out done by the simple peasants launched a whole cadre of saints that appealed to the drinking class. Saints like Gambrinus, the mythical inventor of beer, whose birthday is celebrated on April the 11th. Well, that’s as far as I delve into religion.
Some people write with their heart and soul but I do most of my writing with my hands and occasionally I think about what I am going to say. . .
. . .Mainly I am into wine, spirits, beer, sake and almost everything the Puritans condemned. I am not here to promote a lifestyle of drunken debauchery; there is enough of that going on already. What I am here to do is enjoy the finer things of life and try to introduce others to those things in a sort of sharing the wealth kind of thing. There is no better time to begin than right now in the present moment.
