Most wore masks. Some did not. Most tried to honor the socially mandated distance requirements. Some did not. All reveled in the exercise of trying to bring some normalcy to a world that is in desperately need of some. It was a trip to a winery to celebrate a friend’s birthday. That the transportation included a van is a story for another time (see some wore masks, some did not). The majesty and beauty of the North Georgia Mountains should never be discounted. It is a place where it seems that God saved some of his best brushstrokes for our viewing pleasure.
So we celebrated. We bonded. We sampled. We ate. And we tried to tell ourselves that even in circumstances that are strange, weird and uncanny, we can persevere.
I cannot tell you how I felt about putting myself into a situation where you are playing a 50/50 dice game where depending on which side the dice fall lies your fate. But what I can tell you is that it felt good to believe that if people are smart enough, brave enough and diligent enough to play by the rules that the game—any game—must be played by, we can win. And let us not kid ourselves right now, these are little victories, but victories none the less.
My first foray into this new and uncharted world was strange, but satisfying. And knowing that you are doing something that is helping all of us take those next steps is reassuring.
These are different days. One group believes one thing, the other another. Facts being facts, science being science, and data being the ultimate decider, we must face each and every day with a sense of sanity.
My first foray into this new and uncharted world was strange, but satisfying. And knowing that you are doing something that is helping all of us take those next steps is reassuring.
The craft spirit world has done just as much as any other industry in helping restore normalcy. We are here for each other. And while some will make it through this smarter and more tactful than before, others will have to go back to the drawing board.
But that is not a bad thing. Drawing boards are not signs of failure; they are signs that we are capable of learning from the situations that dictate how we are forced to deal with any given situation.
Here is to better days ahead. They are out there. And eventually, we will find them—together.
Cheers.
Michael J. Pallerino is editor of Craft Brand & Marketing magazine. Over the past 30-plus years, he has won numerous awards, including the “Jesse H. Neal Editorial Achievement Award,” recognized as the Pulitzer Prize for business-to-business magazines. He can be reached at mikep@ccr-mag.com.