A little after midnight on New Year’s Eve, in a joint called Hoover’s in South Beach, my old Oregon writing mentor died. I stood by him at the end, but still, the loss feels inconsolable. He offered the best literary inspiration I’ve ever received and I feel bereft without him. Where will I get my writing ideas now?
An excerpt from Matt Love’s tribute to Oregon Taverns upon the commencement of the smoking ban: Oregon’s greatest writing mentor, bar none, is snuffed out
Matt Love is also the proprietor of the fantastic site Let It Pour: an unconventional drinking guide to the north and central oregon coast.
That’s awesome, thanks for the letitpour link. I was just at the triangle tavern in astoria last sunday but couldn’t even finish my beer because the smoke-free air felt so incredibly incongruous with the memories I have of that place and others before the ban. Matt Love also has a great compilation of oregon-related stories in a book called Citadel of the Spirit. Autographed copies are in just about every small bookstore on the coast.
I’ve always been more for the clean (and often smoke-free pre-ban) brew pubs, but the site was cool and I can understand the sense of loss. I may not visit smoky dives, but the knowledge that they existed added a certain depth to the world.
The pubs in Ireland definitely lost a lot of character when the smoke cleared. You realized that they were ugly and smelly inside. Of course, you also didn’t feel sick from consuming the equivalent of 3 packs of cigarettes on a night out.
oregone, CKOT – I’m pleasantly surprised how quickly I’ve gotten used to smoke-free bars. I visited the Horse Brass the first smoke-free week and it felt a bit weird. But now, several months later, it feels like the comfy place it always was, just I don’t have to launder my jacket after visiting.