subject: Cocktail Hour [print this page] Cocktail Hour Cocktail Hour
There's nothing quitelike the Friday afternoon countdown to cocktail hour. In my office it's a ritual. We all have a responsibility to make sure everyoneknows it's only a matter of time.Soon we can all go our separate ways for 48 hours and purge the week's anxietyin thedrink of our choice. I know what you are thinking....and you are wrong..I don't work with nor am I a drunk.We are just working stiffs like everyone else andneed SOMETHING to look forward to!
Cocktail hour is a time honoredtradition that is clearly notcelebrated enough.Growing up I remember my grandparents and my parents talking about andtakingpart in the "Cocktail Hour".
Kind of like a fish fry. Remember when you were a kid and your parents would get a baby sitterevery Friday night so they could go to the "Fish Fry"?? Now that I'm older, I understand that the fish fry was ALSO cocktail hour(s) and theywere celebrated together askind of akick off to the weekend. If there wasn't enough money for going out, there was alwaysa bottle of something at home.If you weren't drinking it with your significant otherby 6pm something was off.
Thephrase "cocktail hour" brings back memories of the lake andbeing the only time we kids were allowed in a bar. Our parents would head oversometimes as early as4 pm and begin the festivities. We got to play the jukebox, play games and eat junk (bar fries are the BEST!)while my parents happily enjoyed the company and conversation of the other adults. By the time the clock hit 9pm we were all (for our own obvious reasons) ready for bed. It was a win/win situation for all. Cocktail hour was a success and everyone was HAPPY!
These days, it seemsthere is no set time for cocktail hour, which in my opinion takes the ambiance right out of it. Now, it's "I'll meet you at the bar".....or, "start without me, I'm on my way."
Ask any person over the age of 65 what cocktail hour means to them.Theirinterpretation will most likely have a setbeginning time and will be full ofwonderful memories and stories that we allcan learn from. The best description of cocktail hourI have heard so far is from a man very near and dear to my heart. He speaks of cocktail hour with his wife, every evening after work. When there was money it was a martini, in leaner times it was a beer, but it was their time to reconnect after the day. There was NO talk of work, only family and each other. So many of us can learn from that.
So this weekend......celebrate cocktail hour in your own way. Pick a time and place,pick your friends or your partners and make it happen. Reconnect with the ones you love and who knows, maybeit will become a tradition for you too!
Disclaimer: Cocktails can be made up of ANY liquid...not only alcohol. Use your imagination! And for those of you who imbibe in an alcoholic beverage PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY!
