I didn't know anybody outside the state of Wisconsin knew what an Old Fashioned was! I remember the first time my mom came to visit me in Chicago and we went to dinner. She ordered an Old Fashioned and we had to tell the bartender how to make it.

My standard order - when I ordered Old Fashioneds on a regular basis that is - was an old fashioned sweet with olives. Cherries come standard with a "sweet" and olives come standard with a "sour" but I preferred the olives, so Richard, how 'bout an Old Fashioned sweet with olives? Haven't had one of those in a long long long time!

Ok, now for 20 years ago.....hmmm.....let me think for a minute.....I was 22 years old and had just moved into my first apartment all by myself (had apartments before, but always with roomies - got sick of roomies and moved in by myself). I was quite the wild child, but was living the good life, making relatively good money with nothing to spend it on but partying and toys. Usually out in the bars every night, some of those nights I don't remember coming home but I always made it home in one piece amazingly, except for the night I was stone cold sober and a drunk driver side swiped me. She was so drunk she didn't even know she hit anybody and kept going. A guy in a pick-up truck saw the whole thing happen and took off after her and the cops actually pulled him over until he explained what happened and that's why he was chasing her! When they finally pulled her over, she got out of the car and promptly fell down. The only good that came out of this was that my 18 year old brother bought my smashed car and that, along with the insurance money, was enough so I could buy my very first brand-new car. I was so excited.

So for me, life was good in '84. I had already dumped the loser boyfriend in April of '83, so I recovered nicely from that and was on my way! On my way to what it took me awhile to figure out, and I'm still not sure I know! On that note, I think I'll take my Old Fashioned off to the couch by the fire and reminisce/contemplate a little.