Hello!

Welcome to The Epic! I am launching this blog as a manifesto for and a guide to living well. The title and motto of the blog are taken from the Epicureans, at least some of whom believed in the notion that not one minute of the future was guaranteed to them and that as a result they had the duty to live life to its fullest every moment.

I believe in discovering fun and pleasurable things wherever I find myself each day and I am told I have a knack for unearthing them. My hope is that by sharing in my pleasures and some of my ways of finding them you will begin to collect all the riches that lie in the moments of your life. They are there. Take them! All our lives should be.....Epic.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Quite A Year

A man sits at a cafe table enjoying a leisurely repast. Entering his fifties, he revels in the knowledge that a new venture has been more stimulating than he could have imagined. He gazes about and winks at a lady writing in a notebook at a nearby table. She gives him a look that has more than a hint of a scoff to it. Turning to his lunch guest, a well dressed Tradly man, he raises his glass to toast the success of the venture. As he savors his Calvados, the man sees a charming young woman dressed in Petunia Pink Lily Pulitzer talking excitedly with her extremely bright and well-mannered daughter at another table while just beyond them an artist and baker takes a break from his exhausting day to share a glass of Bordeaux with a large group of friends while they plot creative bedlam.

A barely warm breeze drifts across the table dappled with shade as the man considers a bite of dessert. He can hear the happy tones of a librarian dressed in cashmere as she talks to another young woman, heading for graduate school, who is on holiday from her demanding humanitarian work in Africa. Profiteroles arrive accompanied by strong black coffee. A gentleman in a heavy tweed jacket strolls into the cafe and takes an open spot at the bar, where he is joined in conversation of the merits of Brooks Brothers by a dapper man with an easy and elegant air about him. At the other end of the bar, a friendly debate occurs between a man from Nashville transplanted to New York and a former bachelor from Hawaii about which Miles Davis album was the most significant. Observing all these marvelous people, the fifty-ish man feels humbled and very fortunate to be in their company. Anticipating a lingering and hefty afternoon, he orders a another Calvados and ponders where he might have dinner. His Tradly companion suggests one of a seemingly endless catalog of perfect restaurants, then rises and strolls off in the company of a beautiful and strikingly tall woman. The man sips his brandy and smiles...

One year ago I took a table in this cyber-cafe to see what, if anything, I would find here. What I found was an amazing current of creativity flowing from other writers in the blogosphere. This current refreshes, inspires and stimulates me artistically every day. I found a diversion from, and a stimulant to, my workday life. And, if I may be so bold, I found many wonderful new friends. Thanks for stopping by day by day. Your visits and comments mean a tremendous amount to me.

I cannot wait to see what is on the menu for the next twelve months. I hope that every one of you comes along for the ride...

P.S. I apologize to all of my blogfriends that I could not work into the narrative. I had to stop and get this posted on time! ML

15 comments:

Pigtown*Design said...

I think I recognized a couple of mutual friends in the cafe.

Congratulations on your anniversary. We're all better for having you in the conversation.

Anonymous said...

I was wondering if there is anywhere in the States (i.e. online) to buy Calvados?

CashmereLibrarian said...

Me! Thank you for including me in your internet reverie! I am honored to be your blog friend, Epic.

~Tessa~Scoffs said...

So creative! I'm so touched I can hardly scoff.

M.Lane said...

PD, thank you so much! I was shooting for a Leroy Neiman type painting of a place with a lot of people depicted in it...

NM, yes there are several if you do a web search for Calvados you can find them although most liquor stores have it also.

CL, you are so welcome. Thanks for your visits and comments!

Mrs. Scoffs, now you are making me blogblush!

ML

Easy and Elegant Life said...

Chin-Chin M. Lane! There are open bottles on the bar, should you care for a glass.

Time flies and what a swell party it is. Thanks!

M.Lane said...

Easy, as Dean Martin would have said..."a drink? for me?"...

ML

Down South said...

Congratulations! Keep those posts coming.

BTW, really enjoyed the drinks. Those Vespers were killer!!

We have to do that more often.

DS

M.Lane said...

DS, absolutely! With Mrs. DS next time...

Thanks for your visits and comment.

ML

Ben said...

Congratulations on the anniversary. As un-apropos as it may seem, may I offer you my all time favorite toast:

"To my brother George. The richest man in Bedford Falls!"

I think it very apropos.

M.Lane said...

Ben, that is excellent! I'm honored to be the recipient of it. Thank you very much.

ML

tintin said...

Thanks, ML. That post was a painting.

M.Lane said...

Tintin, you are very welcome. It was the least I could do...

ML

Petunia said...

Wow, I am quite late to the party, but congrats on your anniversary! We are all glad to have you at the Cafe next to us. :)

M.Lane said...

Petunia, thank you so much! Meeting you and LP was a lovely surprise in Epic Year 1.

ML