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Stress Management, Brewers' Style
                                                                                                                      
  Today's world is filled with stress related activities.  Everything from work to dating to family to concerns for the future add a little more stress to our lives.  Too much stress leads to mental instability, physical infirmity, and eventually to a premature death.  What a shame.  So, finding a balance between work and play is vitally important to one's mental and physical well being.  
  We all find relief from the stress in different ways.  Some like to sit quietly and read, while others need to get out and go hiking or biking.  Others find peace in creative arts like painting and sculpting.  Some find it in spending time with their families.  We are all different.  That's what keeps life interesting.  
  I have been quite busy of late.  Work keeps me going now that we are starting the long journey into the holiday retail season.  The work load and expectation level is very high right now, and will continue to be so for the rest of the year.  I am also going to school full time at night, so I have very little free time for stress relief these days.  Most weekends are filled with homework and projects for school that I do not have time for during the week, so the opportunity to spend a day with friends just having a good time was a welcome, and needed, distraction.  
  I attended the 8th Annual Brewers' Jam with friends yesterday.  The event took place on the south lawn of the World's Fair Park in downtown Knoxville, TN.  I spent the whole day outside, walking from booth to booth sampling a wide variety of brews, hanging out with friends and watching the crowd.  I had a great time and now feel rested and ready to tackle my real life again come Monday.  I took some photos throughout the day and would like to share them with anyone that has an interest in seeing them.  
  Here they are:

 
  A wide shot of the south lawn as the event gets underway around 3:30.  Notice how few poralets there are.  I think there may be a problem later.

 
  The lawn began filling up fast as more of the locals came out to enjoy a day of music and beer tasting.  

 
  Rex and CroMag standing in front of the famous Sunsphere.  Is CroMag drinking from two glasses?  No, he's just holding mine while I take the photo.  How do you like Rex's Utilikilt?

 
  The shadows begin to grow longer as the afternoon wanes and evening approaches.

 
  Just as I feared, the wait for the toilets becomes relentlessly long.  Luckily, the facilities adjoining the north lawn were open for business, so I gave up on this line early on and started making the trek to the others, where the wait was minimal.

 
  Just inside the entrances to the men's toilets hung this framed photograph taken during the 1982 World's Fair.  Look closely and you can see a little kid with a mullet taking a leak into the lagoon.  I laughed out loud at this one.  The photo was taken by Gary Heatherly.

 
  Recognize that guy in the middle?  If you are a fan of local improv comedy troupe Einstein Simplified, than you probably know Paul.  I auditioned for them a couple of years back.  I was really, really bad at it. The troupe is currently celebrating their tenth year together.  Congratulations guys.

 
  You never know what you might see outside a public restroom.  I saw this fine chopper.

 
  The man on the right had the lonely job of standing in that spot and checking everyone that came in for wristbands, showing they had paid the entrance fee.  The big guy on the left was just passing by and could not resist the photo opportunity.  

 
  I am so happy with my new purchase...a pint glass from the Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery.  Hey, it was only five bucks, and the only thing I spent money on all day.

 
  Hey Rex, look at my nifty glass!  Isn't it cool?  I love Brewers' Jam!

 
  The first of the photo opp's.  That skirt, I mean kilt, is already paying off.

 
  No, the picture is not blurry, you have just been drinking .  This is Rex with "Patches"

 
  She claimed her name was Martha, but we know Sharon Ozzbourne when we see her.  Cheers, darling.

 
  Ah, night has fallen and the lights are up.

 
  The kilt attracts some fans.

 
  The headlining act of the night, Billy Joe Shaver, takes the stage and gets the crowd dancing.  See that guy down front in the white hat?  He would make an appearance later in the evening, along with the guitar player on the left and other members of the band, at McLeod's where we went to eat after the event.

 
  More of Billy Joe and his band.   There was live music all day,  consisting of Dixie Dirt, Garage DeLuxe, Jay Clark with the CC String Band, John Cowan Band, and Billy Joe Shaver. For most of the event, the music was just in the background for me,  but once Billy Joe took the stage, I made my way down front to enjoy the show.  And yes, it was a good show.  I am glad I have now seen him live.  

 
  One more shot of Billy Joe Shaver doing his thing.  

 
  After the Brewers' Jam we decided it was time to eat.  We tried The Downtown Grille, but it was too crowded and loud, so we hoofed it back over to McLeod's on Market Square, where we were able to get a quiet table upstairs and listen to the karaoke singers  below belting out the old familiar tunes.  

 
  They have some damn fine food there.  We finished eating and headed downstairs to begin phase two of the evening by partaking of the karaoke tradition.

 
  Jason gives us a little Jack and Diane from the Coug'

 
  He gets his photo with the lovely Andrea from Dayton, OH.  That girl not only looks good, but she can sing, too.

 
  Rex takes the stage again to give us his rendition of Suspicious Minds.  He also sang Runaway Train, and I got up to sing Down Under, Little Red Corvette, and Glory Days before calling it a night.  Sorry, not photographic evidence of my performance.  CroMag did not partake of the karaoke.

 
  Rex wanted one more photo before the night was done, and found this obliging woman at the next table.  

   
  The souvenir tasting glass and the one pint glass I purchased.  Cool logo, huh?  Check it out, it looks like rabbit facing to the right, yet it also looks like a duck facing to the left.  Pretty clever, I think.  Good beer, too.

  Now, for a final few words.  I had a great time.  I sampled some great beers.  Here is a list of the ones that met my seal of approval:
•     Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout
•     Duck-Rabbit Porter
•     Highland Oatmeal Porter
•     Carolina Cottonwood Pumpkin Ale
•     Greenshield's Nut Brown Ale
•     Calhoun's Velas Helles
•     Catawba Valley King Don's Pumpkin Ale
•     Depot Street Southbound Scottish Ale
•     Mash House Brown Porter
•     Blackstone St. Charles Porter
•     Olde Hickory Stick Stout
•     New Knoxville English Brown Ale
•     Alltech's Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale
•     Tennessee Homebrewer's Apricot Ale

  Until next year, I raise my glass in a toast of goodwill.