I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. -Ecclesiastes 9:11

The Beer tastes a little sweeter tonight as I write this. Why, you ask? Well, I spent my day doing some much needed yard work around The Abbey, and helped my brother change a tire on his vehicle. Getting my hands dirty and working up a good sweat during the summer months always helps bring out the nuanced flavors of my favorite beers. I suppose I should also mention that I have been given my first set of official journalistic credentials from an organized event in the form of press passes. This was a bit of an unexpected event, to say the least.

As I drove slowly over the river bridge, inching closer to the wreckage causing the traffic to back up, my younger brother and I listened to the afternoon radio show hosts on 103.7 The Buzz discuss how good former Arkansas tackle Dan Skipper was. I tended to agree with their consensus that he was good, but lacking in some critical areas in which tackles must excel, such as foot work, and speed. Skipper is a big, strong guy, but he got beat by speed rushers on the outside a little too much for my taste. This lead him, most unfortunately, to be called for holding a fair amount. In my completely unwarranted opinion, I think he would have excelled as a guard.

Once the radio hosts had said their piece, and the various listeners were able to give their two cents they moved on to talking about the upcoming Great Arkansas Beer Festival an event the radio station was sponsoring.

I threw my phone to my younger brother.

"Open up my messages and find the group text with Chad, Tim, and Drock. I need you to write this out for me exactly: 'I need a press pass for The Great Arkansas Beer Festival' now send it to them."

This is one of the largest craft beer events in the state of Arkansas right now. With more than sixty brewers, each showcasing multiple beers, there is sure to be something to please all. The growing craft beer scene in Arkansas is being well represented, but there are various out of state brewers to sample as well. There are states from coast to coast being brought out, from Escondido, CA to Brooklyn, NY. If you buy tickets now, they are $30.00; however, on day of the event its $40.00. This is still a killer deal to be able to drink the best beer in the state, and some of the best in the country. It's a spectacular opportunity for myself, and my readers, to get weird.

I didn't intend for this to materialize into anything honestly. The event was in less than a week, and we are a small blog by all accounts. I figured this was long shot, but it would give the editors something to do, give off the illusion that I'm working hard, and if it does work, then I get to save some money in exchange for writing about my experience there. It's a win, win. Once I heard my Iphone chime around an hour later, I picked it up expecting to be told to fuck off, but this was not the case.

"I got you guys press passes." it read.

You guys? I read the text Sam, my younger brother, sent. He had asked for the press pass alright, but he had added his name to the request as well. To both of our surprise, we got two passes for the festival; while, Sam got himself a full time photographer position with a nationally syndicated blog. My god, I hope he enjoys traveling.

"I hope you can take decent pictures." I told Sam. "You're going to be my photographer."

So, that's it. I'm going to be covering my first major event this Saturday, July 22. The Great Arkansas Beer Festival I hope to see some of my readers there; look for the glock lanyard.

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Editors Note: This photo is a Creative Commons licensed photo from Flicker