Well, here we are…the “unofficial” end of summer—yep, it’s Labor Day weekend, and we decided after getting D#2 off to the airport and an extremely long, hot day at work that this was a great weekend to head to the coast.  As usual, getting out of town was easier said than done since everyone else is thinking the exact same thing.  So, by the time we actually got going, it was well past 7, and there are still plenty of cars and trucks on the highway.

Many a Labor Day weekends of the past were spent watching the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon from Las Vegas.  Remember all of the stars who would come on the show during the 24 hour event?  We remember neighborhood carnivals to raise money to bring to the local television station that was televising the annual telethon.  We can remember trying to stay awake through the night and not wanting to miss anything.  Usually, around midnight, Jerry disappeared for a few hours and Ed  McMahon or some other person would take over the announcing duties.  Each hour, they would roll the tote board to a new dollar amount of money raised and pledges received.  There were rows of phone banks set up to take callers from all over the world, and like a well-oiled machine, when the cut-a-way came to the phone bank, the announcer just happened to be at the exact spot where a phone rings and a volunteer picks up and starts taking a pledge. . .you can’t make this stuff up!  As night gave way to the day of Labor Day. . .the tote board was showing amazing numbers and Jerry and the gang were rallying the troops to raise more before the deadline.  We can remember being at shopping malls and people talking about the new record balance raised.  It was something that actually brought a lot of people together.

 But, here we are in 2013 and the telethon…as a major event…has gone by the wayside.  Gone too would be the phone banks…no longer needed in this smartphone era.  Gone was the need to send in a check…your credit card or your debit card would be all that’s needed.  And of course, we’ve lost a lot of those stars over the years, and the ones who’ve come after them, well, we just don’t see the same level of commitment.  Jerry had a way with a lot of those folks.  So, we move past the events of the past and look at today. . .Day 364.  In some respects, this has been our telethon…more like a marathon…only we’ve been motivating ourselves to see it through to a proper conclusion.  As each day went by, we felt like we were showing the tote board and another day down and only a few more to go!  Our phone bank has been replaced by readers, followers and family and friends who have been as much motivators as consumers of our stories.  Like Jerry’s kids, we just needed a little bit of love!

Tonight we opened a very nice 2009 Innisfree Cabernet Sauvignon from Joseph Phelps. Innisfree…a fictional village in Ireland; the John Wayne film, The Quiet Man was filmed in this village.  Anyway, the grapes for this particular vintage were harvested in September and October and were fermented in stainless steel tanks before settling in a combination of 2 and 4 year old French oak barrels for sixteen months.  The wine is a delicious treat.  Loads of fresh fruit and a slight hint of cedar and tobacco.  This wine really benefited from the time spent in the barrel…it’s mellow, full-bodied and ready for enjoying.  We picked up ours at Twin Liquor’s Dollar Sale and not knowing what to expect, we were really surprised by its’ flavor.

Although the days of the Muscular Dystrophy telethon with Jerry Lewis are gone.  Two things are important to keep in focus: first, the disease is still affecting children to this day and the efforts made in the telethon’s best years need to be continued.  And, two, the world of entertainment, when it gets behind a cause, they have the power to change the world.

We hope you have a terrific holiday weekend – we hope to catch some Reds; enjoy your favorite wine responsibly and remember to recycle whenever possible.