Greetings and Salutations my Thursday Night Enthusiasts,
I stood, both feet planted on the ground, and looked up with much to be desired as this eclipse came and went… covered by thick cloud cover. In those moments of sheer disappointment, I needed only to look to two things that have brought me light when all things around me seem to be dark: 12 ounces of pure joy and enlightenment, the golden kiss of serenity, the one, the only Old Milwaukee and the greatest group of friends and family a guy could ever ask for, Welcome to Thursdays! Join us this week as we travel back to Bay View for The Backyard. This establishment is full of great drinks, great people and one heck of a, well… backyard. Welcome to Thursday members are in for a treat as The Backyard is extending happy hour through the night with proof of membership! Bonus: The Backyard is also dog friendly.
The Backyard stands by its name and believes that all of us are entitled to live the outdoor life with a spacious patio area. You see for many of us Milwaukeeans, we live the apartment life and with that comes the lack of having anything that resembles a yard. Having a yard carries its importance, it is your domain to do with what you choose. Your backyard can take you anywhere; it is your weekend getaway with a hammock, an ice cold Old Mil, and an imagination full of possibilities.
The Backyard has created this perfect getaway for those who lack a yard. Enjoy the company of others and for a brief night, have your own backyard. What is in your perfect backyard? A garden? A Waterfall? Or maybe you share the same dream as me: a tree that grows cans of Old Mil right from the branches. All of this talk takes me back to a passage from a poem I once read titled “Back Yard” by Carl Sandburg, written in 1916 only with a few twists of my own:
“Shine on, O Moon of Summer.
Shine to the full glasses of beer, lager and ale
All golden under your tapper tonight
Welcome to Thursdays is sending shouts of joy to you tonight from the Backyard
A co-founder is out with his favorite club; they gain new members next month;
Tonight they are throwing back Old Mils
A bartender is dreaming over a great group that sit at a
Table in his backyard
The clocks say I must go – I stay here sitting in the backyard drinking
Golden thoughts you rain down.
Shine on, O moon,
Pour out more and more golden changes.” (1-13)
(Original Poem can be read here)
Cheers my friends,
Your Co-founder and Friend!
Jeremy Blandin
PS- I would like to thank The Squeaky Curd. This post marks 1 year of writing for them, and to this day I still don’t understand why they continue to let me tell you the “history” of Milwaukee and its fantastic beer – but I’m not stopping until they tell me, because these stories need to be told… the greatness of Old Milwaukee needs to be realized. The truth is out there.
*Keeping your glass filled and spirits high one Thursday at a time, this is Welcome to Thursdays: a local social group determined to make your Thursdays more fun. Each Wednesday, The Squeaky Curd features a fictitious story of a Milwaukee County bar that we gather at on Thursday evening. Join us this Thursday, August 24, 2017 at The Backyard, 2155 S Kinnickinnic Ave (Bay View) at 7:30pm.