The Shit That Killed Elvis - Rowing Blazers and Beams!

Yes, if I have a religion, it is safe to say that I am an adherent of Rowing Blazers.  And wouldn't you know it, they popped up with an absolutely dope time machine that yours truly, ever intrepid and on the lookout... missed!

Courtesy of Beams

So what's the big deal?  It isn't a tourbillon, it is quartz, you won't (I presume) read about it at Hodinkee, or Monochrome or any of the other watch info sites you visit to seek validation for your past current or potential watches, and it is reasonably priced.  

Courtesy of Beams

I appreciate appreciation.  Truly.  I admire expensive watches, with hours of passionate labor invested by noble artisans, exquisite dials varnished with the tears of Arcadian nymphs.  

Courtesy of Beams

But do you know what this watch is?  It's FUN!

Courtesy of Beams

I think about myself and my coming up a Northern Youth when I see these images.  Let me take you back to the summer of 1984 - myself a Northern Youth at JC Penny with my Mee-Maw who wanted to buy me something as an end of school year present.  I picked a basic Timex watch, and selected a striped canvas strap.  And yes, I loved that watch.  About as water resistant as a saltine cracker, but I loved it.

Courtesy of Beams

I get it, we all want to be taken seriously in this life.  We want to be validated.  And we all too often seek that validation when we strap our watches on.  And fair enough.  But me?  I want that visceral thrill!  I want to be transported.  I want to to be in that vast prairie field on a hot June afternoon, smelling the rain coming, and feeling the vibrations of the lightning striking three townships over.  I want to be back there, looking forward to meeting my friends later that evening, and possibly running into that girl I  have a hopeless crush on, the one who robs me of my ability to speak coherently.  Maybe I'll finally have the courage to ask her out.

You only get to be 15 once, but I would like to think that you get to be a romantic your whole life.

I am lucky, I got to marry that girl (or at least my ideal of that girl) although we were separated by a Great Lake at the time and didn't realize that would actually meet each other eight years later - in Japan.  Life is long, but has a wonderful way of working out.

Gentle Reader - Stay Awesome!