{"id":13037,"date":"2014-12-05T18:30:08","date_gmt":"2014-12-05T23:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/?p=13037"},"modified":"2014-12-05T18:30:08","modified_gmt":"2014-12-05T23:30:08","slug":"the-great-moonshine-plot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/?p=13037","title":{"rendered":"The Great Moonshine Plot…"},"content":{"rendered":"

photo-2-small.JPG<\/a><\/p>\n

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart. <\/p>\n

—Confucius
\n_____________<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t exactly consider myself a connoisseur. But I like to have a jar of moonshine around, now and then. I\u2019m fascinated by the history of the drink. Farmers, getting the best possible price for their corn. And I\u2019m especially respectful of the drink, because it\u2019s illegal. That makes any moonshine worth drinking, all on its own, that little fact right there. The guys who make it are thumbing their noses at the evil, invasive nanny state. Yeah, it\u2019s against your laws. But I\u2019ll make it, and I\u2019ll sell it anyway. Do what you can to stop me. You gotta respect a man who does that. <\/p>\n

Like I said, I\u2019m no expert. I\u2019ve got a contact, here and there, where I can pick up a jar now and then. The clear stuff, usually. And about 95% of clear moonshine leaves you gasping, when you take a shot. And it tastes like kerosene, most times. I\u2019ve had only one jar, ever, that came out of West Virginia, that didn\u2019t make you gasp. That stuff was smooth as silk, with no aftertaste whatsoever. I shared it joyfully with my friends. I drink alone, because I drink when I write. But I never drink moonshine alone. That stuff\u2019s made to be shared. And it\u2019s made so you only take one shot. Much more than that, and you\u2019ll soon be sitting on your butt, your head spinning. <\/p>\n

The seeds of this little tale go back, oh, I\u2019d say six weeks or so. I got a call at work from a redneck builder down south in Maryland. (To me, \u201credneck\u201d is a fond term.) The guy\u2019s been buying metal roofing from me for years. And we\u2019ve developed a real friendship. Anyway, that day he was on the road. He wanted to place an order for metal roofing for a house, a job he\u2019d just landed. And he told me all the lengths, all the trim and accessories he needed. I\u2019ll order the metal in, I told him as we were wrapping up. And I\u2019ll put you on for delivery for next Thursday. \u201cThat\u2019ll work,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019m heading out of town. So call me the day before you deliver, just to make sure I\u2019m ready for the stuff.\u201d I\u2019ll do that, I said. And then I asked him. Out of town? Where are you heading?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m goin\u2019 to Tennessee,\u201d he told me. \u201cAnd I figure to be back next Tuesday. That\u2019s why I want you to call, just to make sure I\u2019m ready for the metal.\u201d I locked in. Tennessee? I asked him. Well, you know what you can bring me. I\u2019ll sure take a jar of \u2018shine from down there, if you can find a still. He rolled right with it. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m plannin\u2019 to do. I figured I\u2019d bring you a jar.\u201d Hey, thanks, I said. I\u2019ll look forward to it. <\/p>\n

I called him, the next week, on Wednesday. The day before his delivery was scheduled. Yes, he was back. And yes, bring the load. He added a few more small items he\u2019d thought of. All right, we\u2019ll be out there first thing, I told him. And then I asked him. Did you get me some \u2018shine? \u201cYup,\u201d he said. \u201cI got the clear, and I got the Apple Pie. Which do you want?\u201d I\u2019d rather have the clear, I said. I\u2019m suspicious of Apple Pie. I got a few jars of that once, and it slushed up on me, when I put it in the freezer. That\u2019s the way you test it, to see if it\u2019s real \u2018shine. It better stay all liquid, when you put it in the freezer. <\/p>\n

\u201cOK,\u201d he said. \u201cI got a jar of clear for you. Shall I send it back with the driver?\u201d Nah, I said. I don\u2019t want any Graber trucks stopped for running \u2018shine. Just drop it off, sometime when you\u2019re around. I\u2019ll pay you for it. \u201cI will,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t want paid for it. I want a signed copy of your book.\u201d I\u2019ll be happy to trade, that way, I said. But I\u2019ll sure be getting the best deal, of the two of us. I mean, my book ain\u2019t worth what you paid for that \u2018shine. \u201cI don\u2019t care,\u201d he said. \u201cI just want a signed copy of your book. And I\u2019ll trade, straight across.\u201d Sounds good to me, I said. I\u2019ll look for you, one of these days. <\/p>\n

And he walked in, a couple of Fridays back. I saw him coming. He was carrying a little brown paper bag. I got up to greet him, and we stood there and talked across the counter. You\u2019ll all dressed up, man, I said. Pretty slicked up. What’s up with that? \u201cYeah, today\u2019s my birthday,\u201d he said. “So I\u2019m going out to celebrate a bit.” We chatted a bit more. And then I asked him. I see your bag. Did you bring my moonshine?<\/p>\n

\u201cYup,\u201d he said, handing it over. I opened the bag. Inside was a little plastic bag, wrapped around a cold jar. \u201cI\u2019ve kept it in the freezer,\u201d he told me. I took the jar out. Unscrewed the lid. Sure smelled like the real stuff. We might as well have a taste, I said. I handed him the jar. You go first, you brought it here for me. He took it from my hands, and took a sip. Then he solemnly handed it back to me. I took a sip. We had moonshine communion, right there. That\u2019s pretty good stuff, I said. Very smooth. Don\u2019t taste like kerosene at all. \u201cI told you it was good,\u201d he said. He seemed pretty proud of his contacts, down in Tennessee. <\/p>\n

He likes to stand and talk a while when he comes, so we stood and talked about things. Then I reached under my desk and got out a copy of my book. I opened the front cover, and signed the book over to my friend. \u201cYou know, I\u2019m gonna try to get it read,\u201d he said, as he took it from me. \u201cI always fall asleep when I sit down to read something. Even when it\u2019s a hunting magazine, something I\u2019m interested in. I just fall asleep. But I\u2019m sure gonna try hard to get this read.\u201d Don\u2019t worry about it, if you don\u2019t, I told him. I never ask anyone if they\u2019ve read it, after I give them a copy. I figure if they want to tell me they did, that\u2019s fine. But I don\u2019t ask. I won\u2019t ask you, either. <\/p>\n

He picked up a few tubes of caulk for that roofing job, then. Thanks again for the \u2018shine, I said. We shook hands, and he walked out. A real good guy, right there, I told Andrew. Look. He brought me some \u2018shine from Tennessee, for a copy of my book. Andrew seemed pretty impressed. <\/p>\n

And right here, I might as well insert this. I don\u2019t know any better place to say it. Things have changed a bit, lately, at Graber. Reuben wanted to get away, be less involved in the day to day business of things. So he hired a guy to be \u201chim,\u201d a guy who oversees every detail of every aspect of the business. He came along about a month ago. His name is Rodney. We were all kind of freaked out, those of us who\u2019ve been there a long time. What\u2019s this? Change? We don\u2019t like change. Who is this guy, and what\u2019s he gonna do around here?<\/p>\n

Well, I must say it\u2019s all been rolling along pretty smoothly, so far. Rodney didn\u2019t come in and throw his weight around, right off. We just didn\u2019t know, how it would be. He met with each employee, individually. And he just talked to each one. He\u2019s upbeat, to a fault, almost. He\u2019s a guy who ran a large nonprofit, before he came to Graber. Actually, I think he was overqualified for the job. But he took it. And he came right in there, and stamped his nonthreatening personality all over the place. Slowly, but relentlessly. <\/p>\n

He likes to talk about \u201cteamwork\u201d a lot. Beyond anything any of us had ever heard before. And he was all cheery, as the Christmas season came down at us. Christmas cheer. Let\u2019s hear it. I grumbled at him. I\u2019m a grinch. Leave me alone, when it comes to Christmas. And one day, Rosita cranked up the one Christmas song she knew I despised. Dominick the Donkey. It\u2019s a silly little senseless tune. She tortures me with it every year, and has for years. And I grumbled loudly at her. Shut that song off. I don\u2019t want to hear it. <\/p>\n

Rodney overheard us fussing. And he stepped right out, and inserted himself. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you like that song, and why don\u2019t you like Christmas?\u201d He asked. It\u2019s a silly song, and I don\u2019t have to like Christmas if I don\u2019t want to, I said. Just let me fuss at Rosita. Well. That was certainly the wrong thing to say. Because the man decreed that Dominick the Donkey will be played loudly every afternoon, right up through Christmas. I grumbled savagely. You\u2019re inflicting pain on me, here. And every afternoon, right around 2 PM, they rolled out the song. I hunched in my chair, as they all made snide remarks at me. <\/p>\n

And somehow, I managed to negotiate some terms. Look. I don\u2019t feel like I have a voice, here. Let\u2019s make a window. Say, between 1:30 and 2:15. The song has to be played in that window. If we get all busy, or if you all forget, I get to have peace that day. Rosita and Andrew scoffed. But Rodney listened. \u201cOK, that\u2019s negotiating. That\u2019s a better place than you were before. So it has to happen, in that forty-five minutes. Or the song won\u2019t be played.\u201d I can accept that, I said. And believe me, I won\u2019t be reminding anyone about anything in those forty-five minutes. <\/p>\n

Back to that Friday afternoon. I forget if the abominable song was played, but I\u2019m pretty sure it was. I didn\u2019t care much, that day. I was excited, because Janice was coming around. She was working in Philly, and had reserved rooms at Cork Factory Hotel. One room for me, and one for her and Wilm. It\u2019s been a while, well, back at the beach in September, since we\u2019d hung out together, the three of us. And I was looking forward a lot, to seeing her again. I set the jar of \u2018shine on the floor behind the counter, so I wouldn\u2019t forget it when I left. And at some point, I invited the others. Let\u2019s all have a sip. I even poked my head around the corner and asked Rodney, if he\u2019d like some. \u201cSure,\u201d he said. And we all huddled together.<\/p>\n

We held out our little pointy white paper water cups, and I poured us all a little shot. Even Rosita came and participated. We saluted. Cheers. They probably said \u201cto Christmas.\u201d I didn\u2019t. And then we gulped it down. The second moonshine communion I had that day. You\u2019d think you could trust about any group you just drank moonshine with, especially if you supplied it. <\/p>\n

I left a little early, then, around four. I had to run home, finish and post the blog about Bear Stoll, and then head on over to Cork Factory Hotel. I was winding my way through Gap, when I looked, and realized something. The \u2018shine. I\u2019d forgotten the \u2018shine. Drat. Oh, well. After getting through town, I called Andrew\u2019s cell. He didn\u2019t answer, so I left a message. Hey, Ira here. I forgot my moonshine. It\u2019s sitting there, behind the counter. Save the paper and plastic bags it\u2019s in, but put the jar in the freezer. I\u2019ll take it home on Monday. Andrew texted me back, when I got home. \u201cThanks. We\u2019ll have a real big party over the weekend.\u201d I know exactly how much \u2018shine is in that jar, I texted back. And it better be right where it is right now. <\/p>\n

Somewhere in the Old Testament, there is a verse that speaks of how desperately wicked the human heart is. I suppose my own heart is as depraved as anyone\u2019s. Actually, I know it is. But for the crew at the office there at Graber, I\u2019ll tweak that verse just a bit. They, at least the ones who were present that Friday afternoon, their hearts are desperately devious. That\u2019s all I can say. And I\u2019ll tell you why a little bit later.<\/p>\n

The evening rolled right in at me. And the weekend. I posted my blog, then headed on in to meet Janice and Wilm, at Cork and Cap for dinner. Janice had been all busy. And we were joined by Reuben, and a few other local friends. We all sat around a large table, and just had a real good time. Later, we sat at the bar, in a long line, and just caught up. It was family and friends time. <\/p>\n

The next morning, we got up late. Just lounged around. After coffee, Janice headed out with me, back to my home turf, to run some errands. It\u2019s so rare, that she and I just get to drive around and talk. And we just chatted about things. How the year went, how hard it was, a lot of it. I\u2019m in a pretty good place, when you think about how it all went, I said. But as Christmas is coming up, I\u2019m a little sad. I think back to last year this time, and how I was all excited about a special gift I was getting together. You were with me, when I went to pick it up. It was the first time we stayed at Cork Factory. We picked it up that Saturday afternoon. And you remember how proudly I showed it to you, the gift. I look back at how excited I was about it, what a surprise it would be. And I look back now at what all has happened since then. This year, there is no special gift to send to anyone. And it just waves through me. Not heavy sadness. But still, the memories flood in, and this year, this Christmas, I\u2019m a little sad. Janice nodded. She knew what I was talking about. She\u2019s been a rock of support from the instant that particular world crumpled around me. \u201cIt\u2019s real, how a season can do that to you. Even a season like Christmas,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

We stopped by an Amish farmer\u2019s place to pick up a gallon of fresh Jersey milk. Every other Saturday, I stop and buy a gallon from the guy. A big old glass jar, sitting there in the ice cold water in the tank. I take it on over to my friends, David and Esther\u2019s place. Esther takes that raw fresh Jersey milk and makes four quarts of totally natural yogurt. I stop back, usually on Sunday afternoon, and pick up two of those quarts of delicious natural yogurt. And she keeps two. It\u2019s a real nice little deal we\u2019ve had going for a while, now. Esther smiled and welcomed Janice. Her married daughter, Emma was home, with her two-year-old daughter. The girl was just a little live wire, and Janice connected immediately with her. The two of them talked in PA Dutch. The little girl was all proud that her hair was long enough to make a bun. \u201cLook, a bun,\u201d she said to Janice, turning around and pointing to her bun of hair. Janice made much fuss about that bun. I watched the two of them connect, and it pierced my heart a bit. Because I knew Janice was seeing little Abby in that little girl. <\/p>\n

All right. Meandering here. But I guess I can do that, because this is my blog. We headed back to the city, then, and met Wilm at the Hotel. Janice drove us over to Central Market. The oldest continuously open Farmer\u2019s Market in the country. Right in the middle of downtown Lancaster. It\u2019s a teeming place, with all sorts of every imaginable goody. Food, fresh food. Fruits, fresh fruits. And all kinds of delicious things to eat, from the lunch stands. We puttered around for an hour, as the place was winding down. As full as it was, even then, I\u2019d hate to be around when it opened on a Saturday morning. <\/p>\n

Janice and I bought some food at a Cuban stand. And Wilm bought some Thai pasta of some kind. It was time to leave, then. Janice told me. \u201cWilm and I want to go shopping at TJ Maxx. Do you want to come along, or should we drop you off at the Hotel?\u201d Oh, I\u2019ll go along, I said, all innocently. I need a few things. She looked a little dubious, but I insisted. I\u2019ll go along. So off we went, to TJ Maxx. I was about to learn a few things, I must say. <\/p>\n

I puttered and putzed around, over in the men\u2019s section. For about twenty minutes. And then I went to hunt up the girls. I\u2019m going over to Ollie\u2019s, for a while, I said. Text me when you\u2019re ready to leave. \u201cOK, we will,\u201d they said. And off I wandered, to Ollie\u2019s, a quarter mile away. A big discount warehouse, that\u2019s what Ollie\u2019s is. I wandered through the place. For a long time, probably half an hour. I checked out their book section. One of these days, my book is gonna hit the discount section. But it wasn\u2019t there, at Ollie\u2019s, not that day. I kept checking my phone, for a text. Nothing. Finally, I gave up. Walked the quarter mile back to TJ Maxx. Surely the girls would be checking out, by the time I got there. <\/p>\n

I walked back into the store, and looked and looked for Janice\u2019s dark red hair. I mean, I scanned the place. Walked all over, looking and looking. No mane of dark red hair to be seen anywhere. So I parked out, close to the exit. Just stood there, and lounged. And lounged. Wandered in circles. I noticed, that the clerks close by were eying me strangely. A tall guy, standing and wandering. What\u2019s he doing here? I figured they thought I was about to rob the place. So I finally texted Janice, in desperation. Where are you? I\u2019m back, in the store. She texted right back. \u201cWe\u2019re in the dressing room.\u201d A few minutes later, they emerged, Janice and Wilm. Chattering about the jeans they\u2019d tried on, and all about how much more stuff they wanted to look at. It was pretty clear that they had only begun shopping.<\/p>\n

I stood and faced them both. Look, I said. I\u2019m done. Here\u2019s my offer. If you take me back to the Hotel, I promise that I will never, never go shopping with you again. They took up my offer. Half somberly. Janice couldn\u2019t stop laughing, all the way back, though. \u201cYou poor man. Going shopping with me and Wilm.\u201d And they dropped me off, at Cork and Cap. And went back to their shopping. I nursed my wounds, at the bar, with a drink. And then I went back to my room, until the girls came back to take me out for dinner. At a very nice little French restaurant. I never knew such a place existed in Lancaster. But then, why should I? I abhor the evil city. But that night, it was a good place. And later we hung out with Joe and Moe, the bartenders at Cork and Cap. <\/p>\n

The next morning, we woke up late. And we had brunch, at the restaurant. If you ever get to Lancaster, look up two places. Vinola\u2019s, my bar in Leola. And Cork and Cap, in Lancaster. I\u2019d stack those two places against any place you suggest to me. They\u2019re real. The people are real. And they both got real good food and drinks. After brunch, we all got a little sad. Janice had to head right to the airport, to catch her plane west. We all hugged. And parted again, one more time. Until the next time. <\/p>\n

OK. I\u2019m done meandering, now. Back to the moonshine. I got to work, that Monday, after all that fun. And I was feeling pretty good. I asked Andrew, sometime that morning. Did you put my moonshine in the freezer? \u201cNo,\u201d he said. \u201cI just put it in the fridge.\u201d I thought I told you to put it in the freezer, I said. Oh, well. We\u2019ll have a taste again, before I take it home tonight. He looked all eager, to have a taste. <\/p>\n

And right here, I\u2019ll repeat myself. I\u2019ve never done this before. But this time, I will. I will repeat myself. Somewhere in the Old Testament, there is a verse that speaks of how desperately wicked the human heart is. I suppose my own heart is as depraved as anyone\u2019s. Actually, I know it is. But for the crew at the office there at Graber, I\u2019ll tweak that verse just a bit. They, at least the ones who were present that Monday after lunch, and maybe at least one other person who wasn\u2019t present, their hearts are desperately devious. Or at least those hearts were desperately devious, that day. <\/p>\n

Andrew had to leave at two that day, for some appointment. So about fifteen minutes before he left, I got all generous again. I would share what I had with my friends. Let\u2019s have another shot of \u2018shine before you go. They both seemed all eager, Rosita and Andrew. Rodney wasn\u2019t around right then. I\u2019m sure he would have been all eager, too. <\/p>\n

I had walked out a bit earlier, and stuck the \u2018shine up in the freezer, so it would get real cold. That\u2019s the best way to sip it. Ice cold, straight from the freezer. When I went back to fetch it, little icicles were forming on the inside of the jar. What the heck was that all about? I wondered. My redneck friend had told me he kept it in the freezer. Maybe it\u2019s not as pure as he thought it was. I carried it out, to where the others were waiting. <\/p>\n

I opened the jar. The moonshine smell whooshed right out. This is real good stuff, I said as I poured us each a shot. Cheers, we said to each other. Then we all tossed it back. That\u2019s pretty smooth, I must say, I said. \u201cYes, yes,\u201d they both agreed, although I think Rosita coughed a bit, pretending to choke. \u201cIt\u2019s real smooth.\u201d And I sat back in my chair, all satisfied at having shared my \u2018shine with such good, true friends. Nothing like a little shot of good \u2018shine, after a meal, I told Andrew. He agreed, as he was rushing out to his appointment. <\/p>\n

I carefully placed my jar of moonshine back into the fridge. Not the freezer. It had slushed up, earlier. And I was perturbed about that. Maybe the stuff was diluted. As I left work, I carried my precious jar of \u2018shine out to my truck with me. David, Andrew\u2019s older brother, was walking out to his car, too. \u201cOh, what do you have there?\u201d he asked, all interested. I got some real good, smooth \u2018shine, I said. Do you want a taste? \u201cSure,\u201d he said. I unscrewed the lid, and again shared my \u2018shine with a friend. He took a small sip. \u201cThat\u2019s pretty smooth,\u201d he told me. Yeah, it sure is, I said. I got it from a redneck friend. He traded it for a copy of my book. I took that jar home, and put in the fridge. I\u2019m not trusting it not to freeze, I thought to myself. I\u2019ll just keep it down here, until I figure out what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n

And the next day at work, Andrew and Rosita told Rodney. \u201cWe had a shot of Ira\u2019s \u2018shine yesterday, again. It was real smooth.\u201d Rodney looked all grieved, that he\u2019d missed it. But he told me. \u201cI\u2019ve got a jar of \u2018shine, here. Do you want to try it?\u201d Sure, I said, all eager. It was after lunch, I think. Not real clear on some specific details. So he brought the jar down, from the fridge upstairs. A nice cold jar, looked like. We stepped into a back room, and poured out shots into those little pointy white cups again. Saluted each other. And drank the \u2018shine. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s was a little rough, I thought. That\u2019s not the quality of my \u2018shine, I told Rodney. You need better sources. He looked all sad, like he was all disappointed. \u201cIt\u2019s not as good as yours?\u201d he asked it plaintively, over and over again. Nope, I said. It\u2019s definitely not as smooth as mine. We all settled back to our stations again, then. But Rodney hovered. He had something to say, yet, seemed like. Maybe he was going to make that awful Dominick the Donkey song play, again. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is your moonshine,\u201d he said, handing me the jar. I figured he was being gracious and giving me a gift of inferior stuff. Well, thank you, I said. I appreciate that. \u201cNo,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is your moonshine.\u201d Yes, I know that, I said. You just gave it to me. \u201cThis is your moonshine,\u201d he repeated again. And then it finally sank through my brain. He was handing me my own jar of \u2018shine, the jar my redneck friend had brought me. The jar at home in my fridge, that stuff was icing up, because it was water. <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t trust people, real easy. But when I do, I trust them pretty much completely. If I trust you, and you tell me you\u2019re gonna be somewhere, I figure you will be there. If you\u2019re not, well, I probably won\u2019t ever trust you again. And if you tell me you saved my \u2018shine in the fridge, and you trot it out, and we have a sip, I figure you\u2019re telling me the truth. And when it\u2019s not the truth, well, water will taste like moonshine. <\/p>\n

Because that\u2019s what they did, that Friday afternoon, after I forgot my jar of \u2018shine. They switched it out, for water. I\u2019m not quite sure who\u2019s idea it was, who came up with it. I tried to get them to go back and remember the details. They were all vague, all of a sudden. But there was a whole lot of teamwork going on, all of a sudden, too. A whole lot of plotting. And when I opened that jar, when we had that sip, Andrew and Rosita and me, it still smelled just like moonshine. And because that\u2019s what I was totally expecting, my brain told me that\u2019s what I was drinking. I kept exclaiming how smooth it was. Of course it was smooth. It was water. I would never have believed such a thing could be, had it not happened to me. <\/p>\n

At least one person claims my face paled, when the truth hit me. I don\u2019t think it did. I was had, and I was had real good. I can\u2019t believe this, I kept saying over and over again. And I laughed, too, because it was all so ridiculous. Y\u2019all are a bunch of thugs, I said. Just because I\u2019m a grinch, you do this to me when my back is turned? I\u2019ll get you back, I will. And it came to me, right about then. Tell the story. That\u2019s how you get back at a devious prank like that. Just tell the story. <\/p>\n

And I told them. You think I\u2019m gonna slink down, and hide my face about this? Do you really think that? This story\u2019s gonna haunt me all my life, if I run from it. Tell you what. I\u2019m going to write it in my next blog. And right there, I think, I got back at them a little bit. I\u2019m sure that was the last thing they were expecting. <\/p>\n

And really, it all is pretty funny, when you think about it. It\u2019s a classic. They turned \u2018shine into water on me. And they turned water back to \u2018shine. I don\u2019t know that such a thing has ever happened before. That\u2019s the kind of world I live in, I guess. A world of miracles. <\/p>\n

And that right there is the story of the Great Moonshine Plot in this the year of our Lord, 2014. Are there any lessons in there anywhere? I don\u2019t write to preach, to tell you what to learn. I just write, to tell the story. I\u2019m sure the first lesson a lot of people would tell me is this. Don\u2019t drink moonshine. Then such a thing wouldn\u2019t happen to you. OK, then. Other than that, I ain\u2019t got a whole lot of specific lessons to tell. If there\u2019s any life lessons to be learned from the Great Moonshine Plot, figure them out yourself. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart. —Confucius _____________ I don\u2019t exactly consider myself a connoisseur. But I like to have a jar of moonshine around, now and then. I\u2019m fascinated by the history of the drink. Farmers, getting the best possible price for their corn. And I\u2019m especially respectful of the drink, because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13037"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13060,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13037\/revisions\/13060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}