We all feel beaten down by the pandemic and politics. And by “beaten down by the pandemic and politics,” I mean, “beaten down by everyone you know yammering on about the vaccine and/or Afghanistan whether you wanted to hear from them or not.”

Maybe we all feel like John Coffey right now.

We may feel desperate for something to unite us. An associate even texted concern that my blogs have been more likely to show contempt for people I work with. [In my defense, that associate works in public relations and did add the caveat, “She’s probably just trying to prove herself.”]

But all is not lost. Loyal Scaiaholics know we are on a journey, and we’re never done growing.

That brings us to last weekend. America’s oldest brewery is still growing. Yuengling is now made in Fort Worth and started showing up in grocery stores a couple weeks ago.

They’ve even introduced a pilsner advertized as “highly sessionable.”

As a journalist who just added another national Edward R. Murrow Award to his arsenal, I understood the responsibility to get to the bottom of just how sessionable this Golden Pilsner was.

“What if this pilsner is just bronze or, gasp, pewter!?” a reporter asks.

At a meeting with associates, we determined the pilsner to be borderline lager-esque but a fine sippin’ beer.

And the marketplace of ideas had opened [as it often does when enjoying a sippin’ beer].

“Let’s fire up some Tom T. Hall!” I declared.

An associate countered that it felt more like a Jerry Reed evening. Around this time, his wife excused herself and their young child for reasons I don’t completely understand.

He and I started discussing how, Back in the Day, people sang about real issues. They also knew how to play instruments.

Consider Tom T. Hall’s “Salute to a Switchblade.”

Tom T. Hall recently passed away. I was first exposed to Hall at my first job in SuperOregon. I was news director of a classic country station where, I might add, I won my first three Murrow Awards, but they were all regional.

But Tom T. Hall sang about issues. He sang about Germans. He sang about schools and parents arguing with each other years before it was cool.

Hall even took on the issue of police oversight:

Even ten years ago, Tom T. Hall was worried about the news becoming too much of a downer.

Jerry Reed, however, had the guts to tell the devil where to stick it.

Jerry Reed was a guitar picker even as his voice struggled toward the end of this life. But he taught us to make it count, son! And he took on the issue of police oversight as well.

We found areas on which to agree: Both artists knew how to tell a story. They knew how to captivate their audience with their narrative.

Unlike kids today, who just make up words on the TikTok.

Consider “periodt.” Why not just use italics and bold type to emphasize your point?

Or “ded.” Did you really save that much time by eliminating the “a”?

If you have gossip in the form of tea, why do you have to spill the tea? Why can’t you just drink the tea and discuss the issue?

I think you’ll find I’m ragged, but I’m right.