IN SEARCH OF SHARPS

I don't recommend acquiring a taste for a product that's hard to find. In my case, the acquired taste is for Sharps non-alcoholic beer, made by the Miller Brewing Co. When I gave up the leaded stuff, almost 20 years ago, Sharps was the substitute that made it easier for me to make the transition. Some people might say that my acquired taste for Sharps has become more of an addiction, but that's not really the case. Hey, I just like the taste of the stuff, and when I can find it, I like to drink one or two a day! Well, for the last 2 months, I haven't been able to find it. Fortunately, we left Arizona with a good supply, and when we were in the Pacific Northwest, I was able to replenish, and even add to the stock level. When we started across the country, there was no Sharps to be found, and believe me, we looked. As the supply started to become dangerously low, I found a beer store in Hershey, PA, that had a total of 5 six packs of Sharps in bottles. Even though I prefer the cans, I snatched them up, prolonging what seemed to be the inevitable. I had called our son Mike before our arrival, and asked him to find or order some Sharps in cans. After a few days, the answer was no cans available. Was this the end? Did Miller decide to stop production, even though they had at least one dedicated consumer? Not wanting to know the answer, I resisted the temptation to call Milwaukee, and began the process of mentally withdrawing from an almost 20 year friend. Then, out of the blue, yesterday I hit the jackpot! We ventured out to the post office, and then stopped at the local Wal-Mart for some groceries, where I spotted that distinctive cardboard 12 pack of Sharps, standing out like an oasis in the desert. I had to resist the urge to loudly shout out "YES", and quietly loaded the 4 twelve packs into the cart. I think before we leave Orlando, I'll have to visit this Wal-Mart again, in hopes that they will have restocked the shelves. This afternoon, we will drive the motor home over to Orlando Cummins Coach Care, for an appointment to have the shocks installed tomorrow morning. The refrigerator is still acting up, so, maybe if we have enough people look at it, someone will find the problem. I guess the good news is that it still works, sort of. The blog may be posted a little late tomorrow.