Panaché (aka the “Shandy”)

Things here have been a bit slow but I assure this dilatory state has been of my own design and is no reflection on the urgent desire I have to share a Panaché with you.   I will forgo, however, the traditional (and somewhat narcissistic) exaggerated apologies many bloggers offer when they fail to post as frequently as they usually do.  I embrace digital holidays.

“Slow down, you move too fast 
You got to make the morning last 
Just kicking down the cobblestones 
Looking for fun and feeling groovy”

                                                  -Feeling Groovy (59th St. Bridge Song)

This blog deceleration was my coping mechanism for a burgeoning awareness that much of my life has been either sped up or put on a deadline of some kind.  Everything these days, whether it is a task or a text message, has a due date that requires immediate attention.  Technology has made the demands of modern living more intense and more vocal.  We are now available to everyone else around the globe 24 hours a day. They also ask for an answer right way.

When was it decided that every text message, email, or voice message had to be returned immediately? when the phone rings are we really obligated to answer it?

“I just sent you a text.   Didn’t you get my voice mail?   Are you there? I know you are there.”

I  count on downtime.  My particular brand of writing and blogging requires it.  I just haven’t had any lately.  And when I did I was seemed paralyzed as to how to use it.  That free hour was consumed with the guilt and anxiety that would come over me while thinking of all that I wasn’t doing during it.  Distractions and guilt were so intense  I couldn’t focus long enough to write anything sis boomy.

“Did you see what I posted on my Facebook?   I tagged you and you didn’t respond!”

I’ve been cooking but not posting.  I’m always cooking. My stomach is on a deadline and many things with deadlines still get top priority.   Ramblings and random stories,  attached to the pretty pictures and recipes just don’t reveal themselves to me with all of life’s current “noise”.

My ‘next post’ just never got written.  My inner world was so crowded with external distractions I couldn’t formulate thoughts or sentences for you so took a time-out.  And it felt good. I only have time it seems for simple creations like a panché.

I took my blogging time-out by ignoring the urgency around me. How much of all this rush was truly necessary? When did everyone decide that ‘speed’ and ‘productivity’ were to be our primary values?  For a little while at least I’m here to assert the twin values of ‘go slow’ and ‘procrastinate where possible.’

My laundry can wait. If I have missed your call, email or text, it is because I was enjoying my time. I probably turned my phone off and read that book sitting here bedside for months.

Decisions will often sort themselves out if you wait. Procrastination, when used wisely, can be a strength. How many times has your second idea been better than your first? Inspiration can’t be hurried. Hemingway once said the best way to start a novel is by cleaning the refrigerator. He did.

I have checked my email 10 times, responded to 4 texts, and even tweeted twice since I started writing this post. None of this was anything urgent, but my brain now seems wired to stop what I’m doing and respond. WHY? I’m turning off my phone now. I need to clean the refrigerator.

Panaché

If you are going to take a time-out, electronic or otherwise, and relax during these hot summer days I would suggest enjoying a Panaché while you do it.

In Italy and France they call it “Panaché” (which means “mixed” – pronunciation here.) but in the UK and elsewhere (including some parts of the US) it is often referred to as a “Shandy” (which means “shandy”).  In Spain I have heard it referred to as a “Clara con limon” or a “Pica”.  They are all good no matter what you call them.

There will be beer purists among you who will recoil in horror at the thought of mixing anything with beer.  Get over it.  Beer and lemonade may not be so popular in this part of the world, but given that just about everywhere else has some variation  going on we might just want to rethink it.  Perhaps we should rethink our purist stance.  After all there are many other refreshing summer mixes.  It is refreshing and delicious and its low alcohol content can make it somewhat practical too!  By the way that accent is there for a reason but I am too busy now to explain it to you.

“Creativity is the residue of wasted time” -Albert Einstein