The Only Things That Matter... (A Little Paper Boat)

Make your own fun... and stop worrying.

Dear Fellow Expat:

I’ve rewritten this email six times.

Because it matters.

You see… I spent the first two hours of my day getting a Tuberculosis test.

Uplifting, right?

BUT…

But as I left… I spotted a bright yellow truck.

On the side of it… it read in BIG RED LETTERS…

Malört

I flagged the driver down. I made him take this picture of me.

Malört is a Chicago tradition.

It’s a bitter, herbaceous liqueur made primarily with wormwood.

And boy… does it have a strong taste.

Readers of the Chicago Sun-Times described it as tasting like "pencil shavings," "burnt rubber," or "grapefruit rind," with lingering bitterness likened to "a mix of gasoline and earwax."

Funny thing… I love it.

I’m in the very small minority here…

Today, I discovered that my local favorite sandwich show sells Malört (that’s where the truck was).

The Wine Merchant in Lutherville, Maryland stores Malört behind the Rumpleminze and Sambucca bottles.

I have dubbed this… “The Game Seven” shelf.

It’s for a class of people that can’t be…