Monday, September 12, 2005

A perpetuation of things

After visiting my parents recently, we came home with a set of goblets that had belonged to my grandparents. They're not extravagant, but they're heavy with an authentic art deco style that's a relief in our buy-stylish-merchandise-at-Target era. My grandparents used them for water glasses. Tonight, some time after dinner, I noticed the glasses still on the counter with a drop of pinot noir remaining in their bowls. I had a terrifying flash of guilt, considering (maybe naively), that this is the first time they've been used for alchohol in my conservative family, that somehow they had been desecrated.

The guilt passed quickly. But, it reminded me that these glass things had survived when the mood swings of families and mores had not. My wife and I discovered wine after college. At first it was a kind of elitist academic thing, being ushered in by eccentric connoisseurs who didn't mind buying so their company could experience the craft. Then, on a vacation to Spain, we ordered house wines with our dinner and enjoyed the taste and the happy experience and the absolute appropriateness of it. Now, you can throw in that connection with Jesus' first miracle and the communion table, and add to it many more enjoyable dinners with friends, and a glass of wine has become a wonderful gift, and a discovery.

So, it's nice to finally have some stemware, but I hope my grandparents aren't offended.