Meet Squire Tom; Member of the Tennessee Squire Association
July 25, 2011-TH-
For those of you who had the honor of knowing JBD; you know he was a Jack Daniels fiend. If you had the privilege of celebrating your 21st birthday with JBD; you also know that Jack Daniels is an ingredient in the 3 Wise Men shot and 4 Horsemen Shot; and you know how you feel the morning day after…!
Last week I received what I can only describe as one of the coolest things ever in the mail. In the midst of the 100 degree heat; I threw the mail on my desk and took care of a few other things before returning. I had noticed but not really paid attention to the big envelope sitting in the pile; and I casually opened it expecting some sort of ad, legal item, or something else…
But instead; I opened up this:
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And if you don’t know what it is:
A Tennessee Squire is a member of the Tennessee Squire Association, which was formed in 1956 to honor special friends of the Jack Daniel’s distillery. Many prominent business and entertainment professionals are included among the membership, which is obtained only through recommendation of a current member. Squires receive a wallet card and deed certificate proclaiming them as “owner” of an unrecorded plot of land at the distillery and an honorary citizen of Moore County, Tennessee.
Now the back story; Mr. D has been a Tennessee Squire for a long time; I remember being at their house for the first time many years ago with JBD and seeing the same paperwork framed in their home and learning about it for the very first time. Between that memory and the many Jack Daniels consumed with JBD and I together, down to the toast in Jim’s honor the evening of The Wedding with a Jack and Coke in my hand and a full Jack and Coke at Jim’s place setting; and you can understand the thoughts that are intertwined of JBD, Jack Daniels, and life.
So color me shocked that 5 years after first learning about the Association; some plotting between B and Mr. D; that CF and I are both new members of the Tennessee Squire Association. I’m sure my shock and surprise and absolute speechlessness was prevalent in the voicemail I left for Mr. D; and B was just laughing at me when I couldn’t get the words out. By far one of the coolest gifts ever; and one that we will cherish forever; when B was telling me her logic on making sure CF and I were Squires, she said “it only made sense to have the 2 men in our family brought into the Association”, and she needed Mr. D to do the legwork since he was already a member.
(I finally dusted off my DSLR to start playing with again, something I was loving before The Crash but had not really been able to do since then; need to get Photoshop on the new computer to edit now..)
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| We’ve taken to this being JBD’s corner of the bar, on the portion of the bar we built together when he lived here. The picture in the background is normally hanging; and something I’ll share with you all…eventually |
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Needless to say; this is getting framed (ironically enough before I get my IU diploma framed…!) and going in a prominent place in our beloved Hoosier Room Bar. I’ve got the bottle of Jack Daniels that I gave JBD for his rehearsal gift sitting there already; and once we get these framed they’ll look right at home together. I suppose my toast of “eternal Jack and Coke” wasn’t just for JBD, but a way to forever remember him; which makes this gift so much more special to us.
So, B & Mr. and Mrs. D; thank you for spoiling us as always, the memories you have helped us create, preserve, and cherish are what have gotten us through everything and this was incredibly special to both L and I!
Cheers (Jack & Coke in hand)
-th