Can you have too much fun?

All you care about is having fun, my mother used to tell me. She pronounced the f word with exaggeration and distaste. It’s true, I enjoy a good time, but in a more literal sense than she imagined. Fun times have their element of entertainment and distraction but more than that, it’s the layers of satisfaction you can discover in a perfect moment.


What’s the most fun you had this weekend, I asked my husband while my own perfect moment played in my brain.

Four of us enter a beer joint carved out of a recycled warehouse. Full disclosure: it’s an organic brewing company in a trendy industrial setting that also houses bakeries and wine tasting rooms, but on a Monday afternoon only the locals hang out here.

Are these fishermen, wharf rats or seedy surfers swapping tales in salty language? We order ale and a couple of stouts, find ourselves a dark corner and settle in. Vic swings open a window and perches on the ledge, a graceful figure in relief against the sudden appearance of sun. She unpacks our sandwiches and we sip, munch and contemplate the action at the bar.

The topic of conversation is music. A young man in a black sweatshirt and cool boots holds forth on the musical themes of Beethoven that appear in his favorite rock tunes and how much fun it is to actually play Beethoven. The small group that gathers about him is enthralled. I lean over discreetly and say to my son, “Is this a University hangout?” He lifts one corner of his mouth.

Two young boys enter the bar and the people reconfigure, some moving to tables to give the boys room to belly up. They seat themselves and spread their homework out in front of them. The conversation turns to vocabulary lists and math problems. The barmaid tests their spelling and the university student explains an obscure number theory to the boys.

He did a good job, my husband says.

I think we are witnessing a new model for education that is very workable, I say, and we finish our brews, Warmed by the sun, the hops and the interaction we witnessed in... whatever that was... bar, pub, tasting room, classroom, we head out for more adventure.

This was fun.