It’s the week after the greatest two minutes in sports, known to the rest of the world as the Kentucky Derby. Now what? That’s the dilemma facing Louisvillians every year after the first Saturday in May. Here’s how you can tell it’s getting back to typical every day life in the Ville.
1). We start cooking again. Thunder Over Louisville was a reason to eat from a food truck. So was Fest-A-Ville. And the Pegasus Parade. Oh, and then there’s the barbecue at your brothers house. Now we get to reacquaint ourselves with our kitchens. All you have to do is remember how to turn the oven on. Maybe you still have the manual?
2). We put stuff other than bourbon in bourbon bottles. Okay, we drank from it first. A lot. But now that the mint juleps and other concoctions have drained them dry, we can’t stand to throw away the bottles. Some of them are quite neat. Raise your hand if you use a Maker’s Mark bottle to collect change and call it the “vacation fund.” And how cute to flowers look springing forth from a Four Roses bottle?
3). We can afford to drive our cars again. Every year during Kentucky Derby season, every self service station in town inexplicably raises gas prices by 20 cents or more from where they were the previous weeks. And they hover there until they figure we’re tapped out. To be sure, the price decline is very, very gradual but this time next week, let’s see if it’s still $3.89 a gallon.
4). We start talking about basketball recruiting again. How nuts are we about that game? Think about this. During this period when we celebrate a century plus tradition that draws attention to our city, we find a way to work a baseball game into it, too. Plus an all star style exhibition competition the day before. Then that certain horse race interrupts us. Now it’s back to trying to figure out if Calipari is a better recruiter than Pitino. It’s what we do.
5). We search for money we wish we hadn’t spent because Mother’s Day is this weekend. How easy is it to overspend on activities during the Kentucky Derby Festival? Sure the Pegasus Pin is still reasonably priced and gets us into a myriad of events. Problem is, that little hunk of pretty plastic doesn’t also pay for grilled corn on the cob or lemon shake ups. There’s also the little problem of wagering. Some people do it in work pool or at a family get together where you draw slips of paper. Add to that the Churchill Downs betting windows and online betting. We end up poorer because we thought Calvin Borel could get it done on Ride on Curlin. Every year we promise mom we’ll get a better present. Let’s really make an effort to try next year.
Photo by: Julie Vader/Shutterstock.com
