An Evening at the Museum

I had no idea that some breweries send samples of their work but do not, or cannot, send a representative with them. I got to be a server! The big benefit of this was that I and my fellow volunteer servers had to sample the wares of the Chainsaw Juggling Mimes Brewery in order to be able to talk about them effectively. Outstanding!

No dinosaurs though, nor the just as good location of the Streets of Old Milwaukee. I was located up on the third floor in the African Hall, in the nook that is Morocco. This wasn't a bad spot at all. The mummy is right next door and to the other side are elephants and rhinos and lions and such. Plus, since the Morocco area is a large square and the tables filled the entryway, we had a lot of room to work in, not like the corners that some breweries are tucked into. The floor is level, the atmosphere is cozy, the lighting is good, all winners. It would have been a little more cool if we were serving beer from Morocco. My limited experience with beer from Morocco has shown me that it's quite good.

Once the event began, the bulk of the night flew by. As patrons arrived we filled their sample glasses with the brew they requested. Some asked for assistance in making a choice. Others were keen to discuss the available brews and we did our best to be informative.

As we got swamped and started realizing what we were in for, our team of four decided we were going to need the occasional break just to catch our breath. In between serving and discussing with patrons, we agreed that we'd keep at it until we needed a moment, one of us would swing out for a breather, and we'd take it in turns so that we'd keep the line moving at the same time. Some of this logic was based on the fact that I was the youngest member of our little group. While not being a very good judge of other people's ages, Tim and Dorothy were probably old enough to be my parents and Sandy seemed to be a decade ahead of me. No one seemed particularly weak or feeble but it was very busy work.

We were about halfway through the night when I was finally made to rest. The others had all rested for a minute, Dorothy twice, and I was informed I was getting a bit shaky. I hadn't noticed until Sandy said so and then I could notice nothing else. I stepped to the side and leaned against a decorative display that holds a touch screen that activates a television which used to be down on the second floor until they closed down the Temples, Tells, and Tombs exhibit.

I inhaled deeply. I blinked slowly. I was quickly interrupted.

A large man collected my attention by clearing his throat politely. “Pardon me sir, might we gain access to the area behind the tables?”

It was not a question I expected. “What for?” I asked.

“Four?” a thin gentleman next to the original speaker asked. “No, there's only the two of us.”

I blinked. Tired as I was, his confusion confused me for a moment. “No, I mean to what end? For what purpose?”

“We have an interest in the contents of that case, over there.” With an elaborate gesture, the man of girth indicated the display case on the other side of the square.

This did little to help me understand. “You can see that any time the Museum is open. If you come back tomorrow, you can spend all day observing that case.”

“Oh no sir,” the large man politely protested. “The time of day is quite important to us.”

His thinner friend nodded. “Yes, we're ghost hunters.”