A Scotch Alert and Good Neighbors

I have been operating under a “Scotch Alert” for a couple days.

I have three levels of indication regarding my supply of Scotch:

Scotch Alert:  Less than a half-bottle remaining.

Scotch Warning:  Only two small glasses of Scotch remaining.

Scotch Emergency:  Completely out of Scotch.

It’s a fine line between a Scotch Alert and a Scotch Emergency.  Until 8:00 last night, I entertained thoughts of making a trip into Helena to fetch a few essentials (read Scotch here) today.

But at 8:00 last night, a side-by-side pulled up onto the concrete apron in front of my garage.  A moment later, my doorbell rang.  Upon opening my door, I found two of my “down-lake” neighbors standing there at proper social distance. 

“We have something for you,” one of the men said.  He removed a box containing a bottle of Glenlivet 15-year, single malt Scotch from a paper sack.  He placed the box on the step below me and then wiped it down with disinfectant. “We just wanted to thank you for allowing the tower for internet service to be placed on your property last fall.”

“I have been working at home for the last month, thanks to the service,” the other gentleman added.

My neighbors are in something of a hole.  Without the tower, they really had only satellite service as an option, which remains perpetually sketchy and expensive.  Last fall, my internet provider approached me with a proposal to place a ten-foot tall tower on my property so service might be extended.

I stood talking with my neighbors for quite a while.  I thanked them several times for the Scotch.

Here is something true: Good neighbors and Scotch will find a way.

—Mitchell Hegman