Meet me at Peggy's

I’m sitting in the recliner with a cold adult beverage (more about adult beverages later). Hubby and I just finished raking up some leaves - leaves we didn’t have time to rake up in the fall before it snowed. Tiring work and still a lot more spring clean up to do but it’s a start.

Saw a woodpecker in our tree in the back yard – more evidence that our tree is rotting from within and probably should be taken down. Anyone know anything about woodpeckers? It was medium size, black body, white speckles and some white on the side of his face. I probably just described every species of woodpecker on the planet. Anyway, if you know what kind it is, drop me a line. I’m not much of a birder but I’m curious to know what kind it was.

Give me a sec while I take a sip of my cold adult beverage…AHHHHH!!! Now on to our regularly scheduled post...

Just in time for Drake University’s Relays, the Des Moines Register has done a “Bar Bio” on Peggy’s Tavern; just “Peggy’s” to those of us who have tossed back a few cold ones at this popular Drake student hangout.

Peggy’s Tavern – Bar Bio

Peggy’s is truly a Drake University tradition and a trip back for Relays is never official until you drink your first beer in a Peggy’s plastic cup.

Yes – I’ve spent some time in Peggy’s as both a Drake student and as an alum. I was never a weekly regular; I never knew the bartenders by name or carved my initials in one of the tables but I do have some good memories of the old place.

I remember playing drinking games with some of my sorority sisters (take a drink every time Sting sings “Roxanne”); standing shoulder to shoulder with strangers in the tent party during Relays; kissing my friend J full on the mouth so he’d buy me a drink (gave the bartenders a good laugh).

As an alum, going to Peggy’s is like a trip back in time. You almost expect to see a younger version of yourself sitting in one of the booths laughing and drinking with your friends. Instead you see present day Drake students laughing and drinking with their friends.

Maybe we are all really there…young and old…past, present and future Drake students all sitting in Peggy’s drinking together, forever linked in some kind of space time continuum thing (a la Star Trek)….or maybe not.

Either way, next time you are at Peggy’s raise your glass and give a toast to all Drake students. I might just be there too – past, present or future.

WOODPECKER UPDATE: Did some research last night and I've narrowed it down to one of two possibilities - a Downey Woodpecker or a Hairy Woodpecker. (Honestly, who thinks up these names?) The two species look the same but the Hairy Woodpecker is larger. I realize I am running a huge risk of getting some interesting comments with all this talk of woodpeckers... (I don't mind as long as they are clever. Think more Kelsey Grammer, less Beavis and Butthead.) :-)