It is with great sadness that I announce the death of the Purple Bucket. The Purple Bucket had held many an icy cold beer and had seen many a drunken party over the years. Mom originally owned the bucket back in the Party Palace days. Those were the days when we would be drunk before noon on the 4th of July. Those were the days when we would have contests to prove our manliness by seeing who could hold their arm in the icy water the longest. The bucket followed her to Asheville and the parties at her new place. When she moved to Seattle in 2002, the bucket was passed to me to carry on the festivities. A couple of years ago, I did a patch job on a small crack that had developed. I guess that was only delaying the inevitable. Yesterday the Purple Bucket exited in grand fashion with a flood of melted ice water that soaked my dining room floor.

So long, Purple Bucket. You will be missed!!!