When I considered writing about my recent and very significant tragedy, the first thought that popped into my head were the words, “Greek Tragedy and Shakespearian Tragedies”. Well, very quickly I realized my lack of writing skills! The first of which is “1 – Language: Shakespeare (or whoever really wrote the plays) wrote in iambic pentameter within a sixteenth century style of English. The Greek tragedies, of course, were in neither English nor iambic pentameter but in common Greek.”(1) I do remember hearing about iambic pentameter and failed miserably in my English classes trying my hand at it! As for common Greek, well, it is all Greek to me.

Secondly, ” 2 – Subject: Most of Shakespeare’s subjects were real people. He got many of his characters from “Holingshed’s Chronicle” and other historical volumes. Some Greek tragedies dealt with real people but had a tendency to veer to gods and goddesses and those with almost superhuman determination or strength.“(1) I am most definitely real people, but I will not even pretend to be a god or have superhuman traits.

Thirdly, ” 3 – Endings: Shakespeare’s endings were more more realistic. The Greek’s loved “deus ex machina” (god from a machine) for their happy endings. As our hero or heroine got deeper and deeper into plot problems, a hand-lowered contraption with a actor as “god” inside would magically make everything great again.”(1) The ending to my tragedy has not yet manifested itself, but, I do have a pretty good idea where/what it might be and address minimizing future tragedies.

 (1) https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-similarities-and-differences-between-Greek-tragedy-and-Shakespearean-Tragedy#:~:text=Greek%20tragedy%20is%20typically%20written,asides%20spoken%20by%20individual%20characters. I am sure my attempt at proper attribution for the quoted sections above will keep me out of plagiarism court or from ridicule at Harvard.

This is both a personal tragedy and a tragedy to an important inanimate object, yet, an important object in my life and nearly essential to my well being. My kegerator died an early but under the circumstances, not an unforeseen death. Building my kegerator was a labor of love as well as an exercise in creativity. The base element was a “used refrigerator with a top door freezer section. The used element…..the good and the bad, cost was attractive but the condition of the refrigerator was a big unknown and a key element in the tragedy.

Now the tragedy to my beauty, my refuge and to my love of sharing the essence or nectar of the gods with friends & family was ripped from my heart in a tragic and untimely demise. The heart of every refrigerated device is the compressor. We/I had a massive heart failure and, although repairable, less expensive than a medical repair, it is still costly……. the estimate was a potentially costly $ 797.66 and it could be almost as good as new……! Now, my dilemma, spend nearly $ 800 to put it into working order but still used!!!!! Or, at my leisure, my labor is essentially free, strip the cedar off the original project and install on a brand new refrigerator costing less than $ 700 new, replumb the lines, FYI there were some lessons learned there that will be incorporated into the new project, hopefully creating a very long lasting kegerator! …….Hmmmmmmm what is a beer drinker to do????? Better have a beer to facilitate this difficult choice.

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop