If you ain’t first, you’re last.
It’s been ten years since I flew into Burlington International Airport for the first time. There was a plethora of unbelievable craft beer in the terminal bar as well as every amazing (and stereotypical) “Go Green” effort to save Mother Earth upon exiting the plane all the way to the front door. I also remember it being -20 °F of blistering cold outside that door. Part of me said “Nope; not this Hartsvillian; not today. Next flight back to South Carolina please”. The more adventurous side prevailed and we pressed on.
A car full of my Quebecois in-laws picked up my wife and I and we headed downtown for some much-needed grub. We settled on American Flatbread, a quaint little brick oven pizzeria and brewery.
The hearth at American Flatbread in Burlington, VT.
We sat down and our waiter takes our drink order and asks if I’m from Georgia. Back then, I religiously wore an Atlanta Braves fitted baseball cap and is probably why I’m bald today. I replied, “Yes but we live in South Carolina.” He responded “Cool, my brother is a principal and lives in South Carolina in a town called Hartsville. You’d know him because he always wears a bow tie''.
I didn’t know his brother but of all the places we could’ve gone that day, of all the servers, we went there and got this guy. Small world.
It’s funny how these little connections happen. Today, you’re probably reading this from a link on the website for our little brewery and brick oven pizzeria in Hartsville. This is my first attempt at celebrating the connections I’ve had with people in this tiny community and how they’ve inspired me.
Wild Heart Brewing: our little brewery and brick oven pizzeria in Hartsville, SC.
The first story in this ongoing series, called From the Heart, links a beer with the story of someone who I look up to very much. His name is David Nutt.
I first met David at an F3 Hartsville workout. It was 5:30 am and those guys put me through the wringer running up and down the field at our “Area of Operation'' called “The Clinic”. This group of guys, all of whom are called by nicknames they are christened with at their first workout, are basically social deviants that can run pretty fast and have mouths that run even faster. At the end of our workout, David steps up and gives the devotional for the morning. He starts by remembering the day he found out about being diagnosed with ALS:
“Until looking it up on my phone on the way home, I had no idea what ALS was and no idea it was terminal. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Reading that the average life expectancy was two to four years did not really hit me until an image popped up in my mind of my oldest daughter (11), who I had for years run with every day, running a race without me being there at the finish line.
Prior to that moment, my wife had only once seen me cry. I began to sob. For 24 or so hours, I was in shock, felt sorry for myself, and thanked people who told me I was in their thoughts and prayers. By day two, I began researching the disease and how to fight it.
“An image popped up in my mind of my oldest daughter, who I had for years run with every day, running a race without me being there at the finish line.”
At some point in time, everyone has had or will, unfortunately, experience something similar, whether it be with themselves or with a loved one. When those are the cards you're dealt, it’s up to you how you handle it. You can either feel sorry for yourself and prepare for death or you can deal with it, lean on your faith, and keep on living life.
Every day we have on Earth is a blessing; never allow disease or situation to dictate the time you have. ALS, cancer, and other diseases have the potential to ruin lives and devastate families. Disease has the potential to take your physical strength and number your days, but never allow it to take your mind or frown your smile as disease cannot prevent you from loving or being loved. As I hope I have done, take the circumstances you are dealing with and use them to inspire and motivate others.
David and his daughters at the finish line of the Palmetto 200.
If you can run, run fast. If you can sing, sing joyfully. God blesses us all with talents. In the words of the late Olympic runner Steve Prefontaine, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”
“Disease has the potential to take your physical strength and number your days, but never allow it to take your mind or frown your smile as disease cannot prevent you from loving or being loved.”
David and other members of F3 Hartsville at the Palmetto 200.
Thankful for the story just told, I got in my car and ugly cried all the way home. This was the first story we needed to tell at Wild Heart Brewing. A few weeks later, while running with David (who can run twice as fast as me even with a neurodegenerative disease), I hear him call my F3 nickname, “Hey Beast Lite, my brother works for a brewery in Vermont. You two should talk since you’re opening a brewery”. I responded “Sure! I’m in Burlington once a year with family.”
Not long after, his brother Brad reached out on social media. He looked oddly familiar but I couldn’t place it. It took me a few minutes but I began to piece things together. I suddenly remembered our waiter from ten years ago and almost fell out of my chair.
Connections are a funny thing. Each of us is on a path through life and no matter how much we think we know, none of us really have a clue what’s going on. I’d like to believe we are all connected somehow. If nothing else, this story has surely solidified my faith in that.
Ten years earlier, in freezing cold Burlington Vermont, hundreds of miles away from home, our waiter told us about his brother from our small town in SC. He was a principal who always wore a bow tie. Now that man, David Nutt (aka Bow Tie), becomes the first to tell their story in our From the Heart series at Wild Heart Brewing Company.
Each story will correlate to a rotating beer on a tap dedicated to the current story. Also, a portion of each beer sale will go toward the charity of that person’s choice. David has chosen the South Carolina Chapter of the ALS Association as the beneficiary for his story.
Here, at Wild Heart, we say “A Great Story is Always Brewing”. Our hope is that through these stories, you will be encouraged to look closer at the adventure we’re all on together and inspire you to tell your own story.
You never know what connection you’ll find or who’s life it may touch. And without further ado, we present, Bow Tie Nutt Brown Ale.
Cheers.
If you ain’t first, you’re last.