Time for Recess, kids!

Sobriety is trending.

Well, "California Sobriety"-that is. Stick with me and I'll enlighten you. 

Feels so weird, amiright? 

The incidence of mocktail bars and fresh pressed juice cocktails and drinks have become an embraceable yawn by Gen Z, and a percentage of younger millennials. 

I mentioned "California Sober" in the first line, right? Well-if you aren't quite as cool, hip, and down with the young'uns as I am...let me spill the hot tea and explain. 
Clock this: 
(Gyatt, I'm so cool, I can hardly stand it) 

I'm just like this chick-cool AF.

Anywho, California sober is-still imbibing in flower cannabis, cannabis edibles, vapes, gummies, drinks etc...but not drinking any alcohol. 
I like to call it- "Stoner chic" 
And so, in turn, these mellow bars, or craft mocktail joints are really cashing in on this age group, specifically. But, what I have noticed-in turn, that us old fuckers-the Gen X crew are starting to get in on this action, as well. 
Sure, a good deal of us are still drinking the real deal, and we practically cannot EVEN without caffeine...we have noticed the trend, and kinda dig it too. 
We might have initially made fun of it a little in our snarky gen-X, way. But we have come around to thinking that-while we aren't spring chickens anymore-we can still enjoy a nicely prepared cocktail, or non-alcoholic beer-or two, or three, get a little buzz from a cannabis product (or a cannabis infused cocktail or beer) and wake up the next morning feeling refreshed, relaxed, after an amazing, restful sleep. 
The difference from 10 years ago, where we woke up on a vaguely horizontal surface, or the floor with an empty bottle in our hands, cramped up, neck stiff, an awful headache, and what felt like-zero sleep-hung THE FUCK over-and needing at least two full days to recuperate. 
Now, we wake up with more brain cells left over, and a huge cuppa steaming go-go juice on our patio. 

Getting older means that we like to feel good, because all of the symptoms of that, are pretty common to be just the opposite. 
So, a night out with friends doesn't have to be worse. 
We're smarter, I guess. 

As for the Gen-Z'ers, and younger millennials-I can't say why this is the cool thing for them? Maybe the DARE cops finally got through to one generation, or maybe they were smarter to begin with. Okay, no. (Sorry, I'm laughing-give me a hot minute) That's NOT it. 
Millennials are the same gen who can't figure out how to actually use a phone for it's intended purpose and call someone. And Gen-Z'ers use the word: Skibbidi. 
So, that simply CAN'T be it. 

My best guess is that these gens are obsessed with trends. Trending TikTok's, Trending pranks, Trending clothes, music, vernacular-SKIBBIDI-for example. 
Whereas, my entire generation was entirely against trends-for the most part. And don't you dare come at me with 80's fashion. Maybe some people adopted neon leggings and Hypercolor T-shirts-but really, we were the gen who loathed "fitting in" And only the naive and bubble headed were susceptible to looking like a reflective road construction crew. 
Not to mention that only the models in Teen Vogue or Cosmo wore those clothes, because our Boomer parents refused to buy that shit for us. Too expensive. Not only did they refuse to buy anything impractical, but they generally couldn't afford it anyway. Their idea of fashion was Garanimals. And they bought them for us, en masse. 
So, we improvised and ripped, cut, and sanded our own jeans. 
That's why 80's fashion was so iconic, the designers took their cues from us and designed what we were already creating from thrift stores, craft scissors, fabric paint, and a bedazzler. 

My mother would have rather have carved her own eyeballs out with a rusty spoon than to buy me a pair of pre-ripped jeans for forty bucks. 

You've seen Pretty In Pink, right? She made that ugly dress herself. The young fashion world was in a tizzy about our ingenuity and started copying what we already knew: looking like you don't care is the BOMB. 

Jesus, I gotta stop using slang, it's giving...ermmmm-headache.

Help me, I can't stop. 

Anyway, the hubs and I frequent one of these places, and they pretty much make the best latte in our area. But, the have fresh cold-pressed juices, all things relaxation in a can-the popular names: Recess, Float, etc...non-alcoholic liquors, and beers, and fancy craft concoctions made with their own herbals and juices. 
It's a nice vibe there-and the music fits. Typical young alternative bands that fit the ambiance. 
It feels fashionable to be there, I mean...I guess. 

I appreciate the fact that you can pay ten dollars for a shot of carrot, cranberry, guava juice in a martini glass with a lime on the rim.  
I'm Gen X, remember? Are you noting the sarcasm? 
Good. You are learning. 

See, here's the rub-It's so great-in theory. But, fifteen bucks for a cannabis-infused beer? Twelve George's for a cuppa juice? 
Yeah. No. 
It's a nice little novelty to visit a place like this occasionally. New surroundings, a hip expedition, if you will. But not a regular thing-I wore Garanimals...I'm way too cheap for that. 
I can go into a regular bar, order a cranberry and sprite with an orange wheel and drink a "mocktail" and it's likely going to run me-three bucks at most-and then go smoke a doob in the alley with the line cooks-they probably have better weed, anyway. 
Boom...a night of entertainment and it cost less than a Uber. 

Look. I get the gentrified feel of these places. They have all of the appeal they advertise, honestly. And they are CLEANING UP in mark-up-because some crusty Gen X'er wants to feel young, or not have a headache in the morning. Or because some Gen Z'er likes that they play Hozier and have fresh pressed mango juice with Panax Ginseng extracts and L-Theanine in their margaritas. Mental clarity is key for these babies, I'm told. 

                                       Ooh. He's so edgy...



And while I'm super jealous of the piles of money they must be rolling in after close every evening, I'm wondering if they will actually last? Will the Alpha kids reject this idea and be the worst alcoholics we have ever seen and revert to the standard two thousand beers on tap, lifestyle? 
Will the Gen X'ers get too old to go anywhere away from the retirement village where every Friday is wild margarita night and it's complimentary? 
Will the milennials just grow up and finally move out of mom and dads house and not be able to afford more than ramen and a bottle of Barefoot? 
Will the Gen Z'ers remember their three second attention span and start having their cannabis cocktails delivered by Door Dash so they can play Fortnite and recharge their social batteries? 

The world may never know. 

I DO know this, however-I'll still be enjoying their vanilla lattes and a good patio hang occasionally. 
And also, that I still like Hozier, but cannot stand Death Cab For Cutie. 

Last thought-
"Maybe I should invest in a L-Theanine infused mango farm. That's a thing, right?"
-Probably me.

Er'body in the clurb (not really) gettin' tipsy,

-T