Deeter

This is Deeter & his wonderful wife (whose name escapes me). We rode into Deeter's place around 3 pm, ready for an ice cold beer. Deeter runs a giant group of greenhouses, so we had to scour the property to find someone. My first impression of Deeter was here was a man who has done physical labor outside all his life. This guy was in his 60's & still a madman. We asked Deeter if he wanted to drink with us & he politely replied that he'd wait until the end of the afternoon, but we were welcome to drink on his patio. Twenty minutes later, Deeter came by to check on us. When he saw we were drinking beer, he laughed & said he thought we were talking about "real drinking", & that he'd have a beer or two with us now. This should have raised a red flag, but we continued, unaware of the impending doom soon to greet us.
Fast forward an hour, & we have drank a sufficient quantity of beer (well, all of us but Deeter, who seems to feel no effects from beer) to feel like we can do anything. It's then that Deeter tells us that twice a year he travels to his hometown in Germany & brings back a special Schnapps (he called it Pear Schnapps) & asks us if we would like to join him in enjoying some. YES! Deeter brings out an exquisite hand painted decanter with matching shot glasses! He pours each of us a shot, & offers up a toast & KABOOM! This stuff goes down silky smooth & then in the next 30 seconds or so, your whole chest feels like its getting roasted. Deeter offers up a second round & KABOOM! An experience slightly different than the first shot: maybe not as intense, but still stronger than any other alcohol I've ever tried.
We tell Deeter that we're hungry & ask for a recommendation for a local steakhouse (one of the benefits of RAGBRAI is that you can eat almost anything & lose weight during the week). Deeter comes up with the perfect place, but offers a third round to anyone that's " brave" enough ( I think I would use the word foolish). For some reason known only to God, I accept the challenge. I'll finish this up on my next post.