The night I asked The Wife to marry me — after getting down on one knee, offering her a diamond ring and giving her a picture I drew of a squirrel (seriously) — I took her to the Rose and Thistle Pub in northeast Portland. There, we sent text messages to all of our friends and family members announcing our engagement.
We also ordered beer, and if you know much about Portland, you know it is the Microbrew Beer Capitol of the United States. (And with this in mind, I once suggested to my German class teacher here in Hannover that the US actually produces good beer. He rolled his eyes, because Germans think we only drink Budweiser and Coors Light. I laughed and played along, but inside I was seeing red, thinking, ‘Oh you poor, naive little man. You don’t even know. You don’t even KNOW,’ and then I used my telepathic powers to make his giant German head explode.)
Anyway, Portland beer is awesome, and it is often quite strong. There are all sorts of ways to discuss drinks with high alcohol content, but translating these idioms directly from German into English is easily the most entertaining. So, as we looked over the menu, my German wife announced:
“I want a beer, but I don’t want something that pulls my sock off.”
Oh God, My Wife Is German. 
HYSTERICAL! And I agree. Though I’ve never been to Portland, I think there are some good beers drafted (no pun intended..okay, maybe, a little one) in America that do not look like or taste like Coors Light. We have a few microbreweries here in Columbus, Ohio, where I live, and they produce a number of darker beers as well as pilsners. Secondly, I love the engagement story in general! Even funnier than mine! When my husband proposed, I emerged from our walk-in closet after changing out of my work-day suit, and I saw him down on one knee, and I said, “What the hell’re you doing?” :) He had a bad back, and I didn’t see the ring box, and I thought he’d fallen or hurt himself or something, LOL, until I saw the ring box…ANYWHO…thanks for sharing! :)
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Haw haw! Oh man, you thought your husband had thrown his back out again. That’s kind of perfect.
Thank you for the comment, Tenacious! Have an awesome day!
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Thanks! Hope you’re having a good day as well.
~TB
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Fantastic picture. And you say you drew that? Wowsers.
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Hey thank you DrFrood! I did draw it indeed. Glad you liked it!
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