I absolutely adore Greek mythology. The creatures were probably the first aspect to grab my limited attention, but the imperfection and compellingly human nature of the gods, the odd sense of justice, the creativity and cleverness of classical civilization have never ceased to captivate me. "I, my, me" - isn't this supposed to be about beer? It will be, but first let me tell you about a youth named Narcissus. 

Born to a river god and a water nymph, the boy was impossibly beautiful from birth, and he knew it. Men and women alike threw themselves at Narcissus and all were rejected. Ovid writes: "Thereupon one of the scorned raised his hands to heaven and cried: 'So may he himself fall in love, so may he not be able to possess his beloved!' and Nemesis heard it." One hot day, Narcissus bowed down at a spring to drink and unwittingly fell in love with his own reflection. Unable to grab the object of his desire and unwilling to leave it, he wasted away to death by that spring, and in his place grew a yellow flower botanists call by his name. The rest of us call it a daffodil, and I noticed a bunch of them beginning to push up through the frosty ground this week. Spring is beginning, and with spring comes spring beers.