Small town life is such a departure from what happens in the more highly populated areas. Very few places afford the luxury of a bench beer.

To some degree in the rural areas, people have to police themselves in order to maintain a semblance of law and order. Thus one stretching of the rules may not be as acceptable as it once was.

Dante is a community of under 100 people in eastern Charles Mix County, South Dakota. It’s not large enough to support a police force, but normally the people generally stay in line.

There have been occasions where citizens (yours truly included) have lingered outside a local watering hole in Dante beyond the cut off of alcohol sales at 2:00 AM. The gathering would just shift from inside the watering hole to a bench just outside the entrance facing the street.

Plus the choice of beverage has to be beer because of the single serve aspect. Mixing with a higher grade of booze is too complicated at that time of night.

On a warm summer night, having one more before heading home while sharing a story or two with friends while sitting on the bench used to be part of those rites of passage. Although, once you noticed the designated driver stealing multiple glances at his or her watch you knew that the secondary “closing time” was nigh.

In the larger town setting for obvious reasons, open container laws need to be followed. Bars have to follow state law and not serve customers after a certain time.

Having a bench beer is kind of like assembling around the campfire or fire pit. It's just in a different setting obviously to be enjoyed responsibly. We all long to gather where there are two or more and have a relaxing experience.

 

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