"I have enough money, Isaac. From how my kids are managing my beer, generations of Stricklands would not have to work in their lifetimes. I have no more worries. But do you know what I still yearn before my time comes?" Walter asked. Tayaw does not know, and also knows that Walter's question is rhetorical. Tayaw therefore just shook his head.
"Music. Isaac. Not just music, but the music of my home; the Blue Ridge Mountains. I can tell, Isaac, while you're no American, I can feel the mountains in you." Walter said. "My hometown, Okuba, is indeed surrounded by the mountains of Nabla." Tayaw also introduced his home. Tayaw also noticed that Walter's eyes shone at his reply.
"Ah. Nabla. I don't know what happened to my cabin there. It's been a while since I heard of the name." Walter said as he reminisced. Walter's very specific reaction made Tayaw curious. "How is Nabla now, by the way, Isaac? Does the air still smell like pine trees? Can one still fish from Lake Tabila? Are there deer left?" Tayaw is shocked by Walter's series of questions.
After recovering from his surprise for a few seconds, Tayaw finally responded. "Yes sir. I still open my windows in the morning to the smell of pines. I can still swim without worry and fish only using a harpoon. And the Nabla deer are still plenty, and just as evasive." Tayaw said proudly.
"That's good. That's very good. You must be wondering how I know so much about your home, right." Walter asked. "Indeed, sir." Tayaw replied and could barely hide his curiosity. Walter then loosened his belt and dragged his tucked shirt up to show his bare abdomen. Tayaw saw two circular scars on Walter's sides and studied it for a moment. Walter then fixed his shirt after Tayaw had looked enough.
"I was 21, and was a part of the last troops sent by the government to Vietnam in the 50s. The end of the war was approaching and the Vietcong raided my unit's camp in the jungle as a last attempt to draw blood. People we thought were farmers or food hawkers were also among the Vietcong forces. For the entire night, we had to fight tooth and nail against enemy soldiers we could barely see in the dark. Had the Koreans not come to our rescue, we would have been wiped out." Walter opened up about his time in the Vietnam War.
"I was shot two times, the scars you saw were the proof of my time there. Thankfully, the doctor said I was shot by carbine, and had it been a higher caliber rifle, I would have been done." Walter said as he put his palm to where his scars are located. "After two weeks of recovery, the government sent for planes to pick us up, the wounded, and transferred us to Clark Air Base in the Philippines where there were enough medical supplies for us.
"However, there were too many wounded. I didn't know what happened back in the Philippines, but as the base was filled with more wounded soldiers, many of us were transferred again, to Kangpan next." Walter finally revealed his first time in Teungeb.
"I was just a private, a non-commissioned soldier at that, so I was only paid 1500 dollars for my 8 months of service, so I decided to stay in Kangpan to work for the logistics department of the airforce. So, during my stay in Teungeb, I had to look for a place closest to home, to visit." Walter said.
"Nabla Province." Tayaw said. "Yes. Nabla. While Teungeb is has a tropical climate, I found Nabla a warmer, more humid Tennessee." Walter affirmed. "I found the place beautiful and me and my buddies would go there every June to swim at Lake Tabila." Walter continued.
"After four years of working in Kangpan, I decided to go home. That was 1959, I was 25." Walter said as he pulled out a metallic case from his coat and took out two cigars from it.
"You never went back since then?" Tayaw asked as he accepted the cigar that Walter cut for him. Walter did not answer and lit his cigar. Walter then passed the lighter to Tayaw. Tayaw, who never smoked a cigar, despite being a cigarette smoker in his previous life, followed how Walter lit his cigar.
After Tayaw blew out the "old smoke" to spit out the accumulated chemicals in the cigar's wrapper, Walter continued his story. "No. I went back in '71, 12 years after. That time, my brewery was just making craft beer, but I earned a lot. I was exhausted and bothered everyday by slimy business people so I had to leave the business to a friend, my dear Donald here's uncle." Donald, who was silent the whole time, nodded, already familiar with the story.
"After Donald's uncle assured me everythin will be fine, I brought my wife and my firsy baby somewhere far where I can fully rest. That's when I bought a parcel of land by Lake Tabila, when your government was still selling lands in your forests. With the help of a few locals, I built my cabin, where my family and I stayed for a whole year." Walter said as he took another drag from his cigar. "After that long vacation, we came back home and I put my nose to the grindstone again to grow my brewery to what it is today… I have not been back in Nabla since then." Walter concluded.
"40 years." Tayaw as he took a drag from his cigar, feeling the buzz from the nicotine. "40 years. After I raised a family, and had two generations of employees that rely on me, I never bothered going back to Nabla." Walter said. "Ah. That's right. Isaac. You must be wondering why I wanted to meet you." Walter went back to their conversation before it was sidelined by Walter's war story.
"Yes sir." Tayaw simply replied. "What do you think is important for a beer?" Walter asked. "Alcohol? The taste and how it goes down?" Tayaw answered pragmatically. "Hm. That's true. Aside from the taste, what makes Bud sell? Why do people keep drinking Coors? Why do people buy my Red Abbey?" Walter asked. Tayaw had no answer. "Image?"Tayaw answered more abstractly this time.
"Good answer. Bud is famous for the age of their beer, making it a gentleman's beer. Coors, their light beer especially, are has a refreshing image. My Red Abbey, however, has no fixed image. We had to catch up to Bud and Coors' images by making as many flavors as we can to cover more people's tastes." Walter explained.
"That's the second thing I wish in my life; to give my beer the image I want it to have." Walter finally confessed what he wants. "Not power, no. I've become rich and happy because of my love for beer, and now, I want to devote my beer to my home." Tayaw has no idea however, how Walter wants to do that.
"I want my beer to be a symbol of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and to achieve that, I think you, Isaac can help me with it." Walter finally said Tayaw's purpose here. "I'm sorry, Walter, I don't know how I can help." Tayaw replied. Walter chuckled.
"But I know. Unlike Bud and Coors, I finally have my own vision for the image of my beer that is different from theirs. At first, I only want people to see what my beer represents, but after I saw you last week, I was inspired. I also want people to HEAR what my beer is." Walter said.
After Tayaw thought about it for a moment, the dots connected. "Red Abbey Sessions." Tayaw said as he finally figured out the purpose of the Youtube Channel that Donald showed him. Walter nodded. "You're a smart man, Isaac. How did a tire company, become associated with food? I'm trying to do the same." Walter said. Michelin, the tire company, marketed their tires by making the Michelin guide. 'Buy a tire, you get free restaurant recommendations'
While Walter's idea is not exactly like that of what Michelin did, Tayaw figured it follows the same path; 'Listen to our music, while you drink Red Abbey'. "You, Isaac, among the musicians of today, is the only one who made music that perfectly fits my vision." Walter said. "So, how about it? Do you want to be the first musician to feature for Red Abbey Sessions? Help me achieve what I want. Music and my beer's image."
"That would be great, Walter." Tayaw accepted. Even though Walter is a businessman, Tayaw sees the essence of an artist in him and it is enough for Tayaw to contribute to Walter's vision. Walter is an artist, and his Red Abbey Lager is his piece.
"Good. I want you then to perform 5 songs for my staff to tape and record and I'll pay you $2000 for each song." Walter offered. This surprised Tayaw. From what he can figure in his previous life, artists would not get paid when they appear on TV or Youtube channels. Sometimes, it would even be the artists that pay for the exposure.
"Before that, tell me, Walter, do you also intend to pay for the artists you invite in the future? Will you be offering the same… monetary incentive?" Tayaw asked. Walter is confused to what Tayaw is getting at, but decided to indulge Tayaw.
"Yes. Donald and I will carefully choose artists like you that represent what I want. And if they are just as good as you, I would pay them just as much. If they're better than you, I will offer more." Walter explained. This cleared Tayaw's curiosity on why Walter is offering him that much money.
"No. Keep it for other artists who will need it more than I do." Tayaw said, refusing the money. Walter's brows rose at this. "I'm a businessman, Walter. Even though I have not made money from being a musician, my business gave me the opportunity to fully devote myself to music." Tayaw clarified as he took a drag from his cigar.
Walter puffed his cigar too, and thought for a moment, "Alright. I'm glad of your help either way." "Walter, it's not like I'm not benefitting from this enough. Once your platform will grow, my music will also be seen by more people. My band in Teungeb will also appreciate the littlest bit of exposure they can get." Tayaw said. Walter's interest was piqued hearing Tayaw mention his band.