We had the Artemis II launch on the TV last week and we were all glued to the coverage. Watching those brave and skilled souls rocket towards the moon, knowing how many people and how much effort and science went into the journey was so powerful. And then, well, it turns out they sent poets as well as scientists.

There’s a phenomenon that has happened over and over to astronauts of all backgrounds called the overview effect. They regularly report, in looking back at Earth, an overwhelming sense of awe, of connection and completeness, of love for humanity and the world. And this team, when they were the farthest humans have ever been from Earth, asked to name a geographic feature after their friend who died of cancer in 2020, and then hugged each other in that small capsule. Out there on their own, aware of the distance, they loved.

Sometimes we need that distance to see what we have, particularly when things are difficult or scary. And just as often, we need to look around us at the people we are with and remember that we are not alone. They weren’t out there, we aren’t here. And because of that, we can do big things. That’s what one of our guests said to me the other day, after we’d all watched the Artemis II splashdown and the astronauts clamber out, he said, “We can do big things.”

The community-building here at Free Parking, it’s not as impressive as going to the moon, and yet the work of the day-to-day: we here are what the astronauts were looking at with love.

Friends, keep cool, keep heart, and keep playing.

Alice C., board game librarian

Play Sky Team!

Sky Team is the first two-player game to win the Spiel des Jahres, Germany’s coveted game of the year award. Players take the roles of co-pilots landing a plane. To do so, they roll dice and place them on the cockpit-inspired board to affect things like speed, roll, wing flaps, even their relative alertness in the form of cups of coffee! There are lots of ways to crash the plane, and only one way to land it safely—can you do it?

New cocktail menu coming soon!

We’re updating our menus, both food and drink, so get ready for an onslaught of the new, delicious items!

The classic Paper Plane cocktail is typically equal parts bourbon, Aperol (bitter orange and vanilla notes), amaro (marmalade and herbs), and lemon juice. Our take, the Sky Team, swaps in cherry vanilla bourbon from St. Elmo’s in Louisville. It’s fruity and complex, so refreshing for spring and summer.