The Secret to Life (For Me)
COVID-19 has sucked. We are fifty-six weeks into a two-week lockdown and we all need something social in our lives and that is the secret to life. Not to brag, but I found that secret, but I’m pretty sure it’s something different for everyone.
In Michigan City, Indiana we have an annual event called the Paddy Wagon. It’s a pub crawl sponsored by six to ten bars locally with a shuttle bus taking drinkers from one to another. It’s a St. Patrick’s Day event and held usually the Saturday closest to the holiday.
It’s been a year since we had an “event.” The Paddy Wagon was the last event last year before lockdown. It was a Saturday night and Monday started the restrictions. I was wall to wall with my friends and strangers on a bus so packed that the tires were squatting. It was glorious!
In walks lockdown. It was fifty-nine days between restaurant visits for me and the restaurant was in Missouri because Indiana was still engaged in the lockdown and after we opened up, it was only partial and hit snd miss as to which restaurants were open. I travel for work and dinner most nights consisted of Door Dash or Pizza Hut delivery at the desk in my hotel room when I was lucky or a sandwich from a kiosk at a truck stop or an airport.
A year later, March 20, 2021 Patty Wagon happened again. I got to my normal watering hole and it was packed. It was beautiful. Seeing how busy the bar was made me tear up. Saturday nights, buzzed, good looking bartenders, friends, live band playing, kiln-like temperatures, and good food en mass all made the night. Self-discovery happens at the strangest moments and that was mine. Out of the blue I realized what matters in my life and I later realized that my life isn’t for everyone and that’s ok. What makes me happy won’t make others happy and vise versa.
For me it’s not about the alcohol but the people having fun around me because that kind of happiness is infectious and just feels good to be around. Living life is the secret to happiness in life.
Survival is not enough because then you only live to live and for nothing more. When I was in that moment, there was no pending trade war or economic crisis; there was just a moment of peace where all was right with the world. We all have to find our inner peace somewhere; it just so happens mine is in places with a 3-way liquor license.
For more from Michael, please go to TheMichaelBeebe.com. Thank you!
Picture a young Michael Beebe, fresh out of La Porte High School in ’93, diving headfirst into the world of hospitality with a busboy gig at the old La Porte Holiday Inn. That hustle led him to an Associate of Science from Purdue-North Central in ’95 and a Bachelor’s in Hospitality Management from Purdue-Calumet in ’97 (those schools are now merged into Purdue-Northwest, by the way). Michael’s early career was a whirlwind—running a 140-room hotel in Indianapolis, where he learned the ins and outs of the industry but realized it wasn’t his true calling. What did spark his passion? Teaching. He found himself thriving in front of students at Ivy Tech Community College and Lake Michigan College, sharing the art and science of hospitality management. Oh, and he also moonlighted at WIMS radio in Michigan City, juggling both on-air and behind-the-scenes roles with his signature high energy.
Politics? That’s been Michael’s sidekick since he was 18, registering to vote with a fire in his belly to make a difference. He threw his hat in the ring for La Porte County Council in 2010, where he got a crash course in the power of social media marketing. Undeterred by not winning, he campaigned for Indiana’s General Assembly in 2012 and took another shot at the County Council in 2014 and 2016. Though he hasn’t clinched a seat yet, Michael’s relentless drive to serve shines through. Lately, he’s been pouring that energy into helping other candidates who champion personal liberty, amplifying their voices with his knack for strategy.
Here’s a twist: Michael once co-owned a tattoo shop, despite having no ink himself. As the business manager and marketing guru, he leaned hard into low-cost, social media-driven campaigns to put the shop on the map. That experience fueled his love for digital marketing, and now he spends his free time crafting websites and boosting businesses online—a true labor of love.
These days, Michael’s living the dream as an independent contracted transporter, crisscrossing the country while getting paid to soak up new places and cultures. When he’s not exploring, he’s parked somewhere scenic, laptop open, building his digital consulting company, Spark Plug Strategies, or penning his thoughts. He even wrote a few books.
Based in La Porte County, Indiana, Michael’s embraced a “decentralized laptop lifestyle,” blending work, travel, and passion projects into a life that’s as dynamic as he is.