Grant Cooper was the first person to stay in Rocinante, the John Steinbeck look-alike truck from his famous travelogue Travels With Charley. Charley was the standard size poodle who traveled shoulder-to-shoulder with him. According to Steinbeck,

As he sat in the seat beside me, his head was almost as high as mine. He put his nose close to my ear and said ‘Ftt.’ He is the only dog I ever knew that could pronounce the consonant F. The word ‘Ftt’ usually means he would like to salute a bush or a tree.”

Back to Grant Cooper: When he got home, he tracked down a bunch of home-grown Iowa Whiskey – yes, I said Iowa Whiskey – for us to put in the vast Groom-Naftulyev Whisky Vault behind the bookcases in the tower. Brittington unveiled the Iowa Whiskey on Friday at the Toad and Ostrich and I took photos of the AMAZING ARTWORK that Grant sent with it.  That artwork is handmade – perfectly distressed – and includes Cognoscenti Commentary. It and the whiskey will be entered into the Academy Archives. The whiskey will slowly disappear but the artwork will remain forever. THANKS GRANT. – Indy Beagle