Mini-Thunder

A great idea sprung out of our customarily awesome First Friday Family Facetime call. When asked what I was doing Saturday and answering that I didn’t have any definite plans, someone (again this was First Friday, so memory is lagging) suggested I take a run up to my hometown to drop in on Keene Friend. I thought this was a singularly outstanding suggestion and planned accordingly. Unfortunately, my designated driver, the redoubtable Favorite Panamanian, begged out of participation due to bum knee which she claimed would hamper her ability to shop all afternoon. Understanding how important shopping is to her I understood she was not joking. I modified the plan then to reduce alcohol consumption and added in a movie. Keene Friend and I are both horror movie fans and there just so happened to be a Halloween movie showing in town.

Keene Friend and I at the Kilkenny Yesterday

I, of course, did not completely dismiss beer from the plan. My pub crawl planning took a major hit when I discovered Penuche’s Ale house doesn’t open until 4PM. Now. I was in there a couple weeks ago and it was open earlier but I guess it still reeling from the pandemic. We then moved to the Kilkenny Pub which was appropriate since it was the only pub crawl destination that I hadn’t reconned lately. Keene Friend and I enjoyed an hour or so of college football and story telling before leaving for the movie. It was there I re-learned the important lesson that beer drinking before a movie is not the smartest tactic, especially at my age. At least the bathroom was close. After the movie we planned on a steak dinner but after stopping by literally every restaurant in Keene we found nearly hour long waits at each. I declared defeat and dropped Keene Friend off on my way back to Worcester. It was still a great day and I’ll have to thank whoever suggested it.

The move was saw was Halloween Kills. A direct sequel to the recent addition to the Michael Myers universe (is that a thing?) which saw the welcome return of Jamie Lee Curtis as a crazed, middle aged Laurie Strode. She was pretty banged up in the earlier movie and spends all of this movie in the hospital which reduces the force. Even though they bring the crazed mob to the hospital it’s not very effective (longest set of three floor stairs in movie history). Anthony Michael Hall is particularly bad, over acting to the point I actually felt sorry for him. The film does maintain the tradition that you do not want to be a Haddonfield first responder. This movie was more a set up for what I assume will be another sequel. I’m hearing this is supposed to be a re-booted trilogy featuring Jamie Lee. If so then it suffered from what a lot of middle films fail. It’s kind of a mess without any true development other than to move the set pieces into place for the final movie. It did take the gore to a new level for a Halloween movie and who thought that was even possible?

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn