Start on 4

Worcester decided to get a head start on the whole Independence Day celebration by staging their annual fireworks display last night. We linked up with the fountain of all Worcester knowledge, the Neighborhood Mafioso and drove down to Shrewsbury Street with some portable chairs around 6:30pm. The fireworks wouldn’t start until 9:30 but by then the area would be at a traffic standstill. It was still challenging but the Mafiosos brought their handy Handicapped pass and we found a parking spot in a parking lot that promised all cars not patronizing the establishments there would be towed and they had cameras to monitor. The bank we parked in front of had just closed so I thought it would be okay, but I was still a little nervous.

Wife and I at Beer Garden Last Evening

We had no plan other than find a good spot to set up our chairs for the upcoming program. We wandered down to the famous Luigi’s place where both the Mafioso and my Favorite Panamanian get their hair done. As a matter of fact that is where these two ladies first met each other all those years ago. Luigi also has a restaurant a little further down the street and we were encouraged to go there. We arrived to find a full fledged beer garden set up in the parking lot with Coors on tap! I know, sometimes it just pays to be lucky. All the tables were reserved but the Mafioso knows everybody and is something of a celebrity in Luigi’s world so, after a short conversation with the bouncer, we were seated to a table where we set up shop for the rest of the evening. We never did use those chairs I lugged around.

Our Table in Background (red shirt)

The Mafia Gathering

We had a great pizza (okay that was mostly me) and my Favorite Panamanian started her usual census of the number of beers I purchased. I did get to be very friendly with the beer tent guy who would have a fresh Coors Lite poured by the time I got to the counter (amazing what tipping will do). There was a really good DJ playing music which had a whole flock of kids out dancing with their 4^th of July light sticks. When my wife saw how much they were enjoying them we became, in very short order, the proud owner of three light sticks, destined for granddaughter hands this weekend.

It was a very fun evening waiting for the fireworks. The Mafioso seemed to know everybody, one waitress had actually been a tenant in the house they used to own. The fabulous Luigi even stopped by and gifted us an appetizer. The Mafioso’s husband and I waxed eloquently on the sights available, including our waitress who was eminently qualified to wear the yoga pants she sported. Later in the evening, another contingent of the Panamanian Mafia stopped by to join us to add to the fun. We eventually joined in the dancing with the kids just prior to the fireworks which was an excellent display. Getting out of the parking lot afterwards (big relief when we discovered the car still untowed) was a lot tougher than getting in, as the huge crowd was emptying out at the same time on the one road, but everybody was in a good mood. One of the things I love about Worcester is that despite being a fairly big city there is still a solid sense of community. A very good night thanks to my neighbor Worcester expert.

Very Cool Moon Was Out

One movie fell in my A-Z watch, a keeper, out of alphabetical order as a new arrival to the library: Avatar, the Way of Water – really long but so well executed, Jake Sully is kind of a dick as a dad though.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                     

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during him her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; 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; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course