Missing Pieces

Yesterday marked the birthday of none other than the Pittsburgh College Roommate. He appropriately celebrated with a humongous chunk of dead animal flesh. I am assuming several adult beverages were also sacrificed in the celebratory effort. He also, oddly, was on a submarine in one of Pittsburgh’s three rivers. The burgh can be peculiar that way. I’ve been getting memories shot to me all week by the Facebook bots reminding me of the epic surprise visit Keene Friend and I made there to celebrate his 60^th birthday. He remains, although semi-retired, a true minor sprots celebrity in Pittsburgh. Happy birthday old friend, hope you can make it to the pub crawl to properly celebrate and I expect to go to the place you found that steak the next time we visit.

The Birthday Boy and his Dead Animal

On a much more depressing side of events, I was genuinely shocked with the untimely demise of Chandler Bing over the weekend. Watching Friends with the family was a tradition with my then teenage kids and something I’ll always treasure and Chandler was the heart of the show. It seems that most of the quotes coming out of Friends (and there are so many) could be traced back to him. I know seeing the young professionals living in NYC in some way influenced my daughter to follow a similar path following college. Perry had a bunch of demons which he fought in public hoping to help others suffering from addiction. Weirdly, it feels as if we’ve lost a real friend. I guess he could “BE” that frigging funny.

R.I.P.

Finally I think I’ve finally solved what, for me, had been a long held suspicion regarding jigsaw puzzles. I’m somewhat famous within the family for completing a puzzle only to find I’m missing one piece. I’ve been known to accomplish this despite opening the and completing the puzzle in near pristine environments. The latest puzzle I opened and completed was a Christmas present and it solved the mystery when I ended up with an extra piece. I’d spent an inordinate amount of time trying to fit it in the puzzle and finally gave up and moved on. When I finished, it was still there. So, this is what happens at the puzzle factory. Obviously, all the missing one pieces from my prior puzzles ended up in someone else’s box. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Latest Puzzle and the Missing Piece (from someone else's puzzle)

Three movies fell in my A-Z watch, all keepers: The Great Escape, classic WW2 drama, holds up well, love McQueen; Grindhouse, Deathproof, love these odes to grindhouse cinema, Kurt Russel great as a villain; and Grindhouse, Planet Terror, superb sendup of 1970s zombie flicks, just too funny, especially the prosthetic grenade launcher.

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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