I continued on my misspent ways during my geographic bachelorhood with a trip, once again, back to my hometown. I was joining the Cantankerous Friend, a Navy Veteran, to watch the annual Army/Navy game. Neither of us are academy grads so the game itself was secondary to getting together to see who would garner bragging rights. It’s kind of weird that we grew up five houses apart and both ended up with almost identical careers in the military, granted mine was with the more distinguished service but his still counted (at least it wasn’t with the zoomies who only qualify as para-military anyways). We both served 27 years and retired as O-6s. There must have been something in the water on Valley Street.
We
listened to some bad advice from a high school classmate who suggested Bender’s
was the place to go to. It’s a new bar in Keene and since I’d never been there
(I know, amazing, a bar in Keene I haven’t been in), was intrigued. We arrived just
prior to game time to discover the place wasn’t even open until later in the day
(on Saturday!!!). Luckily, I had the preeminent local social guru, and pub connoisseur,
my Kindergarten Friend, to fall back on, as he had previously suggested Penuche’s
Ale house as the place to be. As so it was. We were joined in short order by the
aforementioned guru and in a bit of a surprise, the Keene Friend. He told me on
my Thursday thunder run that he was not available on Saturday. When the Kindergarten
Friend arrived to say he had almost run the Keene Friend over as when was
crossing the street I sent him a text to see if he was available and voila, in he
walked. 
Army Navy Buddies' Last Night at the 'Nuche
My Kindergarten in the Background (for my kids)
We
were seated at the bar with direct access to the Coors Lite tap, although the barkeep
kept a close eye on us. In short order another high school classmate, she of
the bad bar advice, arrived with her husband. The bar would no longer contain
us so we moved to a long table directly behind us that had some college kids at
the other end. As soon as we sat down, they left, probably afraid of losing
cool points being at the same table as the senior citizens. We settled in to
watch the game and Cantankerous was a little put out when everybody except himself
and the bar tender rooted for Army. A final addition to the very fun crowd arrived
in the person of the CRC, who had missed the pub crawl due to a Texas sized adventure.
The game had turned into yet another class of ’73 mini-reunion, our class just
flat rules!!!
Bad Lighting but Still a Fun Crowd
While
Army dominated most of the game, Navy made a spirited comeback and the game was
decided with a stalwart Army goal line stand. It was a fun game to watch for
all the pageantry and repeated scenes from the Army in the field which tugged
at the ole heartstrings but what made it truly special was getting to spend
time, once again, with my remarkable friends. I even got the opportunity to
torture my son long distance by sending him a picture of the kindergarten
(across the street from Penuche’s) that I never fail to point out to him and
his sister. His response (sent from a friend’s birthday pub crawl – it’s in the
blood) had all of us laughing. There was a lot of that. After Army’s victory, the
Cantankerous One and I went out for pizza before the ride back to Worcester.
This was the first time in a long time that for a large part of the day, it was
just Cantankerous and I. I thoroughly enjoyed it, five houses apart will do
that.
Still Bad Light for CRC, Kindergarten Freind and Bad Advice Gril
Mother's Day Lunch
Meanwhile
my Favorite Panamanian was thoroughly enjoying her Christmas present as she and
her sisters hosted their mom at a Boquete hotel for the weekend. Their brother
joined them for a Mother’s Day dinner. My wife excidedly proclaimed she had
found a great Italian restaurant for us to sample when we return there. It was
obvious the sisters and especially my mother in law were absolutely enjoying
their surprise time together. Much closer to the frost line, the FBR was scheduled
to attend an indoor water park with her dad yesterday. A lot going on at this
time of year. I just have to figure out if I can squeeze in another thunder run
back home before my wife’s return. My friends in Keene are probably hoping I can’t
as they need a break.
The Three Sisters
Four
movies fell in my A-Z watch, all keepers: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,
love the very British humor and Sam Rockwell dominates; Hitman, better than I
remembered, Olyphant a great action star; Hitman Agent 47, reboot was okay, not
as compelling as the first; and The Hitman’s Bodyguard, banter between Jackson
and Reynolds is awesome and then there’s Salma.
FBR Out and About Yesterday
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 3rd 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
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