Returned

You’ve all heard the old expression about absence and the effect on the heart fondness quotient. It turns out, there may be a seed of truth in it or I’m just getting to be a sentimental old fart. Your guess is as good as mine. While I had a really fun time, especially Saturday, during her absence, I really missed the Favorite Panamanian. I guess I kind of like her. Or Something. It must be after all these years together that I grew accustomed to having her as part of the fabric of my everyday existence. I definitely felt like something was missing. I picked her up Sunday night at our old church in Charlton where she was still beaming from the time she got to spend “with Jesus”. As I’ve stated before, being married to me probably ups the needed spousal prayer levels and this was an opportunity to indulge in that. I’m just glad she’s home, riding herd on me, as I realized I just might need it.

She's Back!!!!

Yesterday was a big event with the arrival of our mattress. I covered, in excruciating detail, last week the saga of the mattresses. Based on the experience of my daughter and Wingman with their Leesa mattress we ordered one. Wingman told me to be ready for a strange experience since the very large mattress would arrive in a relatively small box, that would weigh a ton. He was right. Getting that damned box up the stairs was the best workout I’ve had in a long time. I felt like I’d run five miles (really fast). The Leesa factory must employ some savagely robust hydraulic machines because the king-sized mattress and two pillows emerged from the box looking like a small bedroll. Five minutes after I removed the plastic wrap and then punctured/removed the vacuum seal, I had a huge king-sized mattress. It will keep expanding for a few more days but it’s probably at the 98% level. We slept on it last night and my daughter/Wingman’s reports were not exaggerated. Blissful is a word that leaps to mind.

The Box

Just Before Expansion and Moving of Old Box Spring

We Are in Business

A friend posted this meme of Facebook the other day and it captured a truth I noticed on the recent pub crawl. While all my fellow classmates of the KHS 1973 were heroically engaged with each other, there were several groups of “youngsters” in the bars who seemed more interested in their phones than in the people they were allegedly socializing with. Oh well, whatever floats your boat. I’m happy with the 70’s version. That is a rare statement about the 1970s, from anyone who lived through them.

The wins keep coming this week as we launch into my second favorite holiday of the year. The New Jersey bunch arrives tomorrow, followed by son’s family on Friday when we’ll all journey to Rhode Island for Great Aunt’s annual, and always epic, Second Thanksgiving celebration. The good news being that due to a recent kitchen cabinet renovation she located the electric knife she always lost the day before it was needed. She now has three. I had a fun morning with the electrician today. We had a circuit breaker that kept tripping and since one of the items connected to it was the house wi-fi, it was noticeable. I ran an extension cord from upstairs down to the basement to keep that running (as you can imagine, a big hit with my wife). We called our reliable old electrician from Charlton who fixed not only that but four other minor projects that weren’t serious enough to warrant a call on their own. Electricity and plumbing are two areas I leave to the experts.

Four movies fell in the A-Z watch, all keepers: Monty Python and the Holy Grail, possibly the funniest movie ever made; Mortal Engines, much better than you might have heard, silly concept but well executed; Moulin Rouge, thought I would get rid of this because of grating performance of woefully miscast Nicole Kidman but rest of cast and sheer joy of movie still moves me; and The Mountain Men, love this frontier buddy flick, Brian Keith should be considered a national treasure.

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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 her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

After Actioned

My period of in-home isolation will end today with the triumphant return of my Favorite Panamanian from her four-day religious retreat. I’m sure she’ll come armed with at least a dozen new techniques to make me a better Catholic. I’m a little worried about that. Today I must focus on getting the house clean and ensuring the toilet seats are back down (after a four-day period of present arms in the form of silent protest). I think I’m a pretty good shape because I’ve spent little time in the areas to be inspected, meaning a lot of time in the Man Cave where she ostensively holds no sway (that’s my story etc. etc.). I further reduced my impact on the area by disappearing yesterday back up to my hometown.

Lunch at the Guerilla Grill

I felt the need to conduct a thorough after-action review for the recently completed Birthday Pub Crawl. Of course, conducting that anywhere but on site would be a grievous breach of protocol. Yep. I enlisted the help of the Keene Friend, the Cantankerous Friend, and the Kindergarten Friend, so we had a quorum. We first had to have lunch, and we decided it made sense to meet at the Guerrilla Grill. This was a new place on Main Sreet, right on the pub crawl path. Several crawlers had asked me why it had not been included and I had to plead ignorance, never having been in it. So, after action issue addressed and a burger lunch devoured as well. The Guerilla Grill did not impress. We were kept waiting over ten minutes for no other reason than they were poorly organized. We then waited fifteen minutes to have a waitress attend us.  Keene Friend and I were seated/waiting when we noticed Cantankerous had come in another door was already seated at another table. No waiting at that door apparently, as I said, poorly organized. The food was great, but I don’t think we’ll be including it in the pub crawl as having twenty people descend upon it at one time could bring momentum to a screeching halt. It’s more of a café (poorly run) than a pub/bar and I don’t think they could handle it. We then adjourned out deliberations to the nearby Lab ‘n Lager, where the last vestiges of the previous week’s crawl played out into the early morning hours. We were joined by the Kindergarten Friend at this point, he being the undeclared mayor of the downtown social scene.

Later at Penuche's

We quickly agreed that the crawl had been an unmitigated success. The only downside was the planned after party at Margarita’s. Once again Margarita’s failed in spectacular fashion, and we decided it could no longer be planned on for the crawl. Keene Friend related he had taken an angry phone call from one crawler after the Margarita’s debacle. The caller, a well lubricated high school classmate (who wasn’t at that point?), took Keene Friend to task for not having an after crawl location reserved for him. Since we had left the crawl at this point it wasn’t Keene Friend’s responsibility to escort anyone, anywhere. My classmates, the resourceful bunch that they are, settled into the Lab and, as I said above, continued celebrating with some late arriving classmates until well after midnight. So next year, we’ll have to identify a place, other than Margarita’s, where everyone can gather post-crawl, if they so choose, hopefully near the downtown hotels where many crawlers sleep off their exertions. So, problem solved. We continued on to Penuche’s Ale House, to confirm it was still standing and that the floors were still at a regulation level of stickiness. Check and check. We concluded with our obligatory harassment call to the PCR, who is already making excuses for next year, trying to blame his sainted wife for his failure to appear last week.😎

Four movies fell in the A-Z watch, three keepers: Miss Congeniality, Bullock is so good at physical comedy; Monster’s Ball, Halle, oh my, two damaged people find redemption in each other; Moonfall, underrated sci fi disaster flick; Mother, Jugs, and Speed, a gag gift from Keene Friend who knew what a huge crush I had on Welch (who didn’t in the 60s?).

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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 her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Past Blasted

So, there I was. Feeling a little lonely and sorry for myself since my Favorite Panamanian is on a religious retreat for a few days. I’m sure I need all the praying she’s probably doing for me on the outside chance I ever become eligible for admittance to heaven (extremely outside wager at best). I’ve been amusing myself with musical mattresses, see yesterday’s post. The most exciting part of the day was the annual heating system maintenance dude who interrupted my more than needed beauty sleep. While I do have a Family First Friday Facetime call in a little bit, morale needed a boost. That was provided earlier today when I opened Facebook and saw this photo. It features two guys I served my first commissioned posting with in the early 1980s in Panama. We were all platoon leaders in the same infantry company and that is a bond only those who have made that walk will understand the importance of. We called ourselves graduates of Lambert’s School for Lieutenants after our tough, but talented company commander, who went on to be a major general.

The Photo, Thai Resident on the Right
We All Seemed to have Aged Somehow

We were all single and serving in Panama certainly had its benefits when we weren’t running around the jungle, participating in some of the toughest training I experienced in my entire career. We formed a fairly formidable team on the nights we weren’t in the jungle although the tales from Ovalo Bar are best left in the mists of the past. We always hit the Albrook Officer’s Club on Friday nights and they were there when I met my future wife, the Favorite Panamanian. They were both amongst the few guests for my side at my wedding, one being my best man. In other words, good friends. We only saw each other sporadically over the years since, but the bond remains. My former best man retired to Thailand where he started a family after his military career. The other one married a Thai girl back in the states and when they recently went back to visit was able to link up and take this photo. It brought back so many good memories shared with these two guys. I miss them, but memories are fertile ground for improving morale and that’s what they did today from the other side of the earth.

Back in the Day in Panama
They're the two on the Left, I'm on the Far Right

What we Did Every Sunday, Amador Causeway
Future Wife on the Left

I am not taking this solitary existence lightly and plan on doing something about it tomorrow. Predictably, I’m heading back to my hometown to conduct the much needed after action review of last week’s birthday pub crawl. I consider this my solemn duty in ensuring next year’s crawl meets our now lofty standards. Several crawlers mentioned I should have included the Gorilla Grill in our odyssey. I’m unfamiliar with his recently opened establishment so Keene Friend and Cantankerous Friend will conduct the needed reconnaissance tomorrow before we move on to the in depth discussion of last week’s adventures, properly conducted at one of those pubs  (current statutes of limitations will be explored).

Two movies fell in the A-Z watch, both keepers: The Mighty Quinn, new addition to the library, courtesy of Keene Friend, impossibly young Denzel dominating a Caribbean accent; and Mission to Mars, absolutely love this movie, especially climatic scene where’s Earth’s evolution is explained.

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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 her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Trickle Down Theorized

I will never be an economic theorist, outside of trying to understand my Favorite Panamanian’s shopping trends and the impact they have on the TJX Corporation, but I digress. The failed economic theory of trickle-down can, however, serve as a fitting description of my bed/mattress situation. I know. You’re welcome. Anytime a discredited monetary premise is rescued from the scrap heap, an angel gets his wings. (Okay, I made that last part up). By way of explanation, my wife has campaigned for the better part of three months to upgrade our queen-sized bed to king sized. I was a little resistant (okay, a lot) because even though we’ve had the queen-sized bed for most of our marriage, she always ends up right next to me as I get a narrow strip on the edge to sleep on. I didn’t think that would change with an upgrade other than giving her more room to wander before latching onto the border of my narrow strip of the mattress.

Daughter Sent these Photos
I'm Surrounded by 3 Generations of Beauty

I knew I was fighting a losing battle because she’s learned to wear me down with logic despite my resistance to same. In tribute to her, the reasons for the upgrade were altruistic (kind of how she is). I’ve always been a light sleeper (except after pub crawls) and her bad knee over the summer made it impossible for her to sleep comfortably. Invariably her nocturnal gyrations would wake me up and she felt bad. I also decided we would splurge on the mattress because, well, we can, and we spend nearly a quarter of the calendar day on it. Wingman and my daughter put me onto the Leesa mattress company, which makes a tempurpedic type mattress, only better.  It is delivered in a small box and expands to full size upon opening, so there’s also an entertainment value. I’ve slept on theirs and am sold.

Goofing with the FBR

Appropriate Spouse T-Shirt

Typical FBR Photo Pose

I then had to face the most difficult part of this situation. I had to go shopping with my Favorite Panamanian. You’d think someone who shops as much as she does would be better at making decisions. You would be wrong. This is one of the primary reasons we never shop together (other than my bone deep hatred of said process). I make decisions easily and quickly (this peaked with my marriage proposal after three days of knowing her). I was at a low boil by the time we hit our fourth furniture store on Monday. Hope sprung up as we finally found two king sized headboards that were the right color (never knew that was important). The only problem, she liked both and had to decide annnnnnd we’re back to the aforementioned dilemma. She reached out via text to our daughter who gave her opinion, and I was finally able to coax her into deciding (although she misinterpreted the daughter text and chose the other one). The new bed has a lot of features including blue tooth connection for imbedded speakers, night lights and cup holders. Don't know ho we survived without those for all these years.

Current Master Bedroom Bed - Just Before I dismantled it to Move

So. What the hell does all that drivel have to do with trickle down (I knew you were wondering)? Now that we had a new bed inbound, we had to decide (again, oh no!) which bed was going into basement storage. We had two queen sized beds in the guest rooms that our kids use when they visit. The decision was pretty easy since our now former master bedroom bed is going to replace the first bed my wife and I ever bought together. Yep, we had a bedstead that is over 40 years old, that survived all those military moves, only to be undone by a bad knee. Trickledown theory.

To Replace This 40 Year Old Bedstead

New Bed Has Arrived, Lots of Bells and Whistles
Waiting for Mattress Delivery, Queen Sized Box Spring Still There

My daughter sent the attached photos taken at Last Saturday’s Veterans’ breakfast. Yep, last Saturday remains one of my favorite days of all time and it started out in a church basement (before all the less than holy activities of the afternoon pub crawl). I’m heading back to Keene this weekend to hang out with some of those friends again. I think of it as an after-action review, necessary to insure next year’s crawl will be a success. My Favorite Panamanian will be away at a religious retreat (being married to me carries a heavy prayer burden) so I’m a geographic bachelor for a few days and, true to form, I’m running back to my hometown buddies. I had a nice conversation with my little sister this morning where she related a scary story about criminal activity in her neighborhood in which she was rescued by her dog (it’s what dogs do).  She lives alone which only adds to concerns but her daughter’s family is moving in with her at the end of the school year which will help.

Date night on Tuesday had us at the movie theater, of all places (I was still recovering from the Monday shopping experience). We saw Red One, which is not as bad as you might be hearing from the critics. The cast is outstanding and the duo of the Rock and Captain America are perfect foils for each other. The Rock oversees security for Santa Claus and spends the movie trying to find him after a kidnapping, assisted by naughty lister Evans. I know, a silly premise but it works as they devote themselves to playing it straight, as if this could really happen. There’s also a less than subtle message about Christmas and family which is always welcome. I really enjoyed the movie and the action was credible, even when they’re fighting rogue snow men sent by the Christmas witch. I know. As I said, silly, but it works.

Five movies fell in the A-Z watch (all M.I. so I am Tom Cruised out), all keepers: Mission Impossible 3, Ethan gets married, almost; Mission Impossible, Ghost Protocol, Ethan with scariest building climb, ever, and Paula Patton dominates a gown; Mission Impossible, Rogue Nation, Ethan meets Ilsa, sparks fly; Mission Impossible, Fallout, Ethan beats up Superman; and Mission Impossible, Dead Reckoning, Part 1; oh no, Ilsa, but here comes Haley Atwell!, where we learn why actors are so scared of AI.

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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 her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Divine Weekend

I’m wearing a semi-permanent smile right now and I owe it all to a widespread collection of family and friends who came together to provide one of those weekends I’ll remember for the rest of whatever time I have left on earth. It started on Friday when the Panamanian Mafia (and the Czech Connection) gathered for a post First Friday Family Facetime call get together. Pizza and beer were the names of the game, although I was quizzed on whatever happened to my European wine affiliation. I helpfully pointed outside that we were firmly back in the US where I proudly consume watered down American beer. I, however, once again extended my palate, after being exposed to Czech eggnog. I have scrupulously avoided ever drinking eggnog and I do mean, ever, even at well lubricated Christmases. The Czechs convinced me to try their concoction, explaining it involved rum that had to be smuggled into the US (editor’s note: I am not saying who did the smuggling in this case). It turned out to be really, really tasty and smooth. Color me amazed; and a big shout out to the smugglers (whoever they are).  

FBR Helping with Birthday Candles

The evening peaked with the arrival of the New Jersey bunch. That was timely because the FBR offered much needed guidance on how I should properly wield Bonecrusher (I blame the eggnog) based on her recent experience. Bonecrusher was needed to sever yet another magical cake created by my Favorite Panamanian. She has now officially moved into the realm of enchantment. She created a cake themed around movies, reading, and popcorn. For some reason she thought this was an accurate description of the birthday boy. Go figure! It was a great night.

Friday Night Crew

Wife Revealing the Cake

Getting Ready to Cut teh Cake

Hold Up! That's a Glass Table

Another Successful Bonecrusher Operation

We all woke up early Saturday morning and not only because the FBR was in residence. My Favorite Panamanian and her fellow church ladies planned a breakfast to honor the church’s veterans. I qualified, as did the Neighborhood Mafioso’s husband, my good buddy. I felt it was only appropriate that my wife garner some credit so I bought a t-shirt that proclaimed, “Military Wife - Toughest Job in the Military”, a basic truth any married veteran will concur with. We had a very fun table as my daughter and the FBR joined the Mafioso’s gang. I felt some sneaky pride that my granddaughter, who wasn’t around during the time I wore the uniform could experience this, realizing her grandpa served the country in uniform. We had to beat feet early to make our departure time for the biggest event of the weekend – the annual hometown, birthday pub crawl/high school reunion.

 

Saturday Morning with Mafioso's husband and FBR

We arrived in Keene to find Great Aunt already on the scene at Keene Friend’s house, having arrived the night before. Saturday was Great Aunt’s birthday which added to the august nature of the impending exercise. We immediately set out for Five Guys, the site of the traditional pre-crawl meal. We arrived there to find the Cantankerous Friend already on the scene and prepping for his key role in the crawl. After some quick catching up amongst the assembled worthies, we returned to Keene Friend’s house to launch on the crawl. My Favorite Panamanian volunteered to spend the afternoon shopping with the FBR since a pub crawl is not on either of their dance cards.

Pre-Crawl Meal

I’m going to forego chronicling each pub as we hit them, breaking with the tradition from the previous ten crawls. Yep. This was the eleventh annual birthday pub crawl that I’ve accomplished. We started in 2013 with only my son and I and it has grown each year apart from the benighted 2020 (we still did one, although much reduced). It has evolved into a mini-high school reunion as more and more of my high school classmates joined and realized how much fun we could still have partying together. This year we had no fewer than 20 people at each of the stops as classmates came and went throughout the day. We started at Penuche’s Ale House, followed by the Lab ‘n Lager, Modestman Brewery, the Kilkenny Pub, Madame Sheri’s, and the Pour House. I’ve included two photos from each of the stops.

Penuche's - The Gathering

Penuche Group Shot

Lab 'n Lager Discussions

Lab 'n Lager Group Shot

You can gather from the assembly of photographic evidence that a good time was had by all. I was particularly impressed with the attendance and grit of one of my female classmates. She’s forced to use a walker, and she made the walk to every single one of the stops. Truly inspiring. I think the Keene population was a little shocked to see this sea of gray hair and party intentioned senior citizens cruising their streets. I was so pleased to see both my kids, Wingman, and Great Aunt seamlessly fitting into the crowd. That’s testimony to the excellence on both sides of that equation. Keene Friend and I conspired to play a joke on one of our classmates at Penuche’s. She claims to have never been into this fine establishment known for extraordinarily sticky floors (the reason for which is best left unexplored). She promised to come this year and I convinced the bartender to shout out her name and ask if she wanted “her usual”. The bartender performed flawlessly but she only looked confused. It seemed a much better joke in the concept phase but Keene Friend and I both laughed very hard.

Modestman Crowd

Modestman Photo - FBR & Wife Join Us!

Kilkenny Pub Socializing

Kilkenny Group Shot

What followed was a truly special afternoon as we made our way through the streets of Keene. I can’t say enough about the people I was fortunate enough to spend the time with. I felt bad for my Favorite Panamanian who usually finds a way to join us for at least a couple stops. She and the FBR stopped by briefly at the Modestman Brewery. I planned to have her join us after the Pour House for the planned after-party gathering at Margarita’s. Unfortunately, once again Margarita’s disappointed. It has a checkered history for customer service, and we were unable to form up there. I called the wife to tell her not to come and we set out to walk back to Keene Friend’s house.

Madame Sheri's

Madame Sheri's Group Shot

Pour House

Pour House Group Shot

I was severely disappointed (in Margarita’s once again) because there were some late arriving classmates, including some of my favorites, who continued the party back at the Lab ‘n Lager. I was extremely proud of that as I later learned that they continued until after midnight. Considering we started just after noon, that was quite a run and included the Cantankerous Friend. I wished I could have attended but my Favorite Panamanian didn’t deserve to be left out again. We returned to Keene Friend’s house to link back up with her. Predictably, Keene Friend had arranged a birthday cake for both Great Aunt and me. Since I’d already wielded Bonecrusher, I allowed Great Aunt to do the cutting although the FBR felt she needed to guide the downstroke.

Some More Lab 'n Lager Scenes

The Fam

The Late Night Super Heroes

FBR Helps Great Aunt with Bonecrusher

My daughter’s family and Great Aunt headed to their hotel after the cake cutting. I heard rumors of the Lab ‘n Lager gathering but the wife was looking daggers at me when I mentioned it. You don’t get to my exalted age by ignoring these wifely signals. Keene Friend and I watched a very entertaining college football game with my son to wile away the rest of the evening. This morning, we all gathered at my mom’s favorite breakfast place, The Pub, for, you guessed it, breakfast. Everybody was in remarkably good shape dispite Saturday’s activities. It was a fun meal with the FBR entertaining us with her rapidly developing dry sense of humor. Both my son and the New Jersey bunch headed for home afterwards. I spent the afternoon watching NFL football with both Keene Friends as well as the Cantankerous One. It was one of those weekends I didn’t want to end but I can’t stop smiling as I remember it. Unbelievably, it exceeded my expectations which were impossibly high to begin with. I owe a huge debt of thanks to my family and friends and those remarkable classmates. KHS class of 1973 rules!!!

Breakfast This Morning

Zero movies fell in the A-Z watch, all keepers: Read above to see why

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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 her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course