Dance Saturation and Winged B-Day

Someone needs to get a memo up to Mother Nature and let her know that it’s supposed to be June, not March. After sweltering 90 degree heat on Friday we’ve been, in a very New England kind of way, sent back to early spring with cold rainy days in the 50s. That’s just wrong on so many levels. Thankfully it’s been one of those weekends in motion where weather is kind of but not really noticed, except for granddaughter time which meant decibel levels at my son’s house were in the record spectrum this morning. But I digress, before we get to the most excellent time we had up in New Hampshire I’ve got to recount the zombie dance we witnessed on Friday night. 

Friday Night at Halligans

With our Guru and her Husband Friday Night

The Neighborhood Mafioso is our Worcester social scene guru. A lifelong resident of Worcester, she is plugged into all aspects of the social scene around town. This is one of the most compelling reasons we decided to finally put down some roots here. Anyways, she proclaimed that we weren’t going to the Auburn legion hall to dance this past Friday because she got a line on an excellent band, with dancing, at another place in Auburn. I’ve driven by Halligans literally hundreds of time since I moved to Massachusetts since it is on the way to Charlton where we lived for ten years. It sits back from Rt 20 and looks fairly non-descript, more like a biker bar than a “go to” kind of place. We have infinite confidence in the Mafioso though so we arrived around 630pm to find the bar deserted. It was just a test though as the bartender assured us we got there just before the tidal wave. People show up an hour before the band starts, especially this band, to get seats in the dance hall, adjacent to the bar. That turned out to be true as the place was full a half hour later. We paid a cover charge and the ladies snuck into the hall to claim our seats.

Zombies on the Left in Front of Band

For the first time in a lot of Fridays, we were not the youngest people at the place. That was okay because you know we exude gravitas, well, okay, that’s mostly my Favorite Panamanian and the Mafioso. Now, to the zombies. The band was very good and we had a fantastic time dancing. There was a carpeted place between the stage and the dance floor which was kind of weird but okay. When the band started up the carpeted area was quickly filled with about eight rows of people who danced in place (not with each other) while facing and staring at the band. It was a little spooky but that area was filled all night, I guess they’re the band’s groupies. This had the added benefit of pushing the people who wanted to dance with partners far enough back that we were on the actual dance floor. It was yet another great night hanging with our best Worcester friends/neighbors.

Pre-Recital Hair Appointment

Transformed

Saturday dawned a little early after Friday’s exertions as we had to hit the road early to arrive in time for the dance recital of the BRS and BR3. I had been dreading this all week as friends filled me with horror stories about sitting through hours of the same song and dance as different classes make their way through the recital. I had a couple former co-workers stop by for a couple Deckzilla brews Thursday afternoon. They seemed to have fun inflicting these representations on me. Friends. We arrived early enough that my Favorite Panamanian assisted the ABFA with the hair and makeup prep, which I learned is an important step. The two sprites were transformed into absolute visions.

Just Before Gametime

BRS (3rd from left) and BR3 (to her left)

Checking with Big Sis

Conquering Heroines

We drove to the town’s Middle School where my worries grew exponentially. For a small town the place as inundated with parents and other sprites. People had to park on the grass despite the huge parking lots which were chock full. I thought I was in for hours of pain just to see the five minutes my granddaughters would be on stage. We were joined by the ABFA’s parents so at least I would be sharing my pain with good friends. I was steeling myself for the expected agony when I found myself completely captured by the show. Each group came on stage and it was beyond cute as each strove their best to follow the directions of the teachers positioned just below and in front of the stage. I laughed more than I had in a long time. The time flew by.

Post Performance Flowers

C'mon Grandpa, Get with the Program

With The ABFA's Parents

Obligatory Parental Shot

BRS, Star of the Show

Very Proud Momma

My son was a little nervous that BR3 would refuse to join her group on stage as she already sports a very determined stubbornness. When their group walked on the BRS and her sister were next to each other and I almost didn’t recognize them as they had been transformed into mini-ballerinas. The BRS was easily the most elegant dancer in her group and BR3 gamely tried to keep up, even after an early stumble/fall. It was beyond cute. When the group was supposed to move to one side and one of their group wasn’t moving, BR3 lent a forearm to get things on track. I was truly captured and so proud of both of them. It is so much fun being a granddad at times like this. We saw them one other time on stage as they joined every other dance group for a grand finale. It was pure chaos but strangely delightful. The ABFA went to retrieve the girls while we waited outside. As I walked down a hall, the two girls, sporting participation medals, spotted me so I was the first to let them know how proud we all were of them. The ABFA captured that moment in the attached video.

After escaping the aforementioned parking lot we made our way to the home of the conquering heroes where the plaudits continued to rain down on the dancers. We decided to celebrate with a family dinner out featuring the dancers, parents, and all four grandparents. The girls were perfect on a very long wait for our food. The ABFA knows the 110 Grill ladies’ room more intimately than she ever hoped as the granddaughters quickly figured out they could escape the boredom of the dinner table by telling their mom they had to “go potty”. It was a fun night which is usually the case when we hang with our co-grandparents. We were lucky enough to spend the night at my son’s house which meant an hojaldra breakfast and lots of grandad chasing the granddaughters, hence the aforementioned decibel levels. BR3 kept a close eye on the rain and insisted we could outside between showers. This worked for the first couple times however we were fully engulfed by one quick hitting shower which was so funny as we dashed towards the house, completely soaked.

Chaotic Finale

Still Proud Momma

Dinner Last Night

Between Potty Breaks

Proud Dad

Letting Abuela Paint with Her

Filling Grandpa's Shoes

Meanwhile, there was a big event down in New Jersey. Saturday was Wingman’s birthday which meant he received breakfast in bed as well as the day long admiration he has so richly earned. I haven’t received a full report on the day but we got a cryptic message last night from my daughter saying they were heading into the Big Apple for a Seinfeld stand up show. The FBR was undergoing her first ever sleepover party, yet another indication the pandemic is finally regressing in parents’ minds. Today they were apparently at a minor league baseball game where the FBR and my daughter made an appearance on the scoreboard video screen. So, cool.

FBR at Little Mermaid Friday Night

Wingman Birthday Breakfast

Last Night

At the Show

FBR and my Daughter on the Big Screen

We received the attached video from our good friends in Panama. I don’t know how they transformed a photo of our group on the Las Lajas beach into this video but I’m guessing AI was involved. To be clear, in the real world, I am not allowed to sing in public. It involves a public safety ordinance, so this is pure fantasy but so funny, especially since it came from a Yankees fan and he knows this is the Red Sox seventh inning theme song. Too, frigging funny.

Three movies fell in my A-Z watch, all keepers, Django Unchained, wild and wonderful Tarantino mind on full display; Doc Hollywood – still wildly in love with Julie Warner; and Doc Sleep – Danny comes home to the Overlook, awesome Stephen King novel brought to life/death.

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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