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.
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| 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.
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| Our Table in Background (red shirt) |
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| 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.
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| 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 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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