In
my last post, I theorized my Favorite Panamanian was up to something and I had not
figured out what. It turned out I was absolutely correct and couldn’t be
happier, because it turned into a special night I’ll remember for the rest of
my life. My friends and family had been conspiring with my wife for months. My
son and daughter were her main co-conspirators and I was left with some grudging
admiration for their operational security. In hindsight there were abundant
clues that should have cued me in, more on that later. Even the FBR was read in
on what was happening and didn’t divulge anything, she even gamed on me a bit.
You’ll remember that I was told we would be hosting a bunch of family and friends
at our house for my birthday party.
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| Surrounded by the Conspirators |
My
daughter and Wingman arrived with the FBR Thursday night. My son showed up late
Friday afternoon ostensively to take me out to the movies so I wouldn’t be in
the way while my wife and daughter got the house ready for the party. I was
told I had to wear my party clothes because she didn’t want us to return and
having to change clothes while people waited. While this made a little sense,
this caused some doubts to creep in. I enjoyed watching the movie with my son,
so those doubts became just background noise. After the movie, my son said his
mother asked him to pick up a special gift for me on Route 20, not far from the
theater. He also said he had to blindfold me because my wife wanted him to take
a picture of me when I first saw it to capture my reaction.
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| Walking in the Door |
Video of my Entry
As
I circulated through the tables greeting all the guests, I started to hear
about the machinations my Favorite Panamanian had been engaged with over the past
few months. One of the funniest was the text messages between Wingman and my
son. Apparently, the thought of having to get me blindfolded was not considered
an easy task. I’ve included that text exchange which still has me laughing. The
FBR revealed she had been playing games with me earlier in the day. Friday morning,
I set out to buy beer and other drinks for the supposed house party. When I had
the cooler fully stocked, the FBR innocently asked me if I was going to keep
the cooler in the garage or on the deck for the party. What I didn’t see was her
winking behind my back to my daughter. That explained why she was unexpectedly laughing
that morning. |
| Hilarious Texts Between Son and Wingman |
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| Sign that Greeted Me |
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| With Great Aunt |
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| Wingman, Daughter and FBR |
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| Son, ABFA, BRS, & BR3 |
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| Newly Met Niece |
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| PCR and his Wife |
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| Neighborhood Mafiosos |
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| Most Excellent Former Boss and his Wife |
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| Great Friend from Work and her Husband |
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| Younger Sister |
The
pictures capture all the special people that were there. We had a buffet dinner
followed by, you guessed it, dancing (Latinas were involved, after all). The granddaughters
never stopped moving. They provided a fashion show, joined by my younger sister’s
granddaughter who immediately bonded with her cousins, despite never having met
them. They demanded their abuela also take a turn in the fashion show. When
they extended their demand to me, I hesitated but, since I dan deny them
absolutely nothing, I complied. Luckily my walk was not captured on video.
Probably because everyone was in shock at the sight of my strutting. I was at the bar ordering a beer when all three
granddaughters lined up next to me and I bought them Shirley Temples, it was a
very funny moment. It was one of those nights where there was never enough time
to spend with any one group. It was all too special. |
| Stepping up to the Bar with Grandpa |
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| Shirley Temple Time |
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| Dance with Wife |
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| Czech Friends and Shadow |
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| Mafioso Dancing |
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| Fashion Show |
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| Ballroom |
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| FBR Twirling |
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| BRS |
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| BR3 |
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| New Niece |
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| Son and his Mom |
Fashion Show
Abuela Walk
Grandpa and FBR Dance
It was the first time all three Musqueteras were together in a long time, and they made the most of it. The Maine Musquetera came out of retirement to create one
of her special birthday cakes. When my wife realized she forgot to bring
Bonecrusher for cake cleaving, she wanted to send someone back to the house to
get it. I overruled her because everyone was having too much fun and we could
figure out how to cleave without it. My hometown friends got to hear the infamous
story of my most excellent boss’ nuclear hijinks in 1960s Europe. I could not
have been happier and more honored at having all these people there for me.
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| Cake Cutting Time |
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| Amazing Cake |
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| Granddaughter Assisting |
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| The Musqueteras |
Eventually
people had to make their way home. My Favorite Panamanian, in a first for her,
figured out how to back my car out of the garage. She needed to because she had
dispatched Wingman in our other car to get balloons blown up. That turned into
an adventure also. I learned this at what we dubbed the afterparty. When we got
home my daughter, Wingman, my wife and I gathered around the kitchen island to share
how this all had unfolded. The lonely cooler in the garage finally was accessed.
We reviewed the “historical” photos that my wife and daughter had gathered and distributed
at the banquet hall’s tables. My son was too tired from his antics to join us,
but it was a special time and we kept going until 1am, on my birthday!
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| Aftermath |
This
probably wasn’t the brightest course of action, considering what I had on tab
for Saturday, the annual hometown birthday pub crawl. It was a frantic morning
at the house with the granddaughters delivering one of their signature wakeup “calls”.
Since the house was full, my Favorite Panamanian and I were sleeping in the Man
Cave when all three granddaughters arrived and promptly launched themselves
onto my head to wish me a happy birthday. We had to meet a 10:30 departure time
to arrive in Keene on time. My wife was a true hero as she delivered a fantastic
breakfast to the riotous group and got ready on time. This was a huge surprise to
my son and I who had developed an alternate plan of driving up ahead of her
while she got ready. In my opinion (only), her accelerated prep was a direct result
of hearing this alternate plan. The Virginia Musquetera was accompanying us for
her first ever pub crawl (I consider it my role in life to bring the religion of
pub crawling to the masses).
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5 Guys
Cantankerous Trying to do a Selfie |
We
arrived at Keene Friend’s house for a quick break before launching to Five Guys
for the traditional pre-crawl lunch and a linkup with the Cantankerous Freind.
We left directly from there for the crawl. My stalwart son remained at my side,
as he had been at every one, except the covid blighted 2020 one, when I told
him to stay home. My daughter had to return home Saturday morning because
Wingman is heading back out on tour with his band today. The accompanying pictures
tell the story of the day, which was thoroughly memorable. This turned out to
be the most people we had at any of the thirteen crawls. That started at the
Lab ‘n Lager as more and more people wandered in, including the PCR, his wife,
the former CRC, and my Kindergarten Friend. That last worthy was playing hurt with
a stomach malady but rangered his way through the entire day, accompanied by
his sister.
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| Keene Friend, I and PCR at the Lab |
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| Stop 1 Lab 'n Lager Crawlers |
The
crowd grew at the next stop, Kilkenny’s, with a bunch of high school classmates
continuing to arrive. Here, as at every stop, the much younger patrons looked
on with interest (and a little bit of awe) as the 70-year-olds demonstrated
what partying, honed in the 1970s and since, looked like. There is just
something extremely special about Keene High School Class of 1973. Kilkenny’s
fulfilled the pb crawl requirement of a dive bar (this is sneakily my favorite
bar on the crawl). Our next stop was a new addition to the crawl, The Perch.
They sport a very young bar staff who were thoroughly entertained by their
senior citizen crowd. I think they were happy for the patronage though as we constituted
their entire customer base during our stay. The Perch was a great addition to the
crawl.
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| Kilkenny Crawlers |
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Classmate with Same Birthday as Me
T-Shirt Applied to all KHS '73 Crawlers |
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| The Perch Crawlers |
Our
next stop was the lone low point of the crawl and at a predictable location. I
reluctantly added Margarita’s back into the lineup in order to reach the
opening time for the next stop, Madam Sherri’s. While this was our only option,
my fears were realized when we were escorted into a back room and forced to
order everything through one, overworked waiter. The bar staff had been instructed
not to take any orders from our group and to handle everything through this one
waiter. To his credit, he did a fabulous job, but it was too much for one guy. Hopefully
next year Penuche’s will be back in operation. Anyway, Margarita’s will not be
in the lineup, earning a permanent ban from the crawl for once again failing.
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| Margarita's with Wife Sneaking in the Back Between My Son and I |
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| Margarita's Crawlers |
My
Favorite Panamanian and the Virginia Musquetera joined us just before we left
Margarita's. Our next stop was a much better experience. Madame Sherri’s,
located at the former home of the legendary beer towers of Scores from earlier
crawls, is a gay bar that could not have been more welcoming for our lively
group. They provided a special lighted stage area for our group picture. The
numbers were starting to fall off as we headed to the final stop, The Pour
House. The sun had set and the regular Saturday social crowds were starting to
show up in the bars. I was very proud of my classmates who were still up for a
good time at this, our sixth stop. Six hours and still comprising the liveliest
group in the bar. I would definitely qualify this crawl as the best attended
and yet another (not that it was needed) indicator of how special KHS ’73 remains.
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| Madam Sherri's Sign - Okay |
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| Madam Sherri's Crawlers |
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| Pour House Sign - Our Religious Exposure |
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| Pour House Crawlers at the Finish Line |
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Former CRC Missed Final Picture
We're Both in a Good Mood at This Point |
We set out from Pour House for a walk in the rain to Keene Friend’s house for an after-crawl get together at his house. Keene Friend 2, the PCR, his wife, and the
Cantankerous One joined my group. We stopped off at Athens Pizza to order a
delivery before continuing on to Keene Friend’s home. That was a very fun gathering
where Keene Friend produced a birthday cake for both the PCR and I. We’d forgotten
Bonecrusher so this was the first time since acquiring my broadsword that he'd
been shut out of my birthday cake. A small price to pay for the sublime fun the
entire day had been. We offered a ride to the PCR and his wife to their hotel
as we left. This marked my first time ever in the way back seat of the
Highlander. I remained in the back seat for the drive home where I offered my
cogent observations on the passing terrain. My Favorite Panamanian took my beer
soaked cogitations in stride. What a great couple days I’d had to mark my 70th
journey around the sun. I owe more thanks than I can manage for all the special
people that made it happen.
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| Keene Friend's House |
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| PCR and I with the Cake |
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Keene Friend Did NOT Propose to Virginia Musquetera (I think)
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Two
movies fell in the A-Z watch, both keepers: Total Recall – Arnold one, one of his
great early roles; Total Recall – Colin Farrell one, better than I remembered
and with both Beckinsale and Biel, talk about killer Bs.
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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 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; 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
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