Last Friday, I met The Dulcinea and her kids at the Barnes & Noble on the west side right after work. We needed to blow some time before heading to the cinema to see Eragon. I'd given Des, her oldest, a copy of the book for his birthday last month and promised to take him to see the film. I found it mediocre but we went for Des. He too had reservations about it and I was proud when he launched into a tirade on why the book was better. Couple this with the fact that he started playing Dungeons & Dragons this year and it is obvious that he's going to be a full-fledged nerd when he is older. While we were at the bookstore, I noticed a book - Baseball in Eau Claire. While this is in itself interesting as I lived near Eau Claire for about 3 years, what was more interesting was the author, Jason Christopherson. I went to high school with a Jason Christopherson who was really into baseball. The author blurb said he lived near Eau Claire and had a wife named Shelley. The Jason I knew had a girlfriend in high school named Shelley. It just had to be him.
The next night The Dulcinea and I had dinner with our friend Miss Pamela, her daughter Neko, hubby, and her brother Bill who recently moved here to Madison. I've known Pam and Bill since 1987 or so when we were in high school. Neko got her stylin' shoes which I bought in Chicago last month. They were so cute with these big strawberries on them. At 6 months, Neko probably couldn't give a hoot but I was proud of my baby shoes selection ability. It had been several years since I'd seen Bill and it was nice to see him again. If anyone here in town is looking for a drummer, he is looking for a gig. Our time together was brief but fun.
This small stretch of encountering high school classmates and their books was rather neat. When I got home, I found a Christmas card from yet another former classmate. Last I'd heard, he was in New Jersey but he now lives in Illinois. My friend was still married to his high school sweetheart, whom I knew, and they have 2 kids. Their son looks almost exactly like my friend. How time flies.
Sunday was Miss Regan's third birthday so I went out to lunch with her and her parents before going to see Happy Feet. It was Regan's first cinema adventure! We took the row of four seats in the middle of the theater. Regan sat down but didn't weigh enough so the seat flopped back up squishing her against the back. It was really funny. Then she began to see her grandmother everywhere. Every middle aged woman she saw prompted "Grandma Nori!" One after another. I think Regan was able to watch about 10 minutes of the film before she started to get antsy and wander around. She ended up roaming the aisle a bit before returning to sit on one of our laps. For my part, I don't know if I've ever been so cold in a theater. Mel kept her coat on while I just wrapped my arms around myself. I also don't know that I've ever seen such a blatant political message in an ostensibly children's film.
Last night I was watching some TV when a car pulled into our driveway. None of us were expecting anyone so I was surprised when Pete barreled in the door drunk. That is, I was surprised to see Pete but not that he was full of holiday cheer. It had been too long since I'd seen him and even longer since he'd passed out on the couch. Just like old times.
Tonight I'll be dining with The Dulcinea and my roomies. Sunday and Monday I'll be in Chicago with family. Upon my return, I'll have a new episode of Torchwood and the Doctor Who Christmas special for the watching. Where did 2006 go?
No comments:
Post a Comment