Awesome Weekend

That was the shortest weekend ever, Ms J. It seemed to fly past. I was off socialising the entire time. On Saturday afternoon, I drove to Newmarket to attend a retirement party for a work mate. There were lots of people there and he was pleased and surprised.

"I didn't know I had so many friends on the railway," he said later.

Rob was a good guy, Ms J. Everyone liked him. He rarely got angry or frustrated when things didn't go well. He was a very good engineer and took pride in doing a good job.

It's a bitter-sweet sort of occasion, isn't it? I mean you look forward to retirement for thirty years and then feel sad when it finally arrives.

Rob was full of beer and dewy-eyed when I left there around 5:00. I had another party to attend in Georgetown.

Christina is a friend of my niece, Sherri. She's young, Ms J, about twenty-five maybe. She and her mother have recently bought a house and invited friends over for a house warming party. My brother and sister-in-law were there along with a crowd of younger people. The music was a bit loud for this old man, but still, it was a lot of fun. Eventually.

My friend Scott and his wife Liz live only a few blocks away and so, when things began to drag a bit at Christina's, I buggered off to visit Scott for an hour or so. We had a nice visit. I didn't know it, but Liz has a friend who works at Wrigley's.

"Would you like some gum?" asked Scott and I said sure, expecting a stick.

"Get the Doc some gum, Liz," he said and off she went.

In a minute, she returned with a plastic shopping bag completely STUFFED with gum. Boxes and boxes of it. Spearmint. Bubble gum. Peppermint. Juicy Fruit. Altoids - "the curiously strong breath mint." The bag must have weighed ten pounds.

"Here," said Liz, and she handed me the bag. "Don't put it all in your mouth at once."

I took it all back to the party and shared it with the other guests. Believe me, Ms Journal, there was lots for everyone.

It was late - about 2:00 a.m. - when we left. I drove Pat's van back to his place and spent the night there. On Sunday morning, Pat and I and my nephew Jeff all went to see The Simpsons movie. We thought it was hilarious, but we're all huge Simpsons fans. I came home after the show on Sunday because I had another party to attend, this time here in Mimico.

A group of church friends gathered to visit and eat bbq'd food and salads. We drank lots of wine and beer too. Yeah, Ms J, my church friends are cool. Probably not as cool as me, but hey ... Let's face it. Few people are.

I wore my sandals and the ants and mosquitoes feasted on my feet. My poor ankles are a mess of red, itchy welts. The tops of my feet are as well. And my shins. Little buggers, eh?

But I had a brilliant time. Most of my favourite church friends were there. We sang songs and Cy played his guitar. The food was delicious and I ate til I was uncomfortable. Didn't drink much though. The party ended around 8:00 and I came home and showered. Then I went to bed and scratched myself to sleep.

Whew! What a short, but fantastic weekend!

I wonder where my son is?

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