My 42nd birthday was one I will always remember. Mer and I were going to go to Taffy’s, but they don’t take credit cards and we didn’t have cash on hand so we went to Shanghai Buffet instead. Just a pleasant day … then Christina met up with me and after picking up a couple her friends, we headed to Woody’s where her friend Dave was celebrating his 31st birthday. He was already lit, shaking my hands every few minutes, and Christina bought me a beer. I refused to do shots and ended up drinking a Diet Coke, not finishing the beer.
After a while, we grabbed some Mighty Taco drive-through and ate it at the top of the playground equipment in a park, perturbing the community watch folks a bit (a non-official car shining a flashlight at us). Christina wanted ice cream so we ended up where everyone else eventually does — the Denny’s on Ridge that used to be a Perkins. When the waitress asked “what high school did you go to”, I asked if she meant one of them or the “creepy old guy hanging out with kids”. She meant me. Yep, same school. “Melissa” … I feigned recognition but she didn’t buy it. “Your prom date!” Whoa … Junior year flashback. Still didn’t recognize her but took her word for it. We caught up about her family, and I of course introduced my daughter, who thought it was pretty wild. I got in after 2am, far past my bedtime.
The whole thing reminded me of the high school life i didn’t quite have the first time around.
Yep, a birthday to remember.