Wow. I had a really interesting Independence Day Eve last night. The nice weather we were supposed to have yesterday did not materialize until about 5 p.m. so my day at my parent's pool was cut very short. Instead, I went to see, "Public Enemies" at Potomac Yards with my good friends Michelle and Jim. Well, unfortunately, it turned into a gangster movie in more ways than one.
The previews had just started when three youth, all of whom had their jeans hanging from their mid-thigh and smelled of alcohol, sat down in front of us. Shortly thereafter, I noticed that the one in the middle was complaining about Michelle's and my laughter at this hilarious trailer for a new Vince Vaughn movie. He also complained under his breath to his friends at one point about Michelle's foot rubbing against the back of his chair. She's about 5'2" I think -- it was barely touching. Anyway, it wasn't long before they were laughing and talking during a particularly tense moment in the movie, which wasn't funny at all. So, another gentleman in their row leaned over and asked them to keep it down. Uh oh. Big mistake, pal. That's when the kid in the middle (he was definitely the leader of this pack) told the nice man that he should, "Shut the f*** up." Hearing that, the older man started to get up and the middle kid said, "Why don't you come over here and try to make me shut up." Great. So, as if I needed more stress in my life, I'm sitting there thinking that I'm going to have to see these kids beat up this poor man and probably his wife, too. I also started looking for a good hiding place for myself so that I didn't get caught in the crossfire. I can fight cancer just fine but I knew my ass was toast if I tried to defend myself against these three. Apparently, Michelle and Jim were thinking the same thing too.
Anyway, the man temporarily diffused the situation by saying, "No, I'm just going to go get the manager." But before he could do that, he had to walk over the legs of those kids so I still thought there would be violence of some sort. Fortunately, they let him pass without any. Shortly, the man returned and again, had to cross over the kids to get back to his seat. Great. Here we go again. I just knew they were going to trip him or something but mercifully, they didn't. Finally, the manager appeared with his flashlight at their row and told them to come with him. They resisted. So, the manager said, "If you don't come with me now, you'll be kicked out." Well, I guess he said it with just enough force that the kids knew he meant business. They followed him out and we never saw them again. Amen. And amen for a manager with balls. I guess it helps to have balls when you know Alexandria's Finest are around the corner at the front of the theater.
Despite the fact that we never saw those kids again, after watching two hours of a gangster movie where most people get mowed down outside of a store or theater, actually, the three of us still worried that they'd come back and be waiting outside the theater for that man. They weren't, so we moved on and made plans to meet up with Alison at Hank's Oyster Bar in Old Town, which is where mini-drama #2 occurred.
We thought our luck had changed for the evening when we scored the only outside table at Hank's. So, the four of us were sitting there enjoying our wine and a gorgeous evening when first, someone decided to put their full body weight into blowing their horn for no apparent reason at another car turning onto King Street by the restaurant. Rude. After that rather upsetting 30-second noise pollution interruption, we all resumed our conversation. Well, no sooner did our hearts start beating at a normal rhythm again then we looked up to see an older man being carried out of the restaurant by four people. At which point, I thought, this can't be good. They got him out of the restaurant quickly and laid him on the brick sidewalk almost right in front of us. It seems that the older man had passed out in the restaurant. Seeing as how I've passed out or nearly passed several times lately, I was probably the least affected by this scene. I simply asked if anyone had called 911 yet and when they said yes and I saw that a restaurant employee was talking from a landline (so I knew she was actually going to get an operator in Alexandria), I went back to sipping my wine. I think the rest of my party was a little more disturbed, particularly Alison, who went into full event mode (she's a corporate event planner) and got up to start looking for a doctor at nearby restaurants and businesses.
Fortunately, the Alexandria paramedics and fire and rescue (yes, not one but TWO very loud vehicles) showed up within about two mintues, I'd say. They surveyed the scene, talked to the man's cute wife, and had him loaded up before my delicious oysters arrived. Ahhh. Mini-drama #2 over.
The rest of the meal went on without incident and a good time was had by all. Oh, and an even nicer treat is that Michelle gave me a very generous early "33 and Cancer-Free" birthday gift. It seems that the other night when I attended her jeans party at The Denim Bar and decided that I could only afford to buy either the fun purple linen dress OR a new pair of dark jeans and ended up deciding to purchase the dress, Michelle took it upon herself to put the jeans aside for me and bought them as an early birthday gift. Wow. I was shocked when I opened them last night and was so touched by her over-the-top generosity. Unfortunately, Michelle has a lot of experience as a wellness cheerleader, as she has had many friends both succumb to and beat cancer, but I will say that she has learned from their experiences and has been so helpful to me throughout my campaign. Upon opening the jeans, I shared with my dinner companions that recently, on a particularly bad day, Steve Winwood's "Back in the High Life Again" came on the radio and I started balling immediately. Sometimes it takes very little, folks. Anyway, I declared that my new hot jeans would be a big help in recapturing my high life again. THANK YOU, MICHELLE!
The previews had just started when three youth, all of whom had their jeans hanging from their mid-thigh and smelled of alcohol, sat down in front of us. Shortly thereafter, I noticed that the one in the middle was complaining about Michelle's and my laughter at this hilarious trailer for a new Vince Vaughn movie. He also complained under his breath to his friends at one point about Michelle's foot rubbing against the back of his chair. She's about 5'2" I think -- it was barely touching. Anyway, it wasn't long before they were laughing and talking during a particularly tense moment in the movie, which wasn't funny at all. So, another gentleman in their row leaned over and asked them to keep it down. Uh oh. Big mistake, pal. That's when the kid in the middle (he was definitely the leader of this pack) told the nice man that he should, "Shut the f*** up." Hearing that, the older man started to get up and the middle kid said, "Why don't you come over here and try to make me shut up." Great. So, as if I needed more stress in my life, I'm sitting there thinking that I'm going to have to see these kids beat up this poor man and probably his wife, too. I also started looking for a good hiding place for myself so that I didn't get caught in the crossfire. I can fight cancer just fine but I knew my ass was toast if I tried to defend myself against these three. Apparently, Michelle and Jim were thinking the same thing too.
Anyway, the man temporarily diffused the situation by saying, "No, I'm just going to go get the manager." But before he could do that, he had to walk over the legs of those kids so I still thought there would be violence of some sort. Fortunately, they let him pass without any. Shortly, the man returned and again, had to cross over the kids to get back to his seat. Great. Here we go again. I just knew they were going to trip him or something but mercifully, they didn't. Finally, the manager appeared with his flashlight at their row and told them to come with him. They resisted. So, the manager said, "If you don't come with me now, you'll be kicked out." Well, I guess he said it with just enough force that the kids knew he meant business. They followed him out and we never saw them again. Amen. And amen for a manager with balls. I guess it helps to have balls when you know Alexandria's Finest are around the corner at the front of the theater.
Despite the fact that we never saw those kids again, after watching two hours of a gangster movie where most people get mowed down outside of a store or theater, actually, the three of us still worried that they'd come back and be waiting outside the theater for that man. They weren't, so we moved on and made plans to meet up with Alison at Hank's Oyster Bar in Old Town, which is where mini-drama #2 occurred.
We thought our luck had changed for the evening when we scored the only outside table at Hank's. So, the four of us were sitting there enjoying our wine and a gorgeous evening when first, someone decided to put their full body weight into blowing their horn for no apparent reason at another car turning onto King Street by the restaurant. Rude. After that rather upsetting 30-second noise pollution interruption, we all resumed our conversation. Well, no sooner did our hearts start beating at a normal rhythm again then we looked up to see an older man being carried out of the restaurant by four people. At which point, I thought, this can't be good. They got him out of the restaurant quickly and laid him on the brick sidewalk almost right in front of us. It seems that the older man had passed out in the restaurant. Seeing as how I've passed out or nearly passed several times lately, I was probably the least affected by this scene. I simply asked if anyone had called 911 yet and when they said yes and I saw that a restaurant employee was talking from a landline (so I knew she was actually going to get an operator in Alexandria), I went back to sipping my wine. I think the rest of my party was a little more disturbed, particularly Alison, who went into full event mode (she's a corporate event planner) and got up to start looking for a doctor at nearby restaurants and businesses.
Fortunately, the Alexandria paramedics and fire and rescue (yes, not one but TWO very loud vehicles) showed up within about two mintues, I'd say. They surveyed the scene, talked to the man's cute wife, and had him loaded up before my delicious oysters arrived. Ahhh. Mini-drama #2 over.
The rest of the meal went on without incident and a good time was had by all. Oh, and an even nicer treat is that Michelle gave me a very generous early "33 and Cancer-Free" birthday gift. It seems that the other night when I attended her jeans party at The Denim Bar and decided that I could only afford to buy either the fun purple linen dress OR a new pair of dark jeans and ended up deciding to purchase the dress, Michelle took it upon herself to put the jeans aside for me and bought them as an early birthday gift. Wow. I was shocked when I opened them last night and was so touched by her over-the-top generosity. Unfortunately, Michelle has a lot of experience as a wellness cheerleader, as she has had many friends both succumb to and beat cancer, but I will say that she has learned from their experiences and has been so helpful to me throughout my campaign. Upon opening the jeans, I shared with my dinner companions that recently, on a particularly bad day, Steve Winwood's "Back in the High Life Again" came on the radio and I started balling immediately. Sometimes it takes very little, folks. Anyway, I declared that my new hot jeans would be a big help in recapturing my high life again. THANK YOU, MICHELLE!
Well, I'm off for a walk (I did the 45-minute version yesterday for the first time in over a week and think I'll try it again today) and then it's off to my parent's pool for what will hopefully be a beautiful Fourth of July with some family and friends. I hope that everyone has a wonderful day!
Who would have thought that a quiet night of dinner and a movie would have provided so much excitement?! I'm so glad you love your jeans -- you more than deserve them. Happy early "33 and cancer free"!
ReplyDeleteMichelle