Born in A Crossfire Hurricane

So Wifey and I fetched Loni, and drove to Brickell, where Mike fetched us, and we were off to see the Stones.

What a difference a week and bush league versus major league makes. At the Tangerine Bowl we parked a good 1.5 miles away, and walked home like zombies, with huge buses sharing our path. At Joe Robbie, we parked a baseball's throw from the stadium, and were on the road 10 minutes after the concert let out.  I prefer Joe Robbie...

Mike brought his generator to power the frozen drink machine, but I set about polishing off the remainder of the Zyr vodka I brought home from Orlando. While we were partying, we got the news that Hurricane Dorian had shifted North, so we celebrated NOT having to put up shutters today.

Eric and Dana came by, and a lot of Mike's usual tailgate folks were in attendance. Stuart and Tracy, our seatmates, came by as well, and Wifey and the three of us took the escalator to the upper deck.

The Stones were terrific. They truly rocked. They played my favorite song, "Paint it Black," which I have always loved as a counterpoint to my sunny disposition. The packed crowd loved all the songs, and when Mick sang "Gimme Shelter," the skies opened up in a downpour. It was a memorable moment.

We went back to Mike's enormous Expedition, and were soon on our way home. It occurred to us we hadn't had dinner, so after fetching my car on Brickell, the four of us met at Denny's for an early am breakfast.

I last stopped at that Denny's over 5 years ago. D2 and I would make it our place following late Canes games. It brought back great memories for me, especially since D2 is just a few weeks from coming home for good.

We laughed and reminisced. Mike and Loni and Wifey and I go back more than three and a half decades. I met all three of them in '83. We were kids, and now we're closer to grandparent age.

I sustained a concert related injury. Mike's friend Jose was schlepping a cooler from a different lot, and his wife volunteered me to go help him. I did, and must have twisted wrong, and now a have a lower back pull.

But -- before we fell asleep, I saw the 2 am advisory, and learned we were definitely out of the cone of death -- so no shutter work for me, for sure. The back will heal faster now.

Today -- my dog infested couch beckons, with lots of college football to nap to.

We're done with concerts -- but just for awhile. I scored some of the hottest tickets in awhile -- Madonna playing at the Jackie Gleason Theater on the Beach. Wifey loves her, and I got the tix as an early birthday gift for her, in December.

And Dorian? The last advisory, at 11, said  Miami Dade AND Broward are out of the cone of death, so all the tv stations are of course saying to still worry. Not me. I've been through enough of these things in 40 years here.

Glad Dorian left us alone. And Jumpin' Jack Flash is indeed a gas, gas, gas...