Call From Down Under

 Ah, Wifey. Like many in her cohort -- women who have reached a certain age, she is restless. She loves being a grandmother, but as D1 points out, is no longer the "1997 version" of who she was as totally involved and devoted Mom -- balancing working 3 days per week with attendance at and driving to EVERY one of the Ds activities.

She wants to move from this house where I have found my xanadu, and when asked why, there are responses about no longer wanting to be "in the suburbs" or going closer to said grandkids, but when pressed she admits she "just wants a change."

The same thing goes for travel. We just returned from a wonderful trip to France, including land days and a luxury cruise, that all together cost easily more than my entire first year's salary as a lawyer, and she keeps talking about "the next trip."

Conversely, other than long weekend excursions, I ain't going nowhere over the ocean for at least a year -- maybe two. We'll work it out -- hopefully one or more of her friends will go with her, leaving me at peace with the dogs and quiet. We'll see.

Well her BFF Edna is far luckier than Wifey -- she has a husband who ALSO wants to travel -- a lot. Last night they called from a luxury cruise ship in the South Atlantic -- 16 days exploring stuff from Australia to New Zealand. It was cool -- the first time I ever spoke to someone from Down Under -- it was 8 pm Miami time and noon the next day there.

Unfortunately, the seas were rough,  and Edna was feeling it. They hung up in search of dramamine. Still -- it was terrific to hear from them -- and terrific for me that I did so from the place I wish to be -- home.

That said, I did see that Willie Nelson, somehow still alive, is playing Key West in March, at a great amphitheater where we saw John Fogarty with Joelle and Kenny last November. I told Wifey I ALWAYS want to go to KW -- maybe that'll be a trip for us, but not staying at my usual, the Pier House. Last time it was overpriced and tired looking. Kenny and Joelle found a much nicer place -- got to get the name from them. All I need at the Pier House is my usual martini at the Chart Room -- the first American place Bob Marley played, and the bar that gave Jimmy Buffet his start. Also, a hangout for writers like Capote, Williams, and McGuane.

I tell Wifey all the time that one of my unrequited desires it to go to KW and stay drunk for 5 days straight. Problem is, I'm a lightweight. After the first evening of one too many, I'm done. Still, I like the idea of it -- sort of like seeing a MLB game in every one of the 30 stadia in the US. Probably won't happen, but it might...

Meanwhile, I've had perfectly great mornings, and today's wasn't one of them, to borrow from Groucho. I attended a Zoom depo followed by a long conference in the case that simply won't go away -- our battle with a TV lawyer over fees on a case our former associate Fredo stole. It is a waste of time like no case before, and in my 37 year legal career, I have wasted a LOT of time. Oh well -- just have to soldier on, unless we want to cave to a smarmy advertising lawyer who shows pictures of his young wife to somehow prove his masculinity -- but hilariously, although young, she's a mishkeit. Yeah -- gotta go to the mat with that putz.

My wife, getting near a birthday, is MY trophy -- even though she wants to move and travel more than I do. And that's ok.