So yesterday I drove to mid-Beach to meet an old friend/former employee at her condo. We hadn't seen each other in 19 years -- she reached out, to ask me about a mutual friend who did renovations for us and the Ds, and we agreed to meet for lunch.
The meeting reinforced 2 things for me. I'm no fan of Miami Beach anymore -- especially that part. It's truly a concrete canyon, where we owned an oceanfront unit from 1997-2000. We had some fine times there, but the area is now PACKED. Second, I never want to live in a condo. The wait for the car was long, and as our reno friend noted, doing work under the auspices of an HOA is a nightmare.
But it was still a nice catch up -- talking about the old times. My friend is sad, though -- her husband died 4 years ago of pancreatic cancer, and her daughter's baby Daddy, with whom she was also close, is gone 3 years now from colon cancer. A lot of loss.
Still, we shared some great deli sandwiches on 41st Street, at a Roasters that years ago was Arnie and Ritchie's. My memory of the wacky cases is sharper -- I fear my old friend's depression may have clouded her memories.
I drove home in nostalgia, though -- decades of cases, and co-workers, and parties, and escapades. That's a lot to recall...
As I got close to home, Wifey told me that Crazy Sheryl, our Boston friend, wanted to meet for dinner, and Wifey correctly assumed I would prefer to stay home and bring in. Sheryl brought her dear friend Stacy, and with the very lively chatter of the 3 ladies, I felt the need to have a few drinks, though I thought I'd take the night off.
We ended up having a fine time -- bringing in Big Cheese -- and comparing grandparenting notes. It's funny -- we met Sheryl when D2 and her girl Amelia were 5 -- the age Little Man is now, Truly sunrise, sunset...
Tonight even MORE eating. Scott's in town for his tux fitting at a fancy store in Coral Gables -- Dr. Barry, Mr. Populist, justified the paying top dollar for the haberdashery that it was, after all, his son's wedding. Younger brother Josh initially objected -- asserting he was going to find cheaper black tie, but ended up joining the high retail party, too -- so I'm guessing the 3 tuxes will equal the entire cost of Wifey and my wedding in 1987.
That's the beauty of old, close friends -- we call each other on our B.S. In 1985, my Firebird was wrecked by a red light running girl in North Miami, as I was visiting Wifey, who had fled from Kendall to get away from me and my "not yet ready to commit" self.
The insurance company provided me with a Dodge Omni, by far the cheapest and most bare bones car then sold. I was living with Eric, who was always more of a car guy than I was, and my then populist self, during a trip to dinner, proclaimed that no one ever needed any more of a car than the Omni -- the AC was cold, decent stereo, reliable transportation.
Eric questioned me -- if we ever made money, wouldn't it be nice to have something better as a ride? No, I insisted, I would always be an Omni, or equivalent kind of guy.
Fast forward 9 years. Paul and I started our firm, and agreed that image WAS important -- clients weren't going to hire broke ass lawyers. I was driving a nice Mitsubishi Diamante then -- it was a new car, and I leased it for $199 per month, paying an extra $10 per month for leather seats. It was actually a good car. But Paul convinced me -- luxury time - and so I leased a Jaguar sedan -- powder blue. If I needed an upscale car, I figured I might as well channel my inner James Bond.
I drove by Eric's Kendall house, knowing he'd want to check out the car. He drove us onto the Palmetto, and gunned it -- checking out the nice performance. He turned to me and said, wryly: "Wow -- Dodge has really done WONDERS with the Omni."
Guilty. He got me. And now, fast forwarding nearly 3 decades, I LOVE that my practical, middle class values friend, is spending TONS more on 3 tuxes than I ever spent on clothes -- even when our law practice was flying, and we were in the chips.
I intend to so toast to it at the Italian place on Miracle Mile tonight.
Yes -- you can get though this life with no friends. Damned if I understand how.
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