Staying Young

Wifey and I rarely go out to dinner in Wynwood, the edgiest and hippest 'hood in Miami.  We go for coffee, at Panther, as they have coffee that must contain cocaine -- you want more and more.  But typically we stick to the Gables or Grove -- older folks friendlier, and more convenient.

Yesterday we met three other couples at Beaker and Gray, and it was well worth the effort.  Wifey and I arrived first, got a seat at the bar, and Wifey even had a craft cocktail, as I had my usual Ketel martini.  We were joined by the other 4 people, and spent the next three hours surrounded by artistic types, and younger folks, and a few even older than us.

The food was delicious, and unusual (fried rice Ruben -- fried rice with pastrami and saurkraut -- awesome -- and jerk chicken, and a few folks had whole fishes grilled perfectly.  The place was loud, and we struggled to hear sometimes, but that was part of the scene and excitement.

At the very next table D1's friends Chelsea and Percy were dining, with other friends.  D1 fixed them up as roommates, and they love it -- living away from home, other than college, for the first time.  Percy was ALSO fixed up with her current job by D1 -- at an upscale bakery in the Gables D1's other friend just opened, and where Percy is now head baker.  We promised to go visit -- I may have to suspend my breadless, low carb diet for an afternoon to try out their stuff.

Wifey and I left near 11, and agreed that it had been a terrific evening.  As she said, we need to get out of Kansas, like Dorothy, every once in awhile...

Today I cleaned out the last of the stuff from the condo, save the huge china cabinet.  I have a new appreciation for my California sister's business -- selling estate items, like furniture.  This is a real nice and huge wall unit -- my in laws bought it in 1968 for thousands, and it's in pristine shape.  I tried putting an ad on the local market web site, and Wifey tried Craigslist.  She got one response, from a fellow in Mass who turned out to be a less than serious buyer...

Our Rabbi friend Yossi put out the word to fellow South Florida Rabbis, and one young fellow from Pompano and his wife want it.  They've leased a pickup truck and will head down when the weather clears.  So we'll get a tax deduction, as well as first hand knowledge that what I suspected is true -- crap ain't worth very much.  Even a nice piece of furniture is a burden when it's time to get rid of it.

I agree with all of the happiness/money studies I read:  experiences give you the joy, and stuff gives you the headache.

Last night's laughter with the gourmet food was well worth the expense...