Baskin Robbins

When I was a kid, there were only a few ice cream places.  There was Friendly's, and Jahn's, though Jahn's may have only been in Miami when we visited.  Carvel was big -- my favorite -- and then the first really large chain, Baskin-Robbins.

BR claimed to have 31 flavors.  I believed them, though I never strayed too far from chocolate and its relatives.  It turns out there never WERE 31 flavors -- the number was a marketing gimic.  I think they had closer to 20.

But since childhood, the number 31 always recalls Baskin Robbins.  I guess the marketing schtick worked.  And today, 31 has a deeper meaning -- it's the number of years Wifey and I have been married.

This am, before I left for breakfast, I thumbed through our wedding photo album.  What astonished me was how many of the guests are dead.  Also astonishing are how many of the guests we no longer have anything to do with.  The ravages and changes of time...

But Wifey and I are still standing, as a couple.  My hero was my Dad, and I of course asked him for advice on choosing a wife.  At the time, a big issue in my life was whether I had to stick to the religion.  Both my sisters had married gentiles, and my closest buds, Eric and Barry, would hear of no such thing.  I asked my Dad if he cared whether I married a Jewess.  He thought for awhile, said though marrying in the faith would make things easier, with no fights about holidays and such, no, it didn't matter to him.  "Just marry someone pleasant."

So I did.  Wifey is, most of the time, amiable and pleasant.  And we've built a life together beyond my dreams -- with 2 daughters who are beyond awesome, and a son in law we couldn't have dared dream we'd have.  And the missing piece, a husband for D2 -- well, the leading candidate is awesome, too.

We had planned a really big trip for our 25th -- Paris and Normandy, all first class, but we had to cancel on account of Wifey's back pain.  Maybe we'll reschedule the trip soon.

In the mean time, we have dinner tonight with Mike and Loni -- it's Loni's birthday as well.  We're heading to our go-to celebration restaurant -- Christy's in the Gables.  Mike and I will toast the two ladies who have endured these two 7 year Canes for so long now.  It's been a lovely cruise, as Jimmy Buffet sang.

So here's to 31 more.  If the Big Man so decides, I'm in.