A Lovely Reunion

So D1 called, and she missed her Spaniel Madeleine. We had been dog sitting while she and Joey were in Europe. Would we meet at a dog friendly restaurant for the dog switch and shabbat dinner? Of course we would.

I was in the office for a few hours, realizing, once again, I was the only partner there. Stu took off for his birthday and the 4th -- for the entire week. John has decided to start working from home Fridays. I opened the mail, had lunch with young Vince, and then left for home.

Wifey and I gathered the spoiled Spaniel, who said goodbye to the special needs Spaniel and weird rescue dog, and we drove to the Grove, to the Peacock Cafe, which has a large outdoor area.

The youngins looked terrific. They were rested and happy from their trip. I handed the leash to D1 -- she was reunited, and it felt so good.

A jazz trio played, and after 8, a lovely breeze blew in from Sailboat Bay.  We heard all about London, and Amsterdam, and Sofia, where Joey had business. D1 really, really loves Amsterdam, which she found to be a more chill version of her favorite country, Switzerland. She's a lover of places where things actually work, where they're clean, and where trains supposed to leave at 3:06 actually leave at 3:06.

After dinner, we walked to their car, to fetch the suitcase that lives in our garage when not in use, or will, until D1 and Joey move into their new house, hopefully in August. They drove off, and I brought up, as I always do when in the park, how AmyBillig was kidnapped there, back in '74. It's one of Miami's most tragic tales -- her mother spent her life trying to learn what happened to her darling daughter, and died never knowing. The theory is that she went along with a biker gang, maybe the Outlaws, and they did away with her.

We walked up the street, and Glass and Vine was buzzing -- twinkling lights, and laughter from the patrons on the hot summer night. It was lovely.

Today we may drive Downtown again -- to the History Museum, to see an exhibit of photos from Miami Pop, the festival that begat Woodstock. It was put on by Grove head shop owner Michael Lang, up at Gulfstream, and its success led him to think such a festival might be scaled up, and held closer to NYC. It was, of course, and marked the true end of the 60s...

So it's Summer, and the great funk song from War stays in my head -- languid lyrics, vaguely Latin beat.

And it's great to have D1 and Joey back stateside. 

Last night we talked about the next Full Squad trip. Full Squad is the title Joey gave the text message group consisting of Wifey, the Ds, Joey, Jonathan, and me.  We had a great time in Colombia together, and then NYC, and I'm going to take everyone to New England for a Fall leaf peeping trip.

I plan to look into places today -- maybe late October. Joey's never seen a New England Fall. This ought to be the year, and it'll be nice to look ahead to some cooler temperatures. Though things here are just fine, too.