S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT!

Two ladies in red. (Photo courtesy JC)

Thank you, Bay City Rollers. While I was stuck in the office Saturday, I retired to a nice after-work refreshment with a couple of lovely ex-co-workers. I see Jane, who now works at Monmouth College, only occasionally and Alison even less (she's way down in Forgottonia), so the brief visit was welcome.

I met the two former Fighting Scots at Budde's Pizza, one of the best bars in town. I was a little worried I'd have to walk home (no, not because I drank too much). You see, I've been having trouble with my new bike lock. My last lock, which I'd had for a couple of decades, was lost when I failed to firmly snap shut the lock-hook and it bounced off the seat-spring from which it was dangling. Undoubtedly some other street scavenger was rewarded that day. Lucky! The new one tried to join its lost brethren as I crossed the tracks on the way home. Fortunately, this time I heard it hit the ground and turned around to retrieve it.

But that's jumping ahead. Before I left the newspaper office, I wrangled with that darned lock for a good 7 minutes, trying to open it in the warmth of the building so I wouldn't have to fiddle it with fumbling cold fingers outside Budde's. When several attempts failed to open the lock, I gave up and hoped nobody else would be fool enough to want to ride a bike home from a bar in the dead of winter. I parked ol' Robin Hood in front of the big picture window on the main bar side and crossed my fingers. Surprise -- nobody was willing to ride home on a free bike.

Visiting with my former co-workers was enlightening, entertaining and encouraging. We talked of mutual friends, compared the PR world and the news biz, shared stories about office dynamics. And the ladies were incredibly supportive of my recent blogging efforts. Now, maybe they just wanted to get a mention here -- they kind of pleaded for it actually -- but I think they were sincere in their plaudits. And they even offered fresh ideas for when I am stumped for topics. I noted how it's hard to write a blog about things you find on the run when you're not running. They were even complimentary about that and asked about my lame leg. (It's doing much better, thank you.) 

Of course the most exciting event of the evening came when Al elbowed her empty beer bottle and it nearly flew off the table. But as it skittered across the table with a couple of clanks, Al, who is notoriously nearly as clumsy as JC, snatched it and set it upright in one deft maneuver. we were, all three of us, stunned. "That's the most coordinated moment of my entire life," Al confessed with a note of pride, after she picked her jaw up off the floor.

Strangely, neither of them mentioned the Victoria's Secret bra I picked up last week. Women.

Daily Stats

Distance: No idea

Treasure: two good friends; one Newcastle Brown Ale - $3.75; two aluminum cans on the ride home

Soundtrack: don't recall much, but it was heavily dosed with The Avett Brothers.