i made ron laugh!

That's him, Ron, sitting between me and Barbara.
Amber and Flo, both new to me, were beyond them,
on my right.
Zamian, our super-cool waiter, is shown taking
Flo's order on this meeting of the Bon Vivants.
It's been two months since I was last with this
MENSA offshoot, and quite a long time since I
dined at this particular restaurant -
and even longer since I ate out for Restaurant

Week, which is usually in a slow tourism month.
(Such as during winter, so that's why I miss them.)
Let's see... on my left is Sandy, even though she is invisible in this photo.
Past her is Lithuanian Dave (aka Buch Nekkid),
Kathy (the grand organizer of these events),
Edith (Flo's friend), and Susan (Ron's wife).
Usually, Susan and Ron sit side by side, but they
arrived quite late, so... lol!

I began my meal with a rare treat: a cocktail!
Called a Tropical Depression, this lovely liquid
was composed of mango tequila - my poison of choice -
with ginger beer and bitters.
I wish it had been as appealing as it looks, but
it was rather sweet for me.
Next time, I''ll have one of the Mules instead!
(smile!)

The beverage was not included in the three-course
prix fixe dinner, of course.
That thirty-dollar tab covered an appetizer,
an entree, and a dessert, only.
I had the Greek salad, sans feta, to start.
Then, the fresh peach cobbler, sans ice cream,
accompanied the tour de force: eggplant campeonato,
loaded with capers, onions, and olives - oh, my!
No seafood for me this time!

Such a good time I had tonight at this belated birthday treat!
I'm so glad I moved from the seat beside Barbara to the seat at the foot of the table!
Right place, right time!
That left an open chair for Ron to sit in - perfect for what followed!
We were chatting about various things, as folks do when sharing a meal with other folks they don't see often.
I had explained to Dave that my name wasn't "just Tina - it's Faustina, f-a-u-s-tina, like in Poland or Germany or Italy."
Ron had asked if that was my heritage and I'd told him I was none of those.
"I'm ICE!" I'd then gone on to explain that, as I did here.
Well, he got a big kick out of that and loosened on up!
His family hails from Georgia - "the one in Russia," he told me. They moved to Mexico first, but later settled in Texas in the early part of the 1900's.
That makes him Southern, through and through, like me and Barbara and Sandy.
Well, alrighty then!
I was on a roll after that, regaling him with my childhood of growing up being called "Tina" and "Linda" and "Sybil" and "Lorena" - the names of my aunt, my mother, and my grandmother - leading me to regard names as fluid things.
Even my three brothers, I told him, had fluid names, as Mama would call out "Smitty", "Ronnie", "Tony", until she ended with the one she wanted...
and that's when Ron Cole just lost it!!!
He joyfully laughed and laughed - and I was delighted to see him and hear him doing that!
That really made my night!
The others were just listening to us at that point, listening to Ron laugh so gaily.
No doubt they were all wondering what we were talking about to have gotten such a truly tickled response from this usually quiet man.
I'm still plumb tickled myself about his being so tickled!
(smile)
i thank You, God, for that blessed levity!