Actually, that's E-TANG, all caps, my dearie, and it's an Asian restaurant that the J-Dawg selected for our overdue dinner.
"Looks very nice! Why that one and not one of y'all's regular haunts?"
'Cause both of us were in need of something a little different. I'd made a mental list of places for him - Betty Bomber's, Your Pie in Sandfly, Chili's, Sisters of New South - and he met me with a list, too, of places he "never gets to go". I heard 'Chinese' and that's all it took! None of my peeps ever want luncheon at those.
"That place looks pretty ritzy..."
Well, although it looks pricey, it really was pretty moderate. Most of the dishes were about $20, which seems to be the mid-scale range these days, ever since the minimum wage was raised. The portion sizes were plentiful; both of us ended up with leftovers. Then again, that could be because we had an appetizer. Cucumbers and garlic!!! Pretty damned scrumptious!
"Very good! And how was he doing tonight?"
Delightful!!! In fact, he was sashaying up my sidewalk as I was leaving home, all smiles and light! Turns out today was his last day with this class he got stuck with and that he's been hating. I was so glad he was feeling so much better than two weeks ago!
"Most excellent! A sad bfe is a sad thing indeed."
Indeed! He's also quite excited about his trip to New York. I hadn't realized that was coming up so quickly! I really had thought it was later in the month, or maybe even in June.
"Trip to New York??? Oh, is that where the ashram is? Is that the trip you mean?"
Exactly! I am so glad they granted him three weeks there!!! We talked quite a bit about that adventure he is going on! He's opted to stay in a tent, so he's had to shop for all of that sort of thing, and plan his way from the airport to the ashram, and plan what all he is taking, as he has to be able to fit it into a backpack. I'm rather excited for him!
"That's good, and it'll be good for him to have a change of venue."
Most def. He's already planning to request an extension once he gets up there, maybe even spend most of the summer there. Not really a vacation so much as a grand, meditative, mellow, adventure!
"That's wonderful! I saw that excellent recommendation you wrote for him, so I know you truly do wish him the best."
But, of course I do! He's my bfe! He truly has been so stressed out for so long. Not hat I haven't been stressed, too, with three different house insurance companies since November, plus double bouts with poison ivy. Now, I've got the stress of all the little decisions that go along with having my Living Trust redone... ack! I told him it's like I've always heard from folks who are having a house built. There are a million little decisions, like what hinges do you want on the kitchen cabinets and do you want door pulls or eased edges, and what finish do you want on any metal? What type of material should the doors on the cabinets be, and should there be panels, and if so, what design? And none of that even includes what color of paint, or stain, and what type of sheen is wanted. Ack!
"Seriously, you talked to him about your Trust???"
I did. We even kinda sorta closed the place down discussing all that. He had been shocked at the cost, but that made more sense to him once he realized what other documents are all part of a Living Trust, like the Power of Attorney, the Health Directive, the Will, the funeral arrangements, and the movement of all assets into the Trust. It really is a lot to take in.
"And just how did y'all get into that heavy topic?"
He asked what I'd been up to. So I started talking about the review online that I'd just finished of the 170 pages - yes, that's right, 170 freakin' pages - and how time-consuming that had been. Plus, that was my second review of all those pages. SmithBarid uses some program called Loom for that and it's default speed is "1.2X normal". Ack. I had been so rattled after the first time! So I took about two weeks off, then went at it again, but at "normal" speed, and that was much better for my reading of the document. I also turned off the sound, as the talking of the paralegal as she led me through it was a real distraction.
"I see. And what did he think of all that?"
I think it rattled him a bit. That's normal, though. I hadn't thought of such things until I was 50, and that's his age now. Not that I don't still get rattled about all the decisions involved with death and who will have the responsibility of dealing with what I leave behind. Neither of us have children, so there's the very real question of what to do with our stuff, especially financial stuff, and who gets it. He does have The 'Cole, and the responsibility of such things would fall onto her unless he arranges for someone else to serve as Executor. Decisions, all these decisions.
"Yikes. Damn, g'friend, I thought you were intent on him having a mellow night."
I was, and I think he still did, though he does have more food for thought now. We plan to get together one day next week, too, and maybe have lunch and a movie. That will definitely be lighter and brighter! Maybe we'll even watch something over here! Peacock has a batch of new movies, as I found out when I got home. Guess what I watched??? Never mind, I gotta say it now: "The Kentucky Fried Movie"!!!
"Holy shiite! That flick you saw at the drive-in in 1977???"
The one and the same! So much nudity!!! So much sex!!! It was in the genre "Raunchy Comedy", and I latched onto right away! And guess what else? It had Henry Gibson, as an advisor for the dead. LOL! He had three things to never do when you're dead:
1. Do not drive.
2. Do not operate heavy machinery.
3. Do not talk.
"Hahahaha!!! That's some good advice!!!"
Yep! Sure was an interesting cherry on top of this day! Maybe Peacock, or some other channel, will have "The Groove Tube". I think that could be pretty funny to see again! I'm sure the physicist will enjoy it, too. Let me see if I can find that...
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