Crew change, though. Fuck.
I couldn't find my MMC, my Merchant Mariner's Credential, a passport-type booklet with my master's licence and assorted endorsements. Panic struck. I found it in a jacket pocket I don't ever use while we were in NY rush hour traffic for 2 hours. Weird.
The Precheck line at JFK airport security was 45 minutes, so people were extra spicy in the terminal. Not a smile to be found. I had a shot of whisky with powdered eggs and freezer-burnt bacon before going to my gate... which was $55, turns out. Wasn't that a bit of an eff you?
After that, though, the sun came out. I had nobody next to me on the plane, my rental car in Boston is a really nice F150, and I drove to the old neighborhood where I grew up. Only a little has changed. My parents' little 900sqft raised ranch house got torn down and a little McMansion put up. All the neighboring houses look the same, but the names on the mailboxes are all different. The old neighbors have all died off. Nobody escapes anno domini.
Still, before going back to Boston to pick up Inappropriately Hot Foreign Wife, I hung out for a bit with a childhood friend, checked into my hotel, and after fetching the Mrs we had a late dinner with the friends who introduced us.
Inappropriately Hot Foreign Wife and I met at a wedding. I caught the garter, she caught the bouquet (no shit, 200+ witnesses) and that was that. My wife worked with the bride, who became a close friend, and I grew up with the groom.
So it was great to catch up here almost a quarter-century later. We've always stayed in touch but it's not the same when you're not face-to-face. Try telling that to kids today, though.
Anyhow, today's a free day before we meet up with my wife's cousin (who is posessed of possibly the most spectacular decolletage on planet earth and very pleasant to look at) and her husband, a fellow American and genuinely good fun dude.
There will be high-fives at our mutual good fortune I'm sure.
For now though, today is for reminiscing.
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