The very notion of a four-day weekend was enough to put me in a rest-induced coma. Well, not quite, but it did provide us with lots of chances for friends and fun.
Friday found us, as ever, at the Bar-B-Q Shop for lunch. What with graduations being as plentiful as mosquitoes, we were lucky to get there early and beat the rush. The rush came, and we waited hungrily for more than half an hour for our lunch. It was worth the wait, what with the to-die-for onion rings and all.
Friday evening we entertained our friends from Rhodes, who I may or may not refer to as the Rhodes College Drinking Team. We hadn't scrimmaged in quite a while, and an evening on our back porch, under the arbor with the ceiling fans whirring, seemed like just the tonic for some weary souls.
Allow me to introduce our friends.
Here is my buddy, John, who keeps Rhodes safe from stopped up drains and toilets. He is a great plumber and an even greater guy. I call him Stallion, like Sylvester Stallone, the Italian Stallion.
La brought her new boyfriend, Chip, to the party to meet all of us. He was very brave and seemed to have a good time.
Sadly, I have not yet shown you his face. I roll that way.
Here he is in a reflective moment.
Here's La with Tracy, who had so much fun Friday night that she went out Saturday and bought herself a new car. It was about time. Oh, did I tell you that Furry sets a mean table? I was so busy photographing our friends that I forgot to do Food Network quality shots of the food. It was wonderful: hot wings, chips with Furry's homemade guacamole dip with basil (instead of cilantro...some folks just don't like cilantro); cilantro shrimp with calamata olives; and brownies and strawberries for dessert
Here's a nice shot of John and Tracy.
Here's Furry explaining to Simone why she can't eat off the table today.
Carmen did her Babushka Dog impersonation and had us in stitches.
I think everyone had a good time. I know I sure did.
The next morning, Saturday, was a non-running weekend day, but Zoe still had to get her exercise. So we went next door to the vacant church. Churches make great neighbors, particularly vacant ones.
Here is Zoe waiting oh-so impatiently for me to tie my shoes and COME ON, DAD!!!
Zoe was, how can I say this, not my favorite dog by a long shot until I discovered that she liked to chase the ball. Now I get to throw and wear her out in the same activity. And I must say, for an almost nine year old dog, Zoe is an amazing athlete. She usually catches the ball on the first bounce, and can leap high in the air to catch it.
She will stare at the ball until either the ball begins to cry or I throw the ball.
And if I don't spring right into action, she bays like a hellhound.
I love seeing this coming at me; she has so much fun.
Did I say that she was a touch on the slobbery side?
Oh, and she doesn't bring it back to me and lay it at my feet. Oh noooo. She drops it ten feet away and buys a little breather time, which I think puts her in the summa cum laude division of lab students.
Is this joyful enough or what?
I love my Slobber Dog.
One more thing before I wander off. Yesterday, Sunday, we went to see the Stax Museum for the first time. I LOVED IT!! The videos of musicians from my boyhood were so lovely to see. I saw James Brown do "Prisoner of Love," covered in sweat, higher than the Beatles making Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I thought I had heard every version of this song, but I had not heard this one.
It was so moving to hear Steve Cropper (a member of the Bar Kays, who backed Otis Redding) talk about what a wonderful family feel that Stax had, until Dr. King was killed, and then the comraderie between the white and black musicians changed. I never knew that the sessions guys at Stax hung out at the Lorraine Motel (where Dr. King was killed), because back in that day it wasn't smart for black and white to mingle in Memphis.
My favorite part: On the display board for the Memphis Horns (Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson, both of whom I am proud to call my friends), they used MY portrait of them, one I did for their headshots back in the mid-80s. What a thrill.
All said, it has been a great weekend. I am signing off now, wishing you a happy week, headed to Rhodes College to exercise the papillons.
