There we were, at 4:30, home after a long day of work, on a Tuesday evening, staring at each other and saying "What shall we do?" Oh...we're off to a great start indeed. 35 Dates ahead and we can't even come up with one novel idea?! TH's response was the same as ever, "I don't care, what do you want to do?"
So we jump in the car, drive over to the Bostix booth at Copley Square to see the slim pickins for a Tuesday nite. Our choices: Radio City Rockettes, Shear Madness, or Vengeance is the Lord's. We decide on Shear Madness....after all, their 30 year run in Boston is almost as long as ours and we needed some laughs. With our half-price tickets in hand, it's off to the Theatre District, where we splurge and park in a full-price garage.
Hmm...three hours until showtime; now what?
Food of course. We literally stood in the middle of Park Square and pondered our choices. Not an easy feat considering it was about 25 degrees outside, and we had to select a restaurant we'd never tried before. It was amazing to realize that there were now about 40 different upscale restaurants in this area once known as the Combat Zone.
We chose the Melting Pot, in the Park Plaza Hotel. A fondue restaurant, very appropriate because when we were getting married, that was probably the most popular shower gift and every household had one or two fondue sets collecting dust in the pantry. That was long before the days of bridal gift registries for anything other than china or crystal....so every bride was in danger of receiving many duplicate toasters, can openers, electric knives, and fondue sets!!! I wonder how many still rest in our nation's landfills.
As we toasted our anniversary (red wine for him and bubbly for me) TH remarked, "And they said it wouldn't last a week!" Which got us thinking: exactly how many weeks has it lasted? The waitress joined us as we attempted to multiply...but she wasn't much help. This recent BU grad actually thought there were 55 weeks in a year...scary!! Maybe that's why she's still waiting tables. :) We finally figured out we'd been married Eighteen Hundred and Twenty weeks. Yikes! I don't even want to know how many days, or hours that equals.
Now on to the food. Full disclosure, we received no discount or renumeration for this review. Ha Ha.
We chose the Big Nite Out 4-Course Menu. The first course was the cheese fondue. The seasonal selection was a variety of French cheeses and it was... just okay. Now I'm a huge cheese lover, TH not so much. On to the salads which were very good, those were served in individual bowls so we could handle that.
The third course was our entrees, which we actually had to prepare ourselves. WTF? It's our anniversary, I didn't plan to cook on this evening!!! They place a steaming pot of seasoned broth on the cooktop in the middle of the table, and deliver to our table ONE not-so-huge plate of lobster, shrimp, filet, strip steak, chicken, ravioli, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms....all cut into bite size portions.....all raw. We were instructed to use our skewers and place the items in the boiling broth until they are done. Their suggestion: 2 if by land and 2 1/2 by sea. (two minutes for meat, a bit more for seafood) and 4 minutes for the potatoes and veggies.
Really? and No, we asked, they don't provide timers. They did promise that the broth was very forgiving and we probably wouldn't overcook anything! So we're spending $150 on a boiled dinner that we have to prepare ourselves, two pieces at a time (that's all the skewers we get). They also brought out a selection of 8-10 different sauces that they described briefly and then we were on our own to figure out which ones to use.
Sitting in a window booth that looked out on Arlington Street, I couldn't help gazing longingly...no, not at TH...but at the lucky diners across the street at Davio's. I knew THEY weren't sitting around a campfire holding their lobster tail over a pot of boiling water!
Okay, so the meal was different (and bland), but the final course made up for it all. Cookies n' Cream Marshmallow Dream Chocolate Fondue....topped off with real crushed Oreo's. TH was in heaven! So our rating: The wines, salads, and dessert get four thumbs up. The fondue and entree - not so much.
What was also confusing was the number of servers. An entire team took turns waiting on us. But at the end of the nite, they presented us with a sweet Anniversary card that said, "Thanks for stirring things up with us tonight!"
Next stop: Shear Madness
For those who've never been, it's a mystery whodunit with audience participation (and a full bar that's open before the show and at intermission). It can be a fun experience, depending on the crowd and the amount of alcohol consumed. Like the nuns would tell us about mass, "You only get out of it what you put in."
On this particular Tuesday evening, the crowd was subdued and sober. There were the usual references to local landmarks, politicians and sports heroes (but no mention of Shaq!). However, many of the jokes (like our marriage) were old, familiar and tired. By the second half, our dinner and wine were taking effect and it was a challenge to stifle the yawns.
The cast did a great job, especially the old woman who played Mrs. Shuman. However, her hair was pretty thinning and I couldn't help but wonder if that was a result of having her hair washed, set, dried, and combed out for every performance! I now wish I'd saved my Playbill to give appropriate credit, but I read it during intermission and then tossed it after I ripped out the Filene's Basement coupon.
(Side note: if you're in the theatres this holiday season, or if you have any old Playbills hanging around....Filene's Basement always has a full page ad with a 20% off coupon...AND THEY NEVER EXPIRE!!!)
After a brisk race back to the parking garage, we were in the car and on the way home when we heard the news that Elizabeth Edwards had died...surrounded by her loved ones and her estranged husband. I couldn't help but reflect on the bum deal she got at the end of her life.
I saw Elizabeth Edwards in person once, on July 29,2004. The DNC was holding their national convention in Boston and, on the final evening, the Boston Pops and James Taylor performed a free concert on the waterfront at UMass Boston, as a gift from the Kerry campaign. It was a magical evening, not only with great music and fabulous fireworks,but during the festivities, my older son B phoned from Virginia to inform me he had just proposed to L and she said YES!
I was at the concert with my BFF (MC) and we had managed to sneak our way off the lawn and into the VIP seating area so we were up close and personal when, just as the concert was winding down, the secret service caravan delivered John/Teresa Kerry and John/Elizabeth Edwards to the stage....fresh off the floor of the convention where we had just watched their nomination celebration on the jumbotrons at the concert. Both couples looked euphoric and you couldn't help but wonder what life had in store for them.
Well, we now know how election nite turned out. And the very next morning, in Boston, Elizabeth learned she had breast cancer. We now know how that turned out as well. RIP, Elizabeth.
What really makes me angry is that John Edwards was once my candidate of choice, and it just shows how good looks and charm can turn heads. So what if his wife had cancer, and maybe her thighs were plumper than when he married her. Did that give him the right to cheat on her, and father another child? Elin Nordigren is blonde, healthy, and beautiful, with very thin thighs...and that didn't keep the Tiger from straying.
Marriage is damn hard work. It's harder than scaling Mt. Everest or earning a doctoral degree, because they both have endpoints. Marriage has to be worked at every day, like a 12-step program, and it's not always fun or easy.
And might I add that the only experience I ever had with a 12 step program was when MC and I attended Overeaters Anonymous, about 20 years ago when we were maybe only 10 pounds overweight. But of course we were obsessing over our thighs!
When we arrived home after date #1, I quickly listened to my voicemail, read my emails, and was delighted at the wonderful anniversary wishes left on FB. My old hockey friend LC left a funny comment about staring at the same handsome face for 35 years. It is a scary thought.
And by the time I turned the computer off, TH was already snoring soundly beside me, in our bed, right where he's been for 35 years. Cue the violins!
No comments:
Post a Comment