VALENTINE in LIFE OF A D.O.M. WIDOWER LIVING ON THE NJ SHORE

Well this certainly turned out to be a very nice weekend unless you let a minoir blizzard Saturday night influence you negatively. I wasn’t fazed. Friday night Doris was babysitting for her grandson but in the meantime I received an invitation from a neighbor- home group friend, Diane for a Sadie Hawkins dinner. She, because of her work, commutes to Aberdeen MD and returns to Sea Bright every other weekend and she felt that she owed me a dinner. Both my brain and my stomach agreed. I had forgotten about Valentine Night but when we arrived at the local Italian place they accommodated us with a small extra table and the admonition that we had to eat fast as 7 PM was 110% booked. When we arrived at the 7:30 AA Meeting Diane was invited to lead the meeting and she did a great job. Afterwards we went back to our respective houses and I managed to be disappointed that my TV favorite show Blue Bloods, was preempted. Diane and I have a long non-romantic friendship that began when she joined AA and we met at the home group. Later when I was running for Council she was the first Republican who allowed this Democrat to erect a campaign sign on her property. The Republican Chairwoman gave her some flack over this so Diane promptly held a Meet and Greet Brunch for me and invited the Republican Chairwoman and 10 others. I picked up 8 votes at that gathering. Saturday I was out early for the Beginners AA Meeting. There is a newbie woman I have worries about as she gets no support from her husband who insists she is not an alcoholic and should drink with him. She did and Saturday was ail remorseful. I let her know that she is the one responsible for her sobriety and that this is common with spouses who do not have a program of their own. They feel that they are losing their drinking partner and combat the loss any way possible. I introduced to two other women who had similar home problems and left he to their capable hands. I picked Doris up at 4:30 PM Saturday evening. At the time it was snowing blizzard fashion and traffic was crawling. I was happy with the handling of my rear wheeled drive Camaro in the snow and ice and at no point felt nervous about it’s ability for bad weather driving. To reach the actual restaurant parking lot at the end of our trip I had to climb a two block steep snow covered hill from a dead stiop and the car did it without any hesitation or fishtailing. The restaurant was one I had been waiting to try as my DIL had mentioned it often. It had been destroyed during the Sandy Storm but moved to a new location about 8 months ago and lost none of its charm. It lived up to its’ reputation. The food was gourmet and the Chef’s signature appetizer was fabulous. It was grilled shrimp over corn bread and covered with a spicy Thai sauce. We shared it and we both loved it. Our entrees were super special also. I had a NY Strip grilled to perfect medium rare and Doris’ meal was perfectly seared scallops over a Lobster risotto. Dessert a Lindser Tart with Ginger Ice Cream, and coffee finished the meal on a high note. Doris was lovely in a black dress with white pearls gracing her neck. As a goof when she told me what she was wearing I put on my Tux and then had a Senior Moment and forgot my camera. Her dress and my Tux were the class of the place especially as most people had dressed for the storm. Doris and I both gave notice to the bad weather by wearing boots that gained for conditions and lost for formality. To milk the overdressing even more I went outside briefly and gave the Parking Attendant a big tip. He came inside about 15 minutes later as arranged and announced my name “ Mr. S----n, your car is ready” and most of the other diners noticed our dress and obvious importance with envy. Doris gave me an elbow to the ribs as I helped her into her Parka. It was all I could do to maintain a straight face. At my house Doris gave me a gift along with a very funny Valentine Card. The front said that we never see eye to eye and the inside explained because I never stop looking at her boobs. I pled Guilty as Charged. Sunday morning we went locally to another well reviewed place for brunch. I then took Doris back to her house noonish as she was going to dinner at her sister’s house. We both agreed that it was a very great weekend. I went in the late afternoon to visit with my Sponsor and his wife. She had had a tough year with battling Cancer and a leg wound that will not heal quickly. I brought her flowers and it was so good to see her smile. I stayed for about 2 hours and left there feeling very glad I had visited.