Tact and Timeless Memories
I thought of two stories that just popped into my head today, that I thought I would share with everyone....both involve my trip to Arizona to see him in the Spring of 2002:
1. In true Patrick style, he was sans car for most of the time he was living in Phoenix. As soon as I arrived at the airport(where he met me with a borrowed friend's car), we drove straight to a rental place so we had some wheels to get us around for the week. We get to the rental agency where a nice woman was helping us behind the counter. Patrick, not wanting to seem rude, prefaced his question by saying: "Please don't take this the wrong way, but when are you due?" To Patrick's dismay, the woman responded with: "I'm actually not pregnant...." Patrick nearly died!!! He kept apologizing, while laughing at his lack of caution. He then asked her if she had recently had a baby...the response..."almost a year ago!!!" Fortunately, the woman was kind enough to pull him out of the abyss in which he was slowing sinking, by admitting she was wearing some of her maternity clothes, and they do tend to make her look a little bigger...he wasn't the first to ask that question....so she said.... ;-)
2. On my last night in town, we spent the evening with one of his friends who was going to Alaska with him, and this very nice lady who was a constant patron in his restaurant (I wish I had her contact information still, because I know she would want to hear of his passing...). She was one of those locals who gets to know you so well, that she tips nearly 100-200% of the bill, just because she likes your company (she was President of her own Medical Insurance company). So, as a goodbye to him before he left, she took him, and all of us, out to dinner for fondue at this great place in Sedona (that's the rich part of Phoenix, right?!). We had fondue gallore, and the drinks to match our meal (margaritas, anyone?). The fun only began there....once the upstairs closed and kicked us out after SEVERAL hours, we headed downstairs to the bar that was still open...our gracious hostess was VERY inebriated by this point! Several rounds later (and an enormous tip to our bartender), she decided she wasn't quite ready to call it a night, and it was imperative that we hit the local Reservation casino....could it get any more dangerous at this point?! At the casino, the drinks continued to flow, while our well-to-do hostess kept us in her company by throwing 100 dollar bills our way to get us in her poker game. Me being a poker novice, I made very risky bets, as did the rest of us. After many more hours of play, we thanked her for her hospitality (and for those of you wondering, we DID return our winnings to her), and made sure to escort her home...she was in NO condition to drive (we had slowed down by that point). Now keep in mind, this was about 6 in the morning, and I had a flight out of Phoenix a few hours later. So, it was back to Patrick's place, packed up my things, and we were off the airport! It was one of those nights that you truly never forget...something out of a movie set in Vegas....one of the best memories I have in my life, and I'm happy to say that Patrick was there to share it with me....
"Now sit the F#$% down and play some poker!"
1. In true Patrick style, he was sans car for most of the time he was living in Phoenix. As soon as I arrived at the airport(where he met me with a borrowed friend's car), we drove straight to a rental place so we had some wheels to get us around for the week. We get to the rental agency where a nice woman was helping us behind the counter. Patrick, not wanting to seem rude, prefaced his question by saying: "Please don't take this the wrong way, but when are you due?" To Patrick's dismay, the woman responded with: "I'm actually not pregnant...." Patrick nearly died!!! He kept apologizing, while laughing at his lack of caution. He then asked her if she had recently had a baby...the response..."almost a year ago!!!" Fortunately, the woman was kind enough to pull him out of the abyss in which he was slowing sinking, by admitting she was wearing some of her maternity clothes, and they do tend to make her look a little bigger...he wasn't the first to ask that question....so she said.... ;-)
2. On my last night in town, we spent the evening with one of his friends who was going to Alaska with him, and this very nice lady who was a constant patron in his restaurant (I wish I had her contact information still, because I know she would want to hear of his passing...). She was one of those locals who gets to know you so well, that she tips nearly 100-200% of the bill, just because she likes your company (she was President of her own Medical Insurance company). So, as a goodbye to him before he left, she took him, and all of us, out to dinner for fondue at this great place in Sedona (that's the rich part of Phoenix, right?!). We had fondue gallore, and the drinks to match our meal (margaritas, anyone?). The fun only began there....once the upstairs closed and kicked us out after SEVERAL hours, we headed downstairs to the bar that was still open...our gracious hostess was VERY inebriated by this point! Several rounds later (and an enormous tip to our bartender), she decided she wasn't quite ready to call it a night, and it was imperative that we hit the local Reservation casino....could it get any more dangerous at this point?! At the casino, the drinks continued to flow, while our well-to-do hostess kept us in her company by throwing 100 dollar bills our way to get us in her poker game. Me being a poker novice, I made very risky bets, as did the rest of us. After many more hours of play, we thanked her for her hospitality (and for those of you wondering, we DID return our winnings to her), and made sure to escort her home...she was in NO condition to drive (we had slowed down by that point). Now keep in mind, this was about 6 in the morning, and I had a flight out of Phoenix a few hours later. So, it was back to Patrick's place, packed up my things, and we were off the airport! It was one of those nights that you truly never forget...something out of a movie set in Vegas....one of the best memories I have in my life, and I'm happy to say that Patrick was there to share it with me....
"Now sit the F#$% down and play some poker!"
posted by Jeff P | 9:56 PM
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