Her: What?! Oh no!! Me: What happened? Her: I just got a text that our concert is tonight. Me: What? No, it’s not. It’s in August.
Was making dinner on Friday when I heard the Firecracker yell out, so I quickly went into the room to see her on her phone, quite perplexed.
We’d bought tickets for an Andy Grammer – we’re both big fans – and Patrick Droney concert from someone that couldn’t make the show, and it turns out that they pushed up the date of the show over a month from the original date.
Evidently, they didn’t let us know.
So, we literally shoved alla the food I’d made into our faces and dashed off downtown.
Had to tell my kali class and the Radiologist – who was gonna stop by the class – that we couldn’t make it that night.
Me: OMG, we just got an email which is wild; a concert that we booked for August 23rd was resecheduled for tonight! This is the first we heard of it. Literally just got an email right this second. Him: Enjoy the concert! I’d do Andy Grammar first second and third.
So, off we went.
We were there in less than 30 minutes – living in the middle of Manhattan does have its perks.
The weather and venue were absolutely perfect.
And we were right up near the stage.
So, we had amazing views and sounds.
Patrick Droney was the opening act, and I was actually a fan of his song, Stand and Deliver, which I didn’t get a chance to record.
But, as good as he was, we were there to see Andy and, man, did he deliver.
That fella throws a concert, lemme tell ya…
But I’ll write more about that in the next entry.
Until then, here he is performing one of my fave songs, Honey I’m Good, which is just so catchy.
I’d taken over my old instructor’s class for a number of years when his work schedule changed but then everything went to hell with Alison, so he returned, and I went back to just being one of his students.
But I still have a handful of people that I tutor – I’m not their main instructor but I give them tips and tricks to improve their kali.
One such person is a Radiologist from Pittsburgh (which happens to be exactly where the Professor lives).
In any case, the Radiologist dropped me a line the other day.
Turns out that the Radiologist got the time a bit off, so we walked around for 30 minutes beforehand, checking the place out.
And then, afterward, we went to the Omega store and met up with the Radiologist’s sister, who was just a sweetheart and got along with the Firecracker, swimmingly.
Her: Do you want to try on the pink one? Firecracker: Sure, thanks!
She was also kind enough to have someone bring us some champagne…
Me: This reminds me of when we were in Pasadena. Firecracker: Oh right, at Tiffany’s. We should check out wedding bands.
…as well as some hors d’oeuvres.
We spent most of the time chatting with his sister but also with the person in charge of alla the Omega stores in North America – turns out, he’s proficient in ranged weapons while I focus mainly on melee weapons.
Later on that week, the Radiologist was in town and we brought him to the same bistro I brought the professor for some drinks because he was fully scheduled.
Me: (to waitress) I bring all the Pittsburgh doctors I know here. Her: (laughs) OK!
Afterwards, the Firecracker and I chatted.
Her: It’s nice that you always get invited to the rando things. Me: Like I said, the whole point of being invited someplace is to get a second invitation.
I like it because it’s a hidden gem; only locals go there, it’s never crowded, the food is super fresh – it’s above a supermarket, after all – and it’s huge.
Plus, it’s the only place I know of in the city that’s truly casual but nice and clean AND people aren’t on top of you.
It also worked out because the Professor, his kids, his wife, and we, all had very different tastes and there was something for everyone.
As a bonus, the Firecracker got to meet one of my oldest friends.
Him: Logan is the single weirdest guy I know. Me: Rude. Firecracker: Oh, well he’s grown a lot since then. Him: Nope. Still weird.
At The Wig Shop, we ended up sitting across from a male-and-female set of cousins checking out the town.
The drinks had some hilarious names, but I had to have The Traveler’s Chosen, which had both (a) a 23 year old Ron Zacapa rum and (b) sour sop, which is in the same family as pawpaws.
Her: How is it? Me: Unbelievably delicious. Try some.
She got the Channing Ta-yum, which was made with black pepper, a nice touch that we could taste – but not quite place – in terms of where the heat was coming from.
Luckily, our hotel was pretty close by, so we didn’t have to stumble back too far.
The next day we didn’t have too much planned except I wanted a Boston Tasty Burger before we left.
Her: Wait, there’s one right at the station. Me: Perfect, we’ll grab one right before we have to leave.
Which is exactly what we did.
Turns out that it was good we ate so heavily because our train back was delayed.
They expected it to be at least 30 minutes late, but we heard from some train staff that it was gonna be much later.
We camped at a mall as we figured things out.
The Firecracker got busy and found out that there was a much faster (and more expensive) train leaving at 2:05.
It’d actually get us home a solid hour earlier if we caught it.
BUT, because of timing, the clerk could only offer it to us for free if our old reservation was 30 min late.
Our original train was supposed to leave at 1:30 so we had to wait until 2PM to get it for free otherwise it was gonna be an extra $300.
So, we waited and hoped.
At 2PM, the clerk told us to run to the train because she was able to get us tickets (!)
So, we ended up getting home on a faster train in business class for the same cost.
A great ending to a great trip.
Me: That was fun. You’re a good travel partner. Her: Thanks, Logan! Same.
Location: earlier today, Omega, downtown
Mood: full and a bit tipsy
Music: Send me on my way, on my way (Spotify) Like this post? Tell someone about it by clicking a button below.
The next day, we both woke up at a reasonable time and did a quickie little bike tour around Boston.
One of the perks of the hotel we were staying at was that they had bikes and helmets you could borrow so we took advantage.
One fun thing we found out was that there are alleyways in Boston that span several blocks, if not miles, and are a great way to get around while checking out fancy townhouses.
In my last entry, my buddy CoB posted the following on FB:
What’s funny is that I got no less than three comments that day about my shirt while in Boston and regularly get a couple here and there in NYC.
It’s funny how certain things have a universality to them.
After we got up from our quickie nap, we got ourselves together and walked a few blocks to Boston’s Chinatown, where we first stopped off to get some soup dumplings…
…before we tried to crash a buncha older Chinese people playing cards.
Her: They’re playing Big Two! Me: We should ask them if you can play. Her: I’m down!
We ended up not doing that, although I do think it’d be hilarious if we actually did try to crash as the Firecracker plays to win.
I was still hungry though, of course, so we picked up some absolutely killer bahn mi’s from a local joint and some Thai iced tea and brought it all back to our hotel lobby…
…where we got some drinks at the bar and played some Scrabble.
The wild nights of Logan and The Firecracker know no bounds.
In any case, she won.
Like I said, she plays to win.
There was more but we can end this entry here.
Location: home, icing my ankled
Mood: irritated
Music: We were in love and lovin’ it (Spotify) Like this post? Tell someone about it by clicking a button below.
The next morning, the Firecracker woke up bright and early to check out the city while I slept in.
After she got back, I got dressed and we headed out to Faneuil Hall Square for our Independence Pub Crawl, something else that was part of the Boston package we booked.
Gotta say, it was far more interesting that I thought it was gonna be and 2.5 hours went by pretty quickly.
The weirdest thing was I ran into my buddy Kar’s husband and three kiddos there.
Me: Frenchie! What are you doing here?! Him: I was just telling [the kids], “Hey, I think that’s Logan.”
Wild.
Me: Isn’t that nuts? Firecracker: (shrugging) Not really. You know a lotta people.
We caught up for just a few minutes before we had to return to our tour group.
We ended up hitting up four historical pubs and drinking at each of them…
…even ordering some oysters at one of them.
Another traveler: You two got food? Firecracker: We figured they didn’t have to cook them and we could just down them. Him: Smart.
…where we had a little snack of Boston clam chowder…
Her: Normally, I’d consider hot clam chowder in the summertime crazy, but we’re in Boston. Me: Yup, I get it. Let’s do it.
…before heading off to Faneuil Hall.
Her: I really want a lobster roll, now. Me: I don’t have a problem with that, but I wanna sit.
We had originally planned to get her a lobster roll over at the Boston Sail Loft, but the wait was too long, so we headed off to Joe’s Waterfront instead.
Her: Finally, lobster roll! Me: I need a salad because I feel like a fatty-fat-fat, what with alla that drinking we’ve been doing.
It was only a mile walk back to our hotel and, despite the heat and humidity, I figured the walk would be good for my back, so off we went.
After alla the sun, food, and booze, we both needed a quickie nap before exploring Chinatown at night.
A few months back, the kid’s school had a fundraiser that I wanted to support but there was nuthin that really caught my attention.
Was running outta time, so I just bid on a buncha things to do in Boston in the next year.
Welp, I ended up winning that and, this past weekend, the Firecracker boarded the train at Penn Station to head there.
I had some unexpected things to contend with that morning, so she made us sammies for the trip.
Her: Hungry? We could eat the wraps I made. Me: Great! Did you put some sriracha on mine? Her: Yup. Me: (three minutes later and coughing) How… how..much siracha did you put on? Her: Too much? Me: (between coughs) You’re trying to kill me!
She got us business class seats, so it was a pretty nice ride there.
All these years decades, I thought that the trains went north on the west side of Manhattan to get to the Bronx.
But it was only this day that I learned that the trains first go east into Long Island/Queens and then make a sharp left to head north.
The trip was fairly uneventful, and before we knew it, we were in a train station in Boston.
Me: Man, this town is just…empty. Her: It’s amazing. Me: Glorious, really.
When we arrived, we checked into our room at the Godfrey Hotel, which she picked out…
Her: This is one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever been to. Me: Agreed – good choice!
…and, because I was starving, immediately stopped by a sushi joint for some cheap eats.
She ate like six pieces, and I ate the rest.
But we barely had time to finish everything before we had to head to the first of our planned activities – a tasting at the Boston Harbor Distillery.
When we arrived, we were checked in by the tour guide.
Her: There will be a LOT of spirits to sample so if you toss some, I won’t be offended.
She wasn’t kidding.
This was batch 1…
…this was batch 2…
…this was batch 3.
I think we ended up getting a half-a-shot of about 18 different spirits each.
As if that wasn’t enough, we got another drink for ourselves, which was actually mixed for us by the company owner, Rhonda Kallman, who was both a sweetheart and a legend.
The place was gorgeous, so we hung around for a bit…
…then grabbed an Uber back to our hotel where we had some drinks at the bar…
…before we took a little nighttime stroll around the city, where we ran into a party just outside the Boston Commons.
After a spell, we headed back to our room to rest up for the rest of our trip.
Almost exactly 82 years ago to this day, the US 379th Bomb Group were above the central German town of Kassel – deep in Germany – trying to blow up the Nazi aircraft engine shops located there.
Tondelayo, a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, was flying particularly slow – 150 miles per hour versus its max speed of 287 mph – in order to try and hit its targets, all while being shot up by Nazi heavy guns.
A buncha Nazi exposive shells hit the airplane but didn’t explode.
After the crew made it back, officials inspected the shells that hit the Tondelayo and noted that most were empty.
Inside one of these shells, however, was a note written in Czech:
That’s how the Allies discovered that forced laborers in a German munitions factory had sabotaged the ammunition by removing the explosive filler, rendering the shell a dud and saving the lives of everyone on board the Tondelayo.
On this 4th of July, I wanted to relay to you a quote I tell the kid alla time – and truly believe in my soul – from a fella named Syd that goes:
It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little.
To hold ourselves to our highest ideals of what it meana to be an American, I think, is to do what you can when you can to further the idea of truth and justice.
And it doesn’t take much.
But it does take something.
It’s 4th of July so I thought this was a fitting little story and quote.
Back to nuthin next week.
PS – I may take Monday off. Not sure ATM. I suppose we’ll find out then.
The Firecracker knew pretty much every song by him and sang along the whole night.
The crowd was really into it as well. 
Like I said, the man gives a great concert – if you get a chance to catch him life, you totally should.
