Good time, great friend!

Went to see the Pretenders tonight. Whoop whoop!
It wasn't all the original line up, but Chrissie Hynde is amazing!
She managed to find herself a set set of very young, very capable or rather...gifted...guitar players.

The show was held at the awe inspiring Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor.
The MT is bar none, one of the most ideal places for a more intimate entertainment experience. To top it off...
I had 5th row tickets!
I could see actual detail on Chrissie's vest and tie, and even discern her more subtle facial expressions. Rarely does this occur, because even when I'm sort of close...well, I'm very short. So heads usually block my view.
The show was fabulous!

But, the best part of the night was hanging out with my good friend John!

A good man, that John.

Time spent with him is always a pleasant experience.
He's a good reminder that it is possible to have friends who make you smile all the time you are with them. We can pick up right where we left off even if months or a year has passed us by. The conversation comes easy.
There's never any political or personal bulls**t building walls between us.

We appreciate our time together.
It's refreshing!
He is by far one of my most favorite people.

Bonaventure...Oh the Adventure!

I was invited to watch my nephew's last day of roller skating class.
Yes, yes...roller skating class.

And it was a flashback from the past for sure.

The class was held at Bonaventure skating rink. A place that I visited occasionally from the 5th through 12th grade.
I was not by any account an avid skater. I could hold my own for the most part.
But, I never won "Shoot the Duck," nor did I go just for fun.
My visits to Bonaventure always entailed a purpose. Such as the 5th grade skating parties, or watching my friend DJ, in high school, of course.
Still, it was a blast from the past!

It has been nearly 20 years since I last stepped foot in those doors.
To my amazement, nothing has changed!
Except, perhaps, the snack counter table tops.
The rink, the cheesy color scheme, the snack counter, even the unnecessarily short bathroom stall doors...all exactly the same.

It was kind of fun and a bit disturbing! In an area where everything seems to change every other year or so...it was a bit odd to think this archaic version of entertainment...still existed in much the same form as it had when I was a wee one.

There was something a bit sad and sentimental about it all.

Then, there's my nephew. My gorgeous blue-eyed prince of a nephew.
Still slightly unsteady on his skates, he's pretty good for only 5 classes.
Trying to get me to stop videotaping, he would duck below the rail as he passed by. (Hey, I had to catch that moment for sure, even if only for prom date revenge later on. haha!)

He and his friend spent more time trying to wrestle than skate.
And then there was the ever popular "fake out" fall.
The boys seemed intrigued by faking their own falls.
Constantly! Over the course of the hour, one would rise up and pretend to knock the other down. Or they would feign dramatic wipe outs.

The funniest part came from my nephew's own observation that a certain young girl in his opinion needed to get off the floor because she wasn't good enough to keep up with everyone else. Ouch, bested and called out by a 7 year old.

There's finesse and forethought in all these actions.
And it makes me realize....my nephew is soooooo much a boy.
And he's growing up!