Bright spots in the gloom

Mack the anti-knife

As POTUS47 and his criminal coterie continue to wreak havoc and destruction upon our very way of life, people can still enjoy themselves. I mean, many of us can, and, you know, for now. We'll see if that remains true in a few months.

But this past Saturday, fun was had. My friend Mack McCoy and I—yes, I have tried calling him "Bones," but it just doesn't stick—share a birthday, and Mack had dibs on celebrating on the nearest Saturday to it this time around. And he didn't skimp. Mack rented out the Northwest Room at Ray's Boathouse for the evening and hosted upwards of 60 people with food, drink, and karaoke. I can't fathom what that must have cost, but it weren't cheap and despite my having been shunted to a corner with eight of my softball teammates with no table or chairs when dinner came around (due to some snafu with counting RSVPs and/or crashers of the plus-more-than-1 variety) we all greatly appreciated it. As Mack put it to me, "I had a good year, and this seemed like a good way to share a bit of that." Mack the mensch.

After the program, which consisted of some silliness and some speechifying by a few folks and a rendition of "Rocket Mack" (apologies to Bernie Taupin), and the very good meal nine of us ate while standing in a corner of a tented patio while everyone else was seated comfortably in the main room, Mack kicked off the karaoke portion of the evening, as that's one of his go-to activities. It was largely as one might expect such a thing to be, especially when there's an open bar. And Mack choosing to sing "The Warrior" was somehow incongruous; that's, I don't know, a Mack-from-the-mirror-universe thing. I was convinced to participate—Men at Work's "Overkill," which was sort of within my range, and The Traveling Wilburys' "End of the Line," which was not—and though I am certain I sounded horrible, I'm equally certain I was no more horrible than anyone else that got up there.

More than anything, though, it was a good excuse to hang out with all of my teammates from the Smiling Potatoes of Death softball squad and enjoy the company of some really swell folks. As well as have a good meal on Mack's dime.

A nice respite form the chaos and calamities of the greater world.

Tagged Friends, Softball   |   Posted on February 3, 2025 at 4:49PM   |   Permalink   |     |  

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