Today is Saturday, May 20, 2023. Yesterday, as I had indicated, Elliot and I spent the evening with our good friend “Gene” and two friends from Astoria, “Matthew” and “Marvin.” Gene had recently returned to the city from his winter pied-a-terre in Miami, Florida, and we were eager to see him and share stories about our recently deceased friend “Mark.” So we set on meeting at a local seafood restaurant called the Reef at 8 p.m. We all had a glorious dinner, I must say, despite having to wait about 15 minutes or so for a table, even though I had called earlier to make that reservation. It seemed as if the eatery was short staffed or had overbooked tables for some reason. So we stood in the doorway and waited for a table to open up. The restaurant hummed with activity as large parties occupied table after table. When a table finally was cleared for us, it must have been close to 8:20 when we sat down.

Engaging in a conversation became problematic because of the din in the dining room. Since I was seated next to Marvin, I had to lean in to hear him for most of the meal. One other glitch occurred when only three dishes were served to us at the table, leaving out Matthew and Marvin’s entrées. At that point, Matthew looked clearly exasperated with the service; however, a manager tried to assuage us by saying that the dinners were coming out very soon. And they did! Now everyone was happy.

The evening did not just end with dinner, as Elliot invited everyone back to our apartment. And here my husband specifically said he didn’t want anyone over before we walked to the Reef. In the interim, his originally stated preference to not have company after dinner changed all of a sudden. I could say he was having too good a time with our guests that he now wanted the fun to continue after dinnertime. And it did; both Matthew and Marvin left close to 11 and Gene departed the building sometime close to 12:30 a.m. We had a grand time reliving experiences with our deceased parents and former friends. When my Astoria friends left, the three of us – Elliot, Gene, and I – listened to old voicemails made by our late friend “Mark” on Gene’s phone. You might think this sort of macabre, but we didn’t. It was as if we wanted to currently connect with our late friend since we were still stunned by his passing and were trying to process it somehow. I was able to find those old messages on Gene’s cell phone and that’s what we did for awhile.

Before writing about anything else, I wanted to share an amazing story about a grandmother and her grandson who set out seven and a half years ago to visit all 63 national parks, and this week, they completed their amazing goal when they arrived at the National Park of American Samoa. This incredible event was celebrated in an online CNN article by Rebekah Riess entitled “93-year-old woman and grandson complete journey to all 63 US national parks.” I mention this piece here because of our recently completed exploration of five national parks that ended with Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota.

The two intrepid park visitors were Brad Ryan, 41, and his grandmother, Joy Ryan, 93, who posted highlights of their incredible journey on the elder’s Instagram page created to document their travels. I’m sure the pair had a better time with posting their travels on Instagram than I did as I tried to post highlights of our trip on TikTok, which didn’t go as well. Maybe I should view their postings on Instagram to see how it should be done. After posting several clips of our first ventures into Utah’s majestic parks, I ended the practice when I received some strange comments from users. I then gravitated toward using Snapchat, another platform I’m really not familiar with, as it was suggested that I use it by “Sandy,” our Easton friend. So I did use this new medium and when I finished posting one or two clips, I received an avalanche of “friend” requests by mostly women. What the hell was this? I thought. I assumed the platform could be used to share pictures and videos with your closest friends and family, as I was informed by Sandy. After this unwelcome result, I abandoned the platform and just decided to send pics of the parks to those who asked for them – and that’s that. I never thought of using Instagram which I am also on, but I probably would have had the same results that accompanied me on TikTok and Snapchat. Again, I’m no “influencer,” that’s for sure. Hell, I still listen to an ancient iPod. I still flip through pages of books – no Kindle for me.

Oops, back to Brad and Joy’s story, as Joy Ryan made history as the oldest living person to visit every U.S. national park. Their awesome journey began when the elder Ryan told her grandson, Brad, that she regretted how few trips she had taken during her lifetime and that’s how the kernel of their 63-park visit took hold. First, Brad took his grandmother to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, then he started a GoFundMe page to raise money for their other trips, which must have worked since the article inexplicably ends here. All I can say about this pair’s resolve to visit every national park in the United States is how joyful it is for the rest of us. The lesson learned here is that it’s never too late to do something, especially if you have your health and the motivation – and, yes, even the money.

There is a new report out there that former Dumpf Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Allen Weisselberg could now be charged with perjury, even though he was recently released from the Rikers Island Correctional Facility after serving time on 15 counts including tax fraud, falsifying records, and grand larceny. Weisselberg is 75 years old and now Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg might turn the screws on the bizarrely loyal Dumpf employee and threaten him with more jail time. At his age, I hope this fool finally turns on the Orange Menace and reveals where the bodies really lie in the Dumpf Organization, thus now incriminating the Big Boss. According to depositions he made with the office of the Attorney General Letitia James, one potential avenue for a perjury charge rests in Weisselberg’s involvement in the overvaluation of Dumpf’s triplex apartment in Trump Tower and at what point he knew that valuation was false. It now seems that the Manhattan’s DA’s office has a “colorable argument” that Weisselberg lied under oath during his July 17, 2020, deposition. Let’s see if this loyal minion of the former president doesn’t crack under pressure applied by Bragg in his attempt to get the 75-year-old to spill the beans about Dumpf.

Agh, the weather was horrible today with so much rain and miserableness. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be better. So have a good Sunday.

Stay safe and be well.