Hanging with the Boomers

The first night we were in Florida my bio-dad & step-mom took us to their local Moose Lodge. They're both really active members with offices, committee chairperson status, and all that stuff. Step-mom had to work the cash register for their weekly Friday night fish fry so it worked out perfectly to eat dinner at the Lodge then hang out and have a few drinks with bio-dad and step-mom & friends. By the way, I'm not really a big fish eater. Actually, the only fish I eat is salmon and tuna. I know! I have limited taste buds, what can I say. The reason I'm telling you this is because my choices for dinner were Fish Fry or Meatloaf and it was a Friday during Lent so that really puts me between a rock and a hard place! No, I'm not Catholic but Urban Cowboy is and he honors the "no meat Friday" Lenten rule so I go along with him to be supportive. (Well, that and the fact that I was raised in a house that honored the "no meat Friday" rule even though we weren't Catholic so it seems natural to me) Anyway, I want you all to know that I actually did eat 1/2 a piece of fried fish (pollock) before I could just not stand the fishy taste any longer. I was very proud of myself for even getting that far.

After dinner we went from the dining room to the social room (aka BAR) in the Lodge and had a few drinks. This is when the night got really fun - not because I got drunk, I didn't - and we met bio-dad & step-mom's friends. There we were sitting around a table all but one of their friends smoking like a chimney and chatting about general things. At one point, they want to know my age and then asked if they could guess. Certainly, people can guess at my age and I may or may not let them know how old I really am. Friends, I am telling you - if you want to feel great about your age and your looks, just spend an evening hanging out with older folks (by older I mean 60-75) because they will flatter you and compliment you and generally make you feel like a million bucks! When they guessed our ages I was literally glowing with hapiness because their guess was so low! Even with Urban Cowboy's beard, they guessed him about 8 years younger than he is! Heehee! It was great fun. Then, when bio-dad told them our real ages they were SHOCKED! Shocked, I say! Genuinely shocked! It was such a great feeling! I leaned over to Urban Cowboy and told him we need to hang out with Boomers a bunch more, they made me feel so young and pretty! He laughed at me. I laughed at me. Great fun was had by all!

Here's the frosting on the cake for that evening, though. The Lodge hires a live musical act to perform every Friday and that Friday it was a male/female duo that specialized in 50's - 60's music (pop & country). BUT one of the songs they performed was " Oh, Baby, Baby" by Brittany Spears! I almost fell off my chair because it was 1) so unexpected considering the rest of their set lists and 2) so ridiculous! I look around and all these grey heads are bobbing up and down, in time with the beat, and some were signing along! Now, I have no problem with people appreciating music of all genres and all time periods (I have to admit to a pretty decent knowledge of "oldies") so don't get me wrong. But it was so unexpected! Like, one minute they're singing "Going to the Chapel" and the next they're singing "Oh, Baby, Baby". Just like that...It was W-I-L-D.

P.S. I was looking for a pic of Brittany Spears for this post and I found some very risque and shocking professional photos of her. I say professional because it was clear they were done with her consent! That girl has just gone from cute & cuddly to ugly & trashy. I'm including the album cover from her 1st cd, recalling a time we actually believed she might be innocent...sigh...