First, some wedding photos! (No, I am not the geezer. The geezer appears later in the post. Katie is, in fact, four months older than I am.)
Here's one of the happy couple:
Here's one with the wedding parties and immediate families in front of the waterfall that was immediately opposite the reception site:
This one is a favorite of ours. While traipsing about in the grass, a number of small insects had gotten caught in the sheer netting of Katie's dress. We realized this after the posed photos were done and it was a group effort to remove them all as quickly and efficiently as possible:
And now back to our regularly scheduled post.
Katie and I went to see the musical Chicago last weekend. We arrived at the Ordway Theater about 40 minutes before curtain so that we could share a pre-show cocktail before sitting down. That meant that we went to find our seats just five minutes before the lights went down. I led Katie ahead of me as we wended our way to the seats in the middle of the row. As Katie was sitting down, the elderly gentleman sitting next to her said something. I was too far away to hear clearly. I found out later that he said to Katie, "I was hoping it would be you sitting next to me."
A bit incredulous, Katie smiled awkwardly and sat down. The man kept staring at her. Feeling his stare, perhaps, Katie looked over at him again. He held out his hand to her. "Do you want to hold hands?" he queried.
I heard that one clearly, so I had to protect my interests. "Hey!" I shouted, grabbing Katie's hands. "She's my wife!"
He turned his gaze on me. "How old do you think I am?" he asked. Trying to be incredibly generous, I suggested "Sixty?"
"I'm ninety-three!" he retorted. He reached out to me to shake hands. Although he had just insulted my wife, I felt sorry for him that he was so old. Life can be so cruel to people sometimes. And maybe his behavior had been considered appropriate back when he was a teenager (during the Great Depression). So, I congenially reached out to shake his hand.
He had a remarkably firm grip, I thought, for a 93-year-old. Then he started squeezing harder, and then harder. I looked at him quizzically. His return gaze was phlegmatic. "I could take you, you know" he stated mildly.
By this point, everyone within an arm's reach of either of us was laughing hysterically. "I'd like to see you try!" I retorted. As if in answer to an implied question, he explained: "I have mafia connections."
Still holding my hand (he wouldn't let go!) he asked me what I did for a living. I explained that I am a biologist doing research at the University of Minnesota. He thought about that for a second, then made an honest mistake: "I remember you! You gave me a bad grade back in '33." Now disgusted with me, he finally let go of my hand, pushing it away forcefully.
The conversation continued, with the Geezer asking Katie what she did. Katie said she was a lawyer. By this point, everyone around us was feeling rather friendly, and a man sitting in the row in front of us turned around to ask her, "Why is it that you attorneys are always practicing law without ever getting it right?" (Everyone's a comedian, I guess.)
We found out that the Geezer was there with his daughter and son-in-law (both in their mid-sixties, apparently). During intermission we overheard them talking with the Geezer about the show. He complained that he didn't understand what was going on, but he didn't seem surprised or upset at that fact. I got the picture that it happened with some regularity. His daughter asked if he wanted them to explain to him what was happening. He stubbornly refused, as if to suggest that it wouldn't do any good.
Later on, he made a few more jokes toward Katie and me along the same lines of "I-may-be-lecherous-but-only-in-a-harmless-and-amusing-manner-because-I-am-old-enough-to-have-voted-for-FDR" including one more time trying to hold Katie's hand. He had overstayed his welcome by that point, though. The humor had worn thin, and we didn't have much more to say to him.
We mused on the way home that he really was able to get away with some obnoxious behavior due to his age. The whole affair wouldn't have been nearly as funny if he'd been, say, fifty. I wonder if he ever gets the cute young girl to hold hands with him. I'd bet he does!
Here's one of the happy couple:
Here's one with the wedding parties and immediate families in front of the waterfall that was immediately opposite the reception site:This one is a favorite of ours. While traipsing about in the grass, a number of small insects had gotten caught in the sheer netting of Katie's dress. We realized this after the posed photos were done and it was a group effort to remove them all as quickly and efficiently as possible:
And now back to our regularly scheduled post.
Katie and I went to see the musical Chicago last weekend. We arrived at the Ordway Theater about 40 minutes before curtain so that we could share a pre-show cocktail before sitting down. That meant that we went to find our seats just five minutes before the lights went down. I led Katie ahead of me as we wended our way to the seats in the middle of the row. As Katie was sitting down, the elderly gentleman sitting next to her said something. I was too far away to hear clearly. I found out later that he said to Katie, "I was hoping it would be you sitting next to me."
A bit incredulous, Katie smiled awkwardly and sat down. The man kept staring at her. Feeling his stare, perhaps, Katie looked over at him again. He held out his hand to her. "Do you want to hold hands?" he queried.
I heard that one clearly, so I had to protect my interests. "Hey!" I shouted, grabbing Katie's hands. "She's my wife!"
He turned his gaze on me. "How old do you think I am?" he asked. Trying to be incredibly generous, I suggested "Sixty?"
"I'm ninety-three!" he retorted. He reached out to me to shake hands. Although he had just insulted my wife, I felt sorry for him that he was so old. Life can be so cruel to people sometimes. And maybe his behavior had been considered appropriate back when he was a teenager (during the Great Depression). So, I congenially reached out to shake his hand.
He had a remarkably firm grip, I thought, for a 93-year-old. Then he started squeezing harder, and then harder. I looked at him quizzically. His return gaze was phlegmatic. "I could take you, you know" he stated mildly.
By this point, everyone within an arm's reach of either of us was laughing hysterically. "I'd like to see you try!" I retorted. As if in answer to an implied question, he explained: "I have mafia connections."
Still holding my hand (he wouldn't let go!) he asked me what I did for a living. I explained that I am a biologist doing research at the University of Minnesota. He thought about that for a second, then made an honest mistake: "I remember you! You gave me a bad grade back in '33." Now disgusted with me, he finally let go of my hand, pushing it away forcefully.
The conversation continued, with the Geezer asking Katie what she did. Katie said she was a lawyer. By this point, everyone around us was feeling rather friendly, and a man sitting in the row in front of us turned around to ask her, "Why is it that you attorneys are always practicing law without ever getting it right?" (Everyone's a comedian, I guess.)
We found out that the Geezer was there with his daughter and son-in-law (both in their mid-sixties, apparently). During intermission we overheard them talking with the Geezer about the show. He complained that he didn't understand what was going on, but he didn't seem surprised or upset at that fact. I got the picture that it happened with some regularity. His daughter asked if he wanted them to explain to him what was happening. He stubbornly refused, as if to suggest that it wouldn't do any good.
Later on, he made a few more jokes toward Katie and me along the same lines of "I-may-be-lecherous-but-only-in-a-harmless-and-amusing-manner-because-I-am-old-enough-to-have-voted-for-FDR" including one more time trying to hold Katie's hand. He had overstayed his welcome by that point, though. The humor had worn thin, and we didn't have much more to say to him.
We mused on the way home that he really was able to get away with some obnoxious behavior due to his age. The whole affair wouldn't have been nearly as funny if he'd been, say, fifty. I wonder if he ever gets the cute young girl to hold hands with him. I'd bet he does!
Finally, some pictures! :) How wacky is the "mafia" guy?? Makes me think of the Sopranos.
ReplyDelete