So we moved on from Sean’s birthday party with it’s clown/magician and pinata to a celebration for Theo’s Christening which featured the beautiful spread you see on the right. Small talk centered around the usual suburban topics, schools, property taxes, those in the neighborhood that totally bug you with their attitude of “competitive hapiness,” beating you over the head with how wonderful their life is while you node, smile, and try not to show them that you’re checking your watch.
The last engagement of the day was a birthday party for Claire, one of our neighbors. We arrived just in time to watch the 130th running of the Kentucky Derby where we cheered on Smarty Jones to a win. What made things especially sweet is that someone in the room had worked for Roy Chapman’s auto dealership and said it couldn’t have happened to a nicer man. I’m told that the horse was nearly put down awhile back when he cracked his skull on the starting gate resisting a start. They stuck with him though and even though he’s not from a thoroughbreds pedigree, the horse made a startling recovery and has now gone on to be the first unbeaten winner of the “Run for the Roses” since Seattle Slew in 1977.
After the race, we all enjoyed sipping cool ones to wash down some local pizza smothered in some smokin’ picante sauce that Dave brought back from a recent trip to the Carribean while everyone told stories about how much trouble they got in when they were kids.
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