Rating: 💋 💋 💋
Our last visit was simply not sufficient enough time, so Rebecca came back to Stone Harbor for another visit! I am not sure if we ever stopped talking. My dad certainly does not feel so 🤭
Back in grade school, Rebecca and I used to put on this show we called, 'Becca's Corner!' It was kind of like this absolutely hilarious talk show, think Jimmy Kimmel or Fallon or one of those, where Rebecca hosted and I was her side kick. Rave reviews. Otherwise known as, how we kept ourselves entertained during school assemblies. Sure, the person with the puppets on stage was why we found ourselves crammed into the gym with the rest of the school, but the real entertainment? It was being solely provided by us two from our seats in the back row of the bleachers.
Now we are bringing it back.
Becca needs coffee, so we walked downtown and she got her fix from Coffee Talk. She enjoyed their House Roast immensely because it has a nice, rich flavor. We also got scrumptious açai bowls from Juice Girl. Christine, the owner, is the nicest woman and she put together some delicious bowls for us. I worked at Coffee Talk for three summers, and it was always fun working side by side with the people at the Juice Bar. Rebecca got a gorgeous bowl with peanut butter and nutella drizzle, and I got mine with freshly-churned almond butter. It was beautiful. Rebecca and I found a spot to eat and caught up on all things in the working world. She has a very exciting new job at a school with a liberal philosophy that is just perfect for her! The school's approach, which she describes as a mix of Montessori and a Friends school, sounds awesome. Way better than those puppet assemblies! I am super happy for her. In turn, I shared with her the projects I have been working on, including that Art Collective I am contributing to and another a super secret surprise I've got going on!
We brought her coffee back to my house, I brewed a cup of tea, and we got into deeper conversations on the back porch. We talked about books and writers and poetry, as we always inevitably do. She was an English major after all. I could have been too, but I went for a Comp Lit minor instead, so I could keep my toe in the literary world while still focusing on film and art. We got into a conversation about James Joyce and his grandson, whom I described as 'creating chaos' and she quickly retorted, 'As a Joyce does!' That made both of us explode into laughter. Wheezing. Her delivery was half of the humor, to be fair. That quickly derailed into a talk on Virginia Woolf. She told me I should talk to someone in stream of consciousness, just let it all out, and concluded, 'Virginia Woolf his a**!" Hilarious. We are hilarious. And...perhaps, a bit book nerdy. I don't really see why that is a problem though. We are girls who read, get on our level! lol
(Also, Becca really does not want you to think of her as foul-mouthed. She is a respectable lady with an extensive vocabulary. Sometimes, it is simply le mot juste for the situation.)
We also talked about dealing with life problems in general, and we think we found the key. A lot of times, people, including ourselves, tend to overcomplicate things. We do not want to face reality or our feelings, so we think of twenty thousand obstacles of why that simply would not work. Why it is such a problem. Things tend to be a lot simpler than we make them out to be. We know all the answers deep down, we just have to face them. Then it is an either/or choice of action. Perhaps not for everything, but for personal things? Yeah. Tends to be the case. Rebecca's Pop was really good about looking at problems from that route, seeing his two options, and making a strong choice. No fuss there. We really admire him for that.
Huge thank you to my mom! Rebecca and I finally got some recent pictures of us together that are not selfies thanks to her. Then we all had some wine, talking about tattoo ideas and the whale Mom and I saw back in July. Very thrilling. At seven o'clock, my parents rolled out to their dinner reservation and Rebecca and I went to 96th Street (Stone Harbor's main street area) and found dinner for ourselves. While we walked, we decided that if we were punctuation marks, Rebecca is an m-dash because she is interesting and there is always more to the story there, and I am a shoo-in for an exclamation point. Do with that what you will.
We ended up at Fred's Tavern, the OG Magee Party Spot. Pre-COVID, my parents and their friends would go there for a drink and to dance to the DJ or live band that used to play. We have a lot of Fred's merch, and it is our go-to liquor store. In addition to all that fun, they have food! Rebecca and I got an outside table and we had a great dinner. Our waitress was super easygoing and nice. It made for a lovely evening.
For her beverage choice, Rebecca enjoyed a Stella Artois. I barely had time to look at the drink menu before our waitress asked for our order, so I just said the first thing that came to mind - the Casamigos Margarita. It was delicious. I am telling you, you have to trust your instincts, in big and small things. Rebecca was very happy with her Fred's Burger, and upgrading to fries instead of chips was the clear correct choice. I got the Honey Hot Chicken Caesar Salad, and it was also really good and simple. I like spicy food, but the cool lettuce definitely helped me out. There were a couple bites that were all hot chicken and I was like, "Becca, I am listening to you, I love you, my tongue is just undergoing an existential crisis." Really good though.
Over dinner, we discussed the enigma of boys. Big. Sigh. We would love to just ask them, "What is in your mind??" Of course, it is not that easy. As I told Rebecca, "All's fair in Love and war, and this is both!" Jokes, just jokes! One day I am sure we will find nice boys who like to read and listen to good music and talk about interesting things. One day.
My mom made us homemade Belgian waffles in the morning. Oh, joy! We had a lovely brunch of waffles with fresh berries, confectioner's sugar, and syrup. When I get my own place, a waffle iron will be up high on the list of kitchen items to accrue. Whip up the mix from Williams & Sonoma and you do not even have to go out for a lovely Sunday morning meal.
Before Rebecca left, we had to go say hello to the ocean and dance around the beach. It was lovely. One day, I will go visit her in Philly, once we are able to explore the city without any COVID risks. I very much look forward to it. We said our good byes and went back to corresponding via letters, a tradition we have maintained since we were about nine years old and I would go away for the summer. Receiving a letter from Rebecca is a major thrill. If anyone wants to get in on the pen pal action to give a little love to the postal service, hit me up.
I encourage you all to vote if you are able! Our people and our democracy are so worth speaking up for, and your voice really matters 🇺🇸
Happy Halloween to all!!
XX,
MK
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