Friday for Effect

November 15, 2024

My youngest, Katie, turned 21 yesterday and I flew out to the University of Colorado to take her to dinner before releasing her into the wild.

I landed in Denver just before noon, picked up my rental, and headed about 40 miles northwest, checking into my hotel at around 1:30.

Not a bad view from my room, though I was expecting snow

While I texted Katie a few times to keep her apprised of my status and whereabouts, I mostly left her alone until it was time to drive to the restaurant.

We had 5:30 reservations at a really great place on Walnut St, one of only four restaurants in Boulder with a Michelin star. I was very excited.

I finished watching Special Report with Bret Baier at 5:00 (which was weird, being from New York), headed down to the parking lot, and plugged her address into my GPS. Then I grabbed my phone to call her, only to hear the theme from Seinfeld playing on the car’s speakers. It was Katie calling me.

(I forget why I long ago chose that tune as her ringtone.)

I answered. “Hey, I was literally just about to call you,” I told her.

“Really?”

“Yeah, and then I heard the Seinfeld theme.”

“Oh, that’s funny,” she said.

“Hey, I haven’t seen your apartment yet,” I pointed out. “We’ve got some time before dinner. Do you want to give me a quick tour now, or should we do that later?”

“No, now’s fine,” she replied. “I’ll show it to you when you get here.”

When I arrived at her building, I parked and got out of the car, and tried to locate apartment #10, with no success. So, I called Katie and she came to the parking lot to meet me. We walked one building over and down a short flight of outdoor steps to her front door.

As we entered the apartment, one of her roommates was on the couch. After exchanging hellos, I quickly surveyed the place and thought, “I immediately regret this decision.”

I’d seen more neatly kept homes in war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan.

Still, I bit my lip, just happy to be with my little girl, whom I was about to treat to her first legal alcoholic drink (as far as I knew).

We arrived at the restaurant, were shown to our table, and greeted by a friendly host named Jason, wearing a Star of David pendant. Then we met our waiter, Florin, an incredibly affable Italian guy who’s a dead-ringer for comedian Nate Bargatze.

He pointed out the various menus he was depositing on the table and asked if we’d like a drink before dinner. I asked him to give us a few minutes to look at the drink menu.

Perusing the list of cocktail offerings, Katie casually admitted, “I still always feel like ordering a Shirley Temple,” and I melted a little bit inside.

I was also reminded of the scene in “The Great Santini,” where he brings his son, Ben, to the officers club for his 18th birthday and the newly-minted adult says he’d like a Dr. Pepper.

“I didn’t bring you down here to drink soda pop,” his father admonishes him.

Last night, however, I took a different tack than Colonel Meechum.

“Kate, you are more than welcome to order a Shirley Temple,” I advised her, knowing my words were falling on deaf ears.

She continued scanning the menu and spotted the “Neri Daiquirí.” She asked me what I thought that might be like.

“Well, I’m not much of a daiquirí drinker. I don’t know that I’ve had more than one in my life,” I told her. “But ‘neri’ means ‘black,’ so I imagine it’ll be a little different than, like, you know, banana or strawberry.”

“That’s okay,” she said. “I think I’m gonna try it.”

The waiter soon returned and asked us if we’d decided.

“Kate?” I prompted her.

“May I please have the Neri Daiquirí?” she asked politely, warming my heart.

“That drink’s gonna be a little bit smoky,” the waiter said. “Is that okay?”

“Yes,” she replied, both pleasantly and confidently. “That’s fine.”

I ordered a bourbon and the waiter departed.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Katie looked at me and laughed, “What the heck does he mean by ‘smoky’?”

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Democratic Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton

In a November 7 interview with the New York Times, Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton said that “Democrats spend too much time trying not to offend anyone” and suggested his party find a new approach to dealing with transgender issues.

“I have two little girls,” he said. “I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat, I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”

Well, from there, all hell broke loose.

One of Moulton’s top aides quickly resigned over his horribly insensitive statements.

Tufts University said it would no longer facilitate student internships at the office of the former Marine Corps infantry officer who served four tours in Iraq.