Adventures in Gastronomy

My mind is racing today and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I didn’t get much sleep last night. You see, for the past 3 nights somebody (or some entity) has been shooting off fireworks over Boston Harbor (which is behind our building). I’m assuming they must be legal/scheduled fireworks because the Massachusetts State Police Headquarters is located behind us and they’ve not put a stop to them.

On Saturday and Sunday I assumed it was for the North End Feast of St. Anthony. But it happened again last night (a day after the feasts ended). And the timing is always random. The first night they were much bigger and took place around 10:00pm. Sunday night they started around 10:35pm. Last night, it was closer to 11:00pm. I normally wouldn’t mind because I love watching fireworks – especially from the climate-controlled environment of my home.

But these flashes of light and loud booms are scaring the shit out of Dusty. Just when we think it’s safe to go to sleep, the fireworks start. Minutes later, Dusty starts wailing. Even my ear plugs (which I had to get because of Dusty) aren’t enough to muffle her. Last night, Matt actually brought her into bed with us where she actually slept soundly until about 2:30am….and then woke up determined to lick us awake. Matt promptly returned her to the living room…where she started crying again.

Another random thought…I was reading the Advocate magazine and found an article about another murder in Alabama. Apparently, an 18 year old gay male was “beaten, strangled, stabbed, doused with gasoline, and set on fire before his killers dumped his body in a field…”. Lovely. Unfortunately, I can’t go and blame straight people for their intolerance because a few pages later is a piece that describes how a 15 year old girl was arrested in Georgia for “…stabbing her grandparents to death after they had ordered her to stop seeing her 16 year old girlfriend.” Maybe I should just blame southerners (KIDDING…my Matt’s a southerner).

I also needed to get something off my chest. Those who know me well are already aware, but I feel I must clarify it for the rest of my readers…I’m a freak. I really am. Our friend, Chris, has invited me to go to New York City in two weeks. His brother, Patrick, has generously offered to let me stay at his place with them. I plan on taking the $25.00 (round-trip) Fung Wah to get there so, basically, I’m getting what amounts to a free vacation weekend in Manhattan. I’m incredibly excited about this trip…but my stupid paranoia keeps creeping in. Am I going to be a burden? What if they don’t like me (in addition to Patrick and his boyfriend, I’ll also be meeting Chris’ partner, John, for the first time). What if I bore them? What if I ‘m gassy? What if, what if, what if…?

There’s no need for this paranoia because Chris is great. And I’ve already spoken to John on the phone and emailed with him. I think my biggest fear is that they’ll realize what a big geek I am at heart. In the immortal words of Cher (Matt should be proud) I just need to SNAP OUT OF IT!!!

Oh, and another random thought…what is the history of Labor Day? I mean, it seems nowadays it’s just used as an official end to the summer vacation season. It’s our one last hoorah. But there must be more to it than that. I’m assuming it has to do with unionized labor and a mandatory day of rest….anybody know?

August 31st, 2004
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl

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