THE GET-TOGETHER
June 21, 2021
Good Monday morning to you. Things seem to be getting back to a crazy new normal. Just before starting this post, I cleared out 127 emails. That's a lot more than usual. I guess that's a good sign. One was from Grammarly telling me, "Let's take a minute and marvel at what you've accomplished: a whole year of incredible writing with Grammarly! That's 52 straight weeks of clear, effective communication and heroic error slaying. That's quite a feat, if you ask us!" That gave me a good feeling to start out the week. I had to laugh when I copied the Grammarly quote to this post as the Grammarly on my computer made a correction to it. It believes there should not be a comma after the word "feat."
Then there was a post by a guy named Wayne that said, "good lord! you people and your stupid books. Do you really think anyone cares??" Yes, Wayne people still are interested in and do read books.
Yesterday, the Rupp men - Matt (50), Brian (47), Ryan (21), and me (83) – got together for the first time in months – Fathers Day. My sons, grandson, and I had a great time remembering old stories and solving the world's problems. Well, at least commiserating about the world's problems. Three generations of ideas. Use older guys gave Ryan a lot of air time, as he has the best perspective on what's ahead in the future.
The day started out well when we determined my investment in six live lobster air delivered by COSTCO a couple of days before were still alive. Later in the day, they were boiled to a bright red color and served on a platter to be presented in conjunction with bacon-wrapped filet mignon. Then there were fully loaded baked potatoes and asparagus. And the finale was freshly baked Dutch apple pie with vanilla ice cream.
During the combined effort of food preparation, Brian tried out his mixology skills. It ranged from tasting a new type of vodka to a true dry, perfect gin martini to Mai Tai's, complete with umbrellas. His efforts were preceded by Champagne and followed by a bottle of pinot noir with dinner. As usual, Matt was the designated driver. I must admit I crashed into bed shortly after getting home at 10 PM. Luckily, I woke up this morning feeling great.
Brian quizzed us on what we thought of a new venture he was looking at. It was a new tiki bar/restaurant. Actually, it was more like a tiki entertainment show center with food and drink. Sounded interesting. There was a lot of discussion about where it should be located – Seal Beach, Long Beach, or Burbank?
Brian also indicated that Hollywood movie/T.V./Media production has taken off like crazy. He has tons of jobs lined up.
Ryan indicated his college classes had been canceled during the pandemic because they involved a lot of lab work. But he was now headed back—great news to hear. I quizzed him about many of the things I am writing about millennial characters in my upcoming novel SKYWARD. I was pleased to find that I was pretty much on target.
We took time out to watch the L.A. Clippers get "clipped" by the Phoenix Suns in the first conference playoff game. And, Oosthuizen lose to Rahm at the U.S. Open at Torry Pines down South of us. We are all looking forward to watching the Olympics in Tokyo.
Cheers,
Richard V. Rupp, Author
Website – www.richardvrupp.com
Email – rupprisk@gmail.com
Copyright©2021 by Richard V. Rupp