Happy Birthday Angie
Publish Date: 2019-07-09
Category: Family & Friends

Turning 50 for me was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Out of my friends from high school, my buddy TJ was first, then Me, then Cindi, and finally Angie.

We (TJ, Cindi and Myself) had talked about doing a get together in Vegas or Costa Rica or somewhere cool but nothing came to be of it until Cindi got word from Lexi (Angie's daughter) that she was throwing a party for Angie. The date was set and so were our minds about making it a weekend long celebration for all of us.

Before I go any further I gotta tell ya Lexi (and her husband) really have their act together (Angie must be SO proud). They live out of state and planned and coordinated the whole party and it went off without any issues. Hat tip to them!!

Cindi and I got into town on the 4th of July but because it was a surprise party we could not spoil it by letting Angie know we were in town. We had to wait two full days and it was tough not reaching out.

We hung out and celebrated with fireworks on the 4th at Mentor Civic Center and a mini-party at Longo's in Mentor on the 5th. We also visited some old friends including Joni, my first girlfriend in high school. What a trip that was! Oh and I learned that the spa and hot tub store was no longer, it was replaced by a Starbucks. I used to work there as a kid when my parents owned it and it was known as "The Pink Building on the corner of 306 & Tyler".

The day of the Angie's party came and it was hotter than hell. Cindi and I helped set up at the bar and sweated our hee-hoo's off. God was it hot, but set up went well and we were excited to see Angie and to party down!!

We took an uber/lyft to the bar and Angie made it soon after. She was told that Lexi's husband was doing a poetry reading (or something of the like) at the bar and when she walked in... SURPRISE!!

As daytime turned to night the booze flowed and so did the silliness. We had a great time seeing and talking to old friends and family, we even got a caricature of us made. I also learned how to play Cornhole the right way (and won a beer to boot). As a present Cindi arranged tickets for us three (Me, Cindi & Angie) to go to the Celebrity Softball and Futures Game at Progressive Field. It was the start of All-Stars Week and what a fitting present for friends that grew up watching The Indians.

We ended up back at Angie's house for a fire-pit with friends and family.

Game day came and the weather was perfect. The heat had cooled down and being close to the lake the breeze was FANTASTIC! The seats we had were fantastic too and didn't require oxygen masks.

We got to our seats and the fun began. We talked, laughed and joked all while eating overpriced stadium food and watched our team get beat but it was a great time!

After the games (there was the Futures Game too) we got to see an aging Joan Jett and Blackhearts perform a couple of tunes, which she did great. We also saw a kick ass 20 minute long fireworks show.

As the night grew to a close we knew that our time together was almost up. In just a few short hours I had to get back to Tennessee and Cindi had to fly home back to Utah and Angie had to get back to work.

While our time was short we packed in the fun and had a great time. The best part of the trip for me was just being with friends that I have known for 30+ years. I really enjoyed it and am very greatful.