The lobster roll & the take-charge guy (who isn’t really a take-charge guy)

A couple days ago, the senior center had an outing scheduled for Redfin Blues, a seafood restaurant on the waterfront, on the North Shore.  We were told to show up at the center early, as a lot of people were going and there’d probably be two shuttles.

I looked at the online menu the night before, and noted something at the bottom:  “No separate checks will be written for groups of 10 or more people, the total will be divided equally on debit/credit cards used for payment.  NO EXCEPTIONS.”

When I got to the center and asked how many were going, they said around 20.  I told them what it said on the menu about groups of 10 or more, and several people spoke right up, saying that wouldn’t do.  The center said “No worries, you’ll get separate checks!”

Nope!  More on that later.

I rode on the second shuttle (you didn’t get to choose) and sat in the far back.  A tall black woman (Janet) sat across the aisle from me and shouted “We got ourselves a man on here!  We got ourselves a man!”

Midway there, one of the ladies in the front said “Who wants to hear a dirty joke?”  A chorus of women’s voices shouted yes, and the first woman said “Lorena Bobbitt remarried and decided to chop off her second’s husband doodle too.  But she missed and only cut his thigh.  So instead of being charged with a felony, what was she charged with?  A miss-da-weiner.  Get it?  Not a misdemeanor, a miss-da-weiner!”   The women on the shuttle cackled with laughter, and Janet shouted “I don’t think Mister Man liked that!  Did you think that was funny Mister Man?”  

I wondered how things were on that first shuttle.

When we got there, we formed a long line outside and a young man & woman (both with ponytails) asked how many.  When someone in our group said 17, they told us they had a firm “one check only” rule.  A couple of the ladies in line said “Oh no…”  so I said “No no—NO.  We five in the back are a separate table.”

The young man said “Okay, but that still leaves a dozen.”  I said “The 5 women IN FRONT of us are a separate table too.  Don’t move any tables together.”   

After we were seated, one of the ladies (Elaine, who I really like) said “Doug, thank you for being our take-charge guy!”  I told her she was welcome, but I wondered why no one else spoke up?  A few minutes later my friend Pearl came over and said “I wanted to sit with Elaine, but you have me at that table with 7 people!” 

I told Pearl she was free to move to any table she wanted, hasn’t she done this before?  She said “Yes but you’re the take-charge guy.”   No—I wasn’t!

Anyway, a few more pictures; here’s the main dining area, right on the river.

Some of the diners arrived by boat.  I left my private yacht at home.

My lunch, a lobster roll & fries.  After taking a bite, I guess I made a face (it was fishier than expected) because my friend Eva said “You should only order those in Maine.”  It was alright!

“Doug, are you still hungry?  I can’t eat this fish and don’t want to take it home, I have a half reuben waiting for me!”   (Thanks Eva, I do love beer-battered cod!)

And finally, my friend Pearl (on the left in the red dress) and Elaine go for a walk on the bicycle path after our meal.  I really do like that Elaine, I hope we see her again.

Next week we’re going to the Oakmont Bakery & Cafe, I was told it’s the cleanest place to eat in the city and to bring my sweet tooth.  But on September 23rd the center is taking a road trip to someplace REALLY special.  I can’t wait to share it.