Turning Thirty-seven is scary

I wish I could tell you what happened on my birthday the other night but I don’t remember. HA HA – I love that joke. Just kidding of course, we had a rollicking good time with an unusually large group. Plans are often fluid and changing – at least when some of my friends are involved ( and you know who you are). The plan was to meet at Jack’s Firehouse out on Fairmount and then go to the Haunted House at the Eastern State Penitentiary across the street. The time was supposed to be 7 pm, but that got pushed back a bit (see previous sentence). That really didn’t bother us too much because Pete and I had already been to a bar before Jacks' and we were into our second beer there when Jen and Todd showed up (Jen was right on time- she’d want me to mention that). Todd’s wife “L” and their friend Megan showed up a bit later – but that apparently was Todd’s fault.

We did make it over to the Haunted Prison about 8:30 or so. It was a cold, windy, rainy dark night and that gave the prison quite an ominous look and feel to it but it was also scary for other reasons:
1. We had to sign a legal waiver before entering
2. Lots of Under-employed actors acting as guards and goons
3. Much of the electrical work was not up to code.
4. Many low hanging pipes you could bump your head on
5. They were selling funnel cake

And of, course the scariest thing was that it was almost 9 pm and we hadn’t had dinner yet. We ended up going over to Rembrandts, another Prison area restaurant that has been there forever. My Dad and his wife Susan sometimes like to hang out there – at least they used to. We had a very nice meal that did not involve any sandwiches (Todd and Pete were very concerned that this would upset me- as I hadn’t had a sandwich for lunch either). But the food was quite nice and we all got what we ordered despite the fact that it seemed to be our waitresses’ first day. But she was forgetful in a charming way so it wasn’t bad. At the end of the night we had the traditional Birthday Tiramisu with a with a candle in it and we all shared desert. I want to thank all my friends for the great time I had on my birthday and and for not letting me pay for anything. I owe you even more than I already did.