Life Is Short

Too short to be holed up in the woods with TCG, #1 and The Exec for three days

Too short to allow insensitive comments, like the one on my last post, to cause me to lose a night’s sleep

Too short to let a frozen tundra mind start a war of words, or worse, with Russia

I drove up to Tahoe with my aforementioned posse last Thursday. I had to take control of the trip almost immediately. Before we got to the cabin, we made a stop at Sav-Mart to stock up. Somebody, I think it was The Exec, tried to slip a bottle of Absolut into the shopping cart. We don’t do Absolut in the village if I have any say in the matter, particularly when there’s free Ciroc already available at TCG’s home away from home. We also loaded up on bananas and tomatoes that we had to toss at the end of the trip. These guys need to be watched.

The next day they abandoned me for about three hours whilst they took a hike to look at Basque carvings. The only Basque carving I like is the kind they used to do at the Basque Hotel in North Beach back in the 80’s. Me and The Wolverine used to go there to chow down a four course meal for a sawbuck. That’s when a dollar was a dollar. But I digress. As the boys sauntered, I cooked up some extra thick pepper bacon and a pile of buckwheat pancakes. Were they grateful? Hard to say

We spent most of that day on TCG’s boat. It’s really his wife’s boat but she lets him use it on occasion. We made a stop at Gar Woods where they have an allegedly famous drink called The Wet Woody. I think it has peach schnapps in it. Hell, I’d rather have an Appletini, which they also happen to offer. Those three went for the Woody while traditionalist DJ sipped a Bloody Mary.

Back at home base after a long day of relaxing, The Exec grilled up some chicken as we tippled on the deck. TCG and #1 were smoking some big cigars so I had to sit about 10 feet away. During dinner, we discussed making this an annual event. We may have an additional crew next year, unless The Banker and #2 back out at the last minute again. Regardless, the founding members of the Weekend After Labor Day Club get dibs on sleeping assignments. The Exec decided to rack out at 9:30 after a long day of nothing. I wasn’t too far behind.

The next day was spent mostly on the boat as well. We came across a nude beach at one point. TCG sped away as the rest of us averted our eyes. We docked for lunch and chatted with a nearby young couple, who were participating in a sport that was new to me. They were standing up on a surfboard like object while paddling. #1 said he didn’t get it. I’m with him. Nightfall brought a steak dinner on the shore at TCG’s posh private club. On returning to the cabin, the three buzzkill brothers decided they wanted to watch Return of Pink Panther or some such thing. They fell asleep in short order and the evening ended by 10.

The next day we pulled the boat out of the water, slipped it into TCG’s garage and headed home. Other than the above, what happens in Tahoe…