Last Night With the Boff

I was pretty busy Saturday afternoon.

First, I had an interview with a family who is hiring me to babysit their daughter next week (because my regular family sprung it on me last week that they were going to California for the 4th of July holiday, leaving me without an income or any other plan).

So I advertised myself on Craigslist and got a reply within an hour from a woman who needs babysitter coverage for her 3-year old daughter, K., who I met yesterday and just might be the cutest child on planet Earth. (And really, I don't like very many children... which makes babysitting so appropo for me... but hey, it pays well.)

Anyway, I think K. and I will get along just fine. She wasn't even a tiny bit bratty, she seemed really intelligent (ie: she pulled out an atlas to show me that Alabama has a tiny strip of water), and her parents were very cool -- the dad is a freelance journalist and the mom is a yoga teacher. Plus their house was painted in bright greens and reds and oranges, and they have chihuahuas, guinea pigs, and Madagascar hissing roaches (in an aquarium, thank god), which is an animal combination even I can appreciate.

I then went to a BBQ out in BFE (west Tucson) at my friend Brian's house...

Here's his daughter, Lorelei, who was turning two...


Then I headed back for "Dive Bar Night" with Ben, Ingrid, Gerry, and later, Christian.

Here is a portion of Ben's email invite for the evening:

Subject: Dive Bar Hopping to the Airport: Saturday at 6:00 pm

Text:
Also known as "try to see if you can get me drunk enough to throw up on the airplane or be labeled as a terrorist threat."

I'm going away for a month, so I want to hit every dive bar between my place and the airport. My flight is at 10:35 pm and I have to be there at 9:30 with a month's worth of luggage, my passport, etc.

In other words, the last time I'm going to see Ben while I'm still in Tucson... AKA "our last hoorah." So sad.

On the drive from west Tucson back into town, I was struck by the landscape...

I could have captured the view better if I'd actually stopped my car, but I think this more accurately shows the moment of pre-sunset on the mountains as I saw it from my car window.

This was my destination...

The dive bar known as "The Greens"... where I met I, G, and B.

I'd never been there before, but I think I'm going back soon with Ingrid & Gerry to sample some menu options...

... who knew that The Greens was Tucson's "wild game" specialist? And they have alligator and frog legs on Friday nights!

After a beer there, we moved on to my favorite bar of the night...

... which gives new meaning to the word "dive bar."

It was my favorite bar of the night for two reasons: 1) Free pool and 2) the jukebox featured a Patsy Cline best hits CD. I played four Patsy songs in a row.

Here's a sampling of our pool skills...

... we started off girls against guys, but Ingrid and I absolutely SUCK at pool, and we were obliterated by Ben & Gerry (ha! It always makes me laugh... Ben & Gerry). So Gerry and I formed a team to challenge Ben & Ingrid.

In what has to be the best picture of the night...

... Ben masculinely cheers for Ingrid, who actually made a shot.

Meanwhile, my game was still sucking...

... as is sort of demonstrated here.

Check out how hot Ingrid was last night!


I blamed this (soon-to-be) missed shot on Ingrid's non-prescription sunglasses...


Gerry definitely had the best pose though...

Nice cue stick, G.!

Gerry then peeled off to have dinner with his grandmother, who lives nearby.

And he was replaced by the German physicist/Vibe driver/Heineken swiller/nacho eating assistant... AKA Cott...

I didn't take pictures at the Palo Verde Grill because we were too busy stuffing our faces with bar food, but here we are the Airport Inn (API) having our last cocktail before Ben freaked out about possibly missing his flight and then rushing us out the door before I even had a chance to finish my White Russian. It broke my heart a little bit.

This is my last solo photo of Ben/the Boff...

... I'll be driving back East when he returns to Tucson.

And here's the last shot of the night...

... outside the Tucson International Airport bidding Ben a final farewell. And my heart broke a little bit again.

I have to add as a last note that my melancholy feelings quickly evaporated when I received a text message on my phone from Ben within the hour stating that the nachos he'd eaten at the Palo Verde Grill had caused him to lay a Nagasaki stink bomb on the entire gate area, and the vicinity around him had cleared completely of passengers within 25 feet in any direction from him, lest they be gassed again.

I'll miss you, Boff!