March 1 – Jimmy Buffett – Havana Daydreamin’

I’m not a big Jimmy Buffett fan. Some of his stuff is okay, but he doesn’t wow me. I like “Margaritaville,” especially since he takes responsibility for his own actions in it, and that shark song, neither of which is on this CD. Obviously this in one of the ex’s CDs. So here’s a short story, probably my only one having anything to do with Jimmy Buffett.

The ex had gotten tickets to see him at Jones Beach on a summer night. I was to come in on the Long Island Railroad to Syosset after work and meet the ex at Christiano’s, a great old Italian restaurant and bar that only recently closed forever. It’s not only a place from where I have a ton of memories from childhood on up, it was an inspiration for Billy Joel’s “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.” Great pizza and my favorite dish was their baked ziti with eggplant. We’ve actually covered it before.

I sat in the take-out waiting area with a view of the window and the front door. Now the ex was always late, seriously so. As a matter of fact he was three hours late for our first date for no reason, which should tell you something more about me, at least back then. He was also never much of what you might call a fashion plate. But he was good looking enough to pull off a tattered old sweatshirt and still look charming. So when I spotted him in my peripheral vision after only a ten minute or so wait, I noticed he was wearing a crisp red Hawaiian shirt and he had combed back his hair, as any good Buffett fan would. I stared straight ahead not letting on that recognized him although this persona was unfamiliar to me. Music was playing, so when he came over to me he leaned down and said hi, to which I replied “I’m sorry. I can’t talk to you. I’m waiting for my boyfriend.”

The concert was okay but it was really cool when late, renowned reporter Ed Bradley came on stage to sing backup. The CD is also okay, but the workout was better because I starting with Sly to get in a more energetic aerobics portion. I’ve now got to lose five pounds to get back to where I was before the holidays. I am so glad that February is over.