Home Away From Home

I had the distinct pleasure of visiting friends, honestly family, in Philadelphia this past week. I already had a day off of work due to MLK day on Monday, so I decided to utilize 2 of my hard-earned paid vacation days to make the trip. Everyone else in the world seems to flock to Florida for the 80 degree winters. Having been born and raised in them, I did just the opposite.

I was able to stay with great friends of mine Tony and his wife Jessica. Tony seems to be completely won over by the city of Philadelphia. Grant it, he's been able to spend a bit more time seeing the sights and sounds of the city, as this was the city where he dated his wife. I do seem to remember our first year when neither of us really liked the city and longed for the beaches of good ole FL. I never really stopped disliking Philly. Tony, on the other hand, cheers for the Eagles now instead of our home team in Tampa the Bucs. I seem to remember the Bucs and Eagles playing earlier this year, wonder who won that game? Though I'm sure the Eagles will win this weekend and make it to the Super Bowl. Oh wait ... turns out the Eagles lost last week and will be joining the rest of us on our couches watching the game. Oh well, Super Bowls, Championships, Trophies, National Titles and all that, they're overrated. We win them every other year in FL. Philly? Not so much. Tony man, Nate and Luke E. have been in Philly just as long as you and they still cheer for their home teams. You're selling out. That's weak!

Back to the trip though. I know what Tony is talking about when he speaks of his trips to FL being a little difficult. I set aside 5 days for the trip and it's still difficult to schedule everyone into those days. Here's a brief run-down of the trip. Landed Thursday night around 11. Friday I made a few calls in the morning then met up w/ Justin at Baja Fresh, of course. From there we made our way to Denise's work to slip in the back door and say hello. Friday night I was able to pick Tiffany up from the airport, just like old times. Later I met up w/ Tony for a few wings and a pint at Fatty's. Saturday was Steven's wedding during the day. From there I went to visit Nate and his wife down at their place in the city. Saturday evening was when the Eagle lost, which never gets old to watch. I was able to watch with Tony and Jess at their apartment where the cheers and ultimately groans of all the Eagle fans in their building could be heard. Sunday was a chance to visit my old church New Life Dresher, who are now officially Dresher as they are meeting in their new building there. After having lunch with friends from church it was off to one of establishments I do miss from the Philly area, King of Prussia. I made a few purchases at about a 70% discount.

Sunday night Mafia was easily one of the highlights of my trip. I thought Denise had a bit of Mafia eyes as she sat next to me telling not to eliminate her, at least not in the first few rounds. I didn't say it though, so I can't claim credit for being able to tell if Denise is Mafia from her eyes. I did however call her out as Mafia when she claimed to be the only Cop remaining and talked about whom she had cleared the previous night. Denise, no one would come out and admit to being a cop if they knew they were the only cop remaining. That's suicide. That is unless of course you are Mafia. Unfortunately for me, I can never just sit quietly and play the role of the common citizen. Because I'm always active and talking, and claiming to be Mafia, I usually find myself dead in the first 2 rounds. So, when I called Denise out for being Mafia I was a pretty easy person to turn everyone against and I was killed off about a minute later. I do have to admit that while we were playing I looked around the room at the people I had been given the joy of living with for the last 3 years and was very glad I had made the trip.

Monday I was able to have lunch with another good friend of mine Michaeline down in the city at the Continental. We just kind of walked around Center City for a bit and did some shopping. She said she needed a black belt and a few hours later she had everything except of course a black belt. Or did she buy one of those too? I can't remember. Needless to say she was fun to shop with. Monday night was Dave and Buster's w/ Nate and Marissa. Tuesday, my final day, I had lunch w/ Tony and then met up with Luke H. for a couple pints at the Blue Comet in Glenside. After hanging around Machen for another hour or two I found myself rushing to get to the airport on time.

Since I've been home people have been asking how my trip was and what had done in Philly. I didn't do that much if you think in terms of going to recognizable places and doing grandiose things. I guess it doesn't really connect with them if I say I went to the Machen kitchen sat on the stools and talked. But for me that's often the place I'd most like to be. There's something to be said for simply walking downtown with someone you've missed and talking for a few hours. Something to be said for being able to spend a few more days entering the lives of friends and sharing life with them. For me that something is thank you. Thank you to all the friends I saw this past week, and even those I didn't see, who have meant so much to me over the years. Thank you for giving me a home away from home.