5:49 p.m. | 2003-10-03 Once In A Lifetime. Even though I planned to go to lunch with Bestest Girlfriend (BG) today, I had to call her last night. Here�s some of that. (CI:) Hey, BG! (BG:) Hi, what�s up? (CI:) Our presence has been requested for an event, and they need an answer right away so even though I�ll see you tomorrow, I need to get back to them tonight. (BG:) What�s the event? (CI:) Well, uh, this Special Event. It�s in ThatCity on Saturday. I know it�s short notice, and I�m sure you have tons of homework (she�s in her last year of law school), but you LOVE this kind of thing and it IS an once-in-a-lifetime thing. (BG:) Holy Shit! Yes, I want to go. Forget about homework; I�ll make that up later. This is great! Wait, was this a general invite? (CI:) No. They specifically asked for both of us. They asked for us by name. (BG:) Uh, why? (CI:) Well, they said they wanted intelligent, articulate and beautiful women to attend. (BG:) You�re kidding right? (CI:) Kind of. They didn�t say �beautiful�; I just made that part up. However, they did say �intelligent and articulate�. (BG:) I can see why they asked you, but me? (CI:) That�s funny because I can see why they asked you, but me? Hell, I couldn�t even figure out how to operate the elevator the other day. I�m intelligent, but as you know, it kind of comes and goes anymore. Shit, you�ve heard the stuff that comes out of my mouth. Frankly, they�re taking a chance on me. So, I�m counting on you to make sure I don�t mess up. (BG:) Hey, is it going to be filmed? I hate being filmed. (CI:) I don�t know for sure. I�m supposed to get more details tomorrow. However, I�m 99.9% sure that they�ll be filming it. We�ll just have to pray that we don�t end up on camera. Maybe we could sit behind tall people. (BG:) This is so exciting! I always wondered how people get invited to these things. (CI:) Now you know. It�s who you know, and strangely enough, in this case, that would be me. Go figure. Sometimes I feel like I�m an accidental tourist in my own life. And, now that I think about it, this will be the second once-in-a-lifetime thing we�ve attended together. You�re driving, right? (BG:) Yeah, I�m driving. BG picked me up today and we went to lunch. As usual, we talked nonstop. (BG:) I have today off, well, except for football at 3:00pm. It�s such a great day, doncha think? (CI:) Wait, back up a little. What is this football thing you keep mentioning? (BG:) Oh, I�m on the co-ed flag football team. (CI:) Okay. Hmmm. Why? (BG:) Well, I needed something else to discuss with potential employers besides grades and scholarships. (CI:) I see. Didn�t you play on the co-ed basketball team also? (BG:) Yeah. Now, BG is attending a private law school on a full scholarship and earning stellar grades. That alone kind of speaks for itself. She�s also written � and has been published � for Law Review. Oh, and she works too and has already conducted trials. I think she�s held some positions on student boards and stuff. Well, and played sports apparently. She has noticed one side effect of law school. Here�s that. (CI:) No! Don�t turn there! (BG:) Why not? Why can�t I park there? (CI:) Look, if you want to do the secret parking trick (parking for free), you have to park in the right place. Remember? You turn right here, here and here and park there. (BG:) Oh yeah. Damn, I can�t even figure out where I�m going anymore. I tell you, law school is frying all my brain cells! (CI:) Well, no shit, Sherlock. Hell, just look at me! I�m living proof of that theory. See, you have to purge some basic information in order to cram all those little details into your head. You presume that all that information will come back when you�re done with school, but it doesn�t. (BG:) I hate law school. (CI:) I know. Do you regret going? (BG:) Oh, hell no! I just hate it that�s all. It�s just like you said it would be. I didn�t understand what you were saying back then, but I understand it now. When we were walking back to our car, I spotted a group of Red Hat Ladies dining at an outdoor caf�. Here�s that. (CI:) Look BG, it�s a group of Red Hat Ladies! (BG:) Oh, I see. What�s a Red Hat Lady? (CI:) Well, it�s an organization whose origin comes from a poem (Warning by Jenny Joseph) about doing what you want to do after you�re 50 without caring what anyone else thinks. If you want to wear a red hat with a purple shirt even though it doesn�t look good together or on you, you do it anyway just because you want to. (BG:) I want to be a Red Hat Lady after I�m 50. (Currently, she�s 26.) (CI:) Oh, trust me, you will be. No doubt about it. And, so will I. I can�t wait to see what kind of trouble we get into tomorrow. your thoughts? seed flower