Saturday night at the ballpark with the missus....but the hot dogs and Cracker Jack were replaced with cheeseburgers in paradise and the smell of rum in the air. Yes, my friends...Jimmy Buffet and the Coral Reefers sailed into our lovely city for another round of fun in the sun.
And oh, what fun we had! The infamous parrothead tailgate party was in full swing by the time we showed at the late hour of almost 5pm. Judging by the general state of three sheets to the wind, people had been there awhile. A Buffet tailgate is like no other and something that everyone should experience at least once in their life. And once you've been...you'll be back. Jimmy says it himself, "I'm just the background music for the party," and he ain't lyin'. These people know how to throw a bash. Freaks young and old show up in their island garb to simply have a good time. What more could anyone ask for?
We had great seats down on the field thanks to my lovely wife (shown below with some guy with a shark on his head).
The weather was great, the band sounded terrific....all was good in the world, if only for two hours. I had what I can only describe as a moment of zen during the song "One Particular Harbor" which is not even one of my favorites. For whatever reason, at one point in this song I closed my eyes as a breeze blew past and I began to feel a smile on my face for no reason other than I was content. Wow. What a great feeling to actually be content with oneself. Hard to put into words, but at that particular instant, I was really, really satisfied in that one particular harbor of the mind. With a horrendous week now behind us, it was a pause to appreciate just how much I have in this life. There are some who say Mr. Buffet is not that great of a singer. I challenge you to find one person to agree in the crowd that night. Anyone who can take you away, if only for a few fleeting moments, to a better place... Well, he's alright by me.
