Friday Dinner - or Why Jersey Rocks #1

When I de-trained in Millington on Friday night, my friend Lena picked me up with her three kids, and we went to her house, sipped wine, sat in the sun and she prepared to hold "Friday Dinner" at her house. This involves an array of family showing up, casually spreading out some chow, grown-up tables, kid tables and just lots of happy people. Being an only child (and even an "only cousin"), I have always looked upon fully-packed kids' tables with the longing of a kid without a nickel staring into a candy shop. And, at the grown-up table, there's just something -beyond the words themselves - about Jersey conversations that set them apart - in the best possible way. Oh yeah, and did I mention that the SUN was out and it was hot? Because today in the Pacific Northwest, it's like 50 degrees and totally cloudy in the middle of June. So, yeah, that made a difference.

Here we are: