Single refill in diner and a bus person that was all over that shit. World’s dullest ice skates and an uninterested rink attendant.

I drove to Albany to visit Pat and Clara who are always kind hosts to me. For instance, the restaurant we hit for lunch had a single refill policy and both ceded theirs to me. After lunch, Clara and I went ice skating and she cringed at my skate application method. Apparently, cocking your ankle at a 45° angle and then slamming down with the weight of your body to get a skate on isn’t proper form. Clara and I were 50% of the rinks occupants and the counter person appeared to be on Valium but we had a grand time sliding sideways on skates last sharpened during the Reagan administration.

That evening after an episode of Top Gear Clara and I retracted the recliner portions of our respective section of the sofa at the same time and for a moment we each saw that we had our legs sticking straight out. We locked eyes, I narrowed mine, she narrowed hers, and a game of “who can hold their legs out the longest” began. Clara is a leggy gal and I don’t know if that helped or hindered her. I do distance running and my quadraceps are the size of tree trunks and I don’t know if that helped or hindered me. Pat got bored and started doing things like putting cat treats at the end of Clara’s feet and having his cat walk out to get them. Pat then upped the stakes:

Pat: Who wants ice cream?
Clara: I do.
Me: I guess you’ll just have to put your legs down and go get some.
Clara: Never, honey would you pick me up some ice cream when you go out?
Pat: Not this time.
Clara: Damn. Shall we call it a draw? How long has it been?
Me: About 30 minutes.
Clara: Ok, on 3. 1 – 2 -3 *we both drop our legs* Good job, Terry, but realize that tomorrow I’ll be able to walk.