The Golden Age

 This relates to a running joke among my friends wherein I pointed out that once the second wave (although the first wave never subsided, truly, in this Trumpian hell we live in) of the pandemic hits in the fall we'll reflect back to something as simple as sitting on the deck of the St. John's Club as the Golden Age. It's taken on a life of its own and now we routinely refer to this as the Golden Age, with the appropriate degree of gallow's humor. 

However, even within this Golden Age, there have been truly golden moments. Last week a small crew of us (like a lot of folks during the pandemic, we tend to hang out in small clusters of folks who we trust, and even then we socially distance and wear masks as much as we can) us took the ferry over to Essex to grab dinner at a lovely little family restaurant called Chez Lin and Ray's Lakeside Dining. It is highly recommended. I don't know if it's a hundred yards removed from where you get off the ferry (you take a quick left). It has the requisite lovely view of the lake and the food was wonderful. And, truthfully, considering the appetizers (including escargot), rich meals (appropriately European sized), bottles of wines, port and desserts, I thought it was very affordable. We'll definitely be back before the Golden Age ends.

The crew, catching the ferry at Charlotte.

Truthfully, the ferry tide alone would have made the trip worthwhile. Essex, New York in the distance.

And here we are. It's a little family-owned place. Marcelle knew the son and this is what led us here in the first place.

Debbie checking her phone and Sandy mid-story.

Kevin amused at me taking another picture and Marcelle providing jazz hands.

Crab cake ravioli. Quite delicious.

The trip back, with the boys being mischievous.

Marcelle and I discussing Milan Kundera's The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, which I had recently suggested to her.

This seems like an appropriate metaphor for 2020.

Pulling back into Charlotte. My friend Cyndi is wont to opine that I value friendship more than anyone she knows. I don't know if that's true, but I do cherish them, especially now during the Great Isolation.