The Blonde Pickup Didn’t Work But It Worked Out OK

The Blogger Didn’t Get His Waitress But He Got A Lifelong Friend

I never envisioned it turning out this way.

Had you told me that some 10 years after meeting The Blonde, I would still be involved with her, I would have told you we would be married, driving kids to grade school, attending soccer matches and spending our nights drinking wine in front of a fireplace.

Well, sometimes things don’t work out quite the way you envision them, but other things develop that you could never imagine. You just have to accept them for what they are and cherish the moments they present.

And that’s the situation with The Blonde.

I met her at my college football team’s game-watching bar. She was our waitress and we connected.

 

 

 

Now I know what every single guy is thinking, “yeah, I thought I connected with that waitress too,” but this was indeed the case. I’ll save the full story for later – we both find it rather amusing – but instead of dating we became fast friends.

Almost immediately, she introduced me to her circle of girlfriends, all of whom were (and still are, I must point out) not just hot, but hip and fun. One, Nyshia, is now my hairdresser. And a good friend. (Funny gal, that Nyshia. Very observant, too.)

In turn, I introduced The Blonde to my fun circle of friends, a few bars in Manhattan Beach, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, plus other events.  And Buccaneer Days on Catalina! (What’s Buccaneer Days in Catalina, you ask? Just click this link!)

 

 

But beyond all that, we have become lifelong friends. And beyond even that, I have become lifelong friends with her family, particularly her dad.

I met her dad while trying to pick up his daughter and he still likes me!

Actually, he did not know I was trying to pick up his daughter at the time. She had called him and tossed her phone at me and said “pretend you know me!” That obviously awkward moment for me turned into a blessing. Her dad is, as she described at the time, “the coolest dad EV-ER!”

Her dad and I have been to Jimmy Buffett concerts together – even traveling to Hawaii – and he lets me stay on his boat in Monterey Bay, CA. For that, I can never repay him.

He’s served as PubClub.com’s photographer at the Nightclub & Bar Trade Show in Las Vegas and, most recently, on a press trip I took to Carmel. Together, we have had many, many great memories, too many to even count. I consider Gary one of the best friends I’ve ever met in my life.

I’m such great friends with Gary, his wife Evie and The Blonde that they refer to me as the family pet.

And that’s not all.

Her dad plays drums in a TropRock band and as a result, I’m friends with the band’s leader, Eric Stone. With Eric, I’ve been to the Bahamas and the legendary Foxy’s in the British Virgin Islands for New Year’s Eve (the latter is a Bucket List item I’ve actually experienced!) and been sailing with him in Destin, FL. Eric lives in the Florida Keys and you can bet he’s going to be getting a certain visitor soon!

In my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined that one chance encounter – The Blonde was only filling in that Saturday at that bar – could lead to such rewarding riches.

Not the riches I imagined, mind you, but experiences and friends as a result that have enriched my life tremendously from the moment I met her to moments well beyond the moment I’m writing this blog.

Our relationship has certainly not developed the way I envisioned when I met her.  I had visions of two things: A quick fling that would be over within a couple of weeks or, more to my history of dating, something lasting three months. If I was lucky.

But, considering how things have turned out, I’m sure not complaining. In fact, I’m quite grateful.

Cheers!