Easter With Todd

Monday, Apr. 12, 2004 - 8:11 a.m.

I spent Easter Sunday with Todd Thalimer.

Not that my in-laws aren't wonderful, which is where I'd originally been invited to go; every last one of them is awesome, and it's always fun to see their children again. But Todd did in fact make it down to his sister's house in San Jose for the holiday weekend, and really wanted to come up to San Francisco for the day for at least one of the days he was down here from Colorado.

Todd had been jonesing for a serving of clam chowder in a sourdough bowl, and consuming it at Pier 39. He'd been hoping to borrow a car from somebody down there so he'd be spared the time and trouble of jouncing around on public transit on a holiday, or had we chosen to do it the day after, on a Monday during the morning's commute.

So we went a couple of rounds and decided on a time and a day. We finally figured that there might be less people on the road at any other time on Easter Sunday in the morning; drivers either being in church for their semi-annual visit, or watching their kids look for eggs.

On Sunday morning, Todd very sensibly took the slightly longer but much more scenic and less-traveled Highway 280 up the peninsula; it was practically in front of his sister's place anyway, so it was easier for him. He'd managed to borrow her car.

Todd arrived in the city at around ten thirty. John had left to go to the in-laws' in Livermore less than five minutes earlier; we pondered the possibility of the two vehicles having passed one another going opposite directions. Todd couldn't find parking in our neighborhood, so instead of him stopping at the apartment first so he could see where I lived, I just ran down the stairs and jumped in the car.

It was good to see him; he had changed his hairstyle since last December, and there are some instances where a hairstyle subtracts years from a person's countenance, and this was one of those. Todd looked great. He wore his hair forward now, across his forehead. It emphasized his eyes, and suddenly he reminded me of Malcom McDowell as he appeared as H.G. Wells in the movie 'Time After Time'.

The traffic was mercifully light, and we managed to get to the Pier 39 garage and be parked and down the stairs and over on to the pier by just before eleven o'clock. We walked the length of the pier, found him some decent chowdah, and settled down out by the observation deck and watched and listened to the seals and sea lions while he ate. I did have a fingerful of chowder from his bowl, though, just because it smelled so wonderful, and I had been to that eatery before with JJ, so I know how delicious it was. The picture here was taken with my new cell phone.

We walked the length of the pier again, back the way we came, and at eleven thirty, John called from his folks, and said he'd take a picture of everybody so I could see them.

It turns out that Todd was also playing In-Law Hooky. He didn't know his sister's husband's family as well as he would have wanted to before going there for Easter, so instead he spent time with somebody he knew.

This suited me just fine. :-)

Eventually, we ran out of things we wanted to see over at the pier, so we got back to the car and headed back to my neighborhood. When we got here, we parked over at the Geary Mall garage, which is only three blocks and change away from my place, and walked through my neighborhood. Todd saw the gold oniondome Russian Orthodox church, and he also saw where I go to get my hair cut.

We got back to the apartment at around two in the afternoon; and spent the rest of our time there until John got home at five thirty. Todd walked around the apartment, finally seeing the pictures come to life, and orienting himself with what he'd seen in the past on the webcam. Todd even sat at my Yamaha synth keyboard and played, which was a genuine surprise. The music room at his house is currently in disarray, so he hadn't played for awhile. He was playing when John got home. We invited Todd to stay for dinner, and ordered from Yet Wah, which is something we hadn't done in a couple of months, and we watched "School Of Rock". Todd enjoyed it so much that I just went ahead and gave him the DVD, and promised John a trip back to Tar Zhay tonight to purchase a replacement.

I wrote a thank-you note to Todd's sister Jenna for letting us see him on Sunday, and assuring her that she was entitled to a retributory kidnapping when it was our turn to host him. :-)

Finally, just before nine, it was time to say goodbye. Todd and I walked back over to the garage, and he drove me back home. An embrace, many thank yous, and a kiss -- and then there he was, driving away.

I would have to say that this Easter Sunday was the best one I have had since reaching adulthood.

And I didn't even eat any chocolate.

---

what you missed - what's next - leave a note
first post - cast page - diaryrings - top ten

THE LEGAL STUFF: All content on this site that was created by me is copyright 2003-infinity by Brin Marie McLaughlin. Steal my stuff and I'll squash you like a bug. All incoming email or any other form of communication with me is subject to publication or other distribution by me in whole or in part at my sole discretion. This diary features the sole opinions and experiences of one person, namely me, the person who is paying for this space. In the interest of safety and accountability, no anonymous input will ever be allowed here, ever, for any reason in the entire history of ever. Whenever there is a comments section appearing in this diary, it's to be considered part of my paid presence on the web, and shall be used by my readership to supplement the things I have written here with relevant information in a polite manner. Comments that do not fall in that category are subject to deletion at my whim. Your visit to my diary along with your use of my comments section constitutes the understanding of this statement. Anything else on these pages including any comments belongs to whoever created it. All external links are current as of the date of the entry in which they are first featured, but at no other time. News excerpts used here are for educational purposes and are permitted under the Fair Use Doctrine. Hold hands when you cross the street, and play nice.