This past weekend, Janice and I hosted Damon F.P. and Carlo R., two friends of mine since high school. They arrived from New York’s Westchester County on Friday, 19 July 2013. Janice made chicken enchilada casserole for dinner.
After a pancake breakfast on Saturday, we went into town for sightseeing. We stopped by the Outside the Box festival on the Boston Common and at Government Center. We also browsed at Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market before a satisfying lunch at Cantina Italiana in the North End, Boston’s Little Italy.
Everyone was tired from the hot, humid weather, so we had gelato at Caffé Paradiso before heading back out to the suburbs (we avoided most of the crowds for the Yankees-Red Sox game). I showed the guys my office, and we had a salad dinner. We also touched base with other high school and college friends, including Steve M., Ron J.K., and Steve M.R.
It was great to chat about old times, relationships, politics and religion, and recent and upcoming genre entertainment. Carlo and I co-wrote The Zarkonian Bomb, a movie script, back in the early 1980s, so he was interested in the current “Vortex: Terra’s Pride” space opera game. Unfortunately, the guys didn’t get to meet any of the local role-players.
Speaking of genre entertainment, we watched the latest episodes of time-travel drama Continuum, the new and surprisingly strong animated Beware the Batman, and conspiracy show Zero Hour. Looking back, we rewatched Back to the Future and episodes of Star Trek: the Next Generation and Teen Titans. We didn’t get to the theater to see supernatural buddy-cop flick R.I.P.D.
On Sunday morning, Janice did her regular volunteering stint at the animal shelter. Damon and Carlo attended a Tridentine (Latin) mass at Mary Immaculate of Lourdes, a Roman Catholic Church in Newton. Janice made sloppy Joes for lunch, and the guys left at midafternoon.
After a year of no houseguests, we’re making up for lost time, with David I.S. & Sandra K., Byron V.O., and now Damon and Carlo! In two weeks, I’ll be seeing Stuart C.G., Ron, and Dave around the Boston Comic Con.
Gene's Worlds 
