My friend Goldenboy will be more than happy to tell you about the Birthday Curse of Luvviepuffaroo which took place on many a July 3rd over the earlier years of my life.
We've known each other since our mid-teens (or, as he always says, "around six years now, right?") and so he's actually witnessed some of the worst of my birthdays such as my then-boyfriend having an epileptic seizure on his way to my house (20th birthday), me trying to run away from home (18th birthday) and the one where we had a huge fight down on South Street Seaport (19th birthday). But our favorite cursed birthday will always remain my 22nd birthday. Who could forget it?
Goldenboy and I had gotten all decked out and hit our favorite nightspot, The Duplex. We were regulars back then, actually hitting the place around twice a week and participating in all the shtick that went on. (I'm sure there's new shtick that goes on now, but I haven't been there in ages, sad to say.)
Some favorites over the years: The commemoration of Diana Ross' rainy 1983 concert in Central Park consisting of an all-bar sing along of Ain't No Mountain High Enough while the bartender sprayed water into the air. Amy the waitress/lead singer doing Vikki Carr's It Must Be Him, Cher's Dark Lady, and in later years, the waiter (a/k/a Straight Boy from From Jersey) doing Elton John's Levon. It was in that tiny little space that I got my first taste of doing the "doot-doo, doot-doo"s on one side of the bar, as the other side of the bar sang "I got you babe". We were all one big stage show back then.
This is also where (and when) Goldenboy and I solidified our love of Steve and Eydie (Steve and Eydie!). Yes, I admit it: we both played tapes of them in our cars for many many years. (Still do, GB?) Where else but in the Eydie Gorme catalog would you be able to find the big, blousy broad song "What Did I Have That I Don't Have?" I'd have aged myself 3o years back then just to be able to sing that song with the same tonality that can only come with life experience, large quantities of scotch and a decent amount of time in the presence of Sinatra ...
It was on the night of my 22nd birthday that Goldenboy and I stumbled out of the Duplex (more drunk on cabaret itself than on beer) at a little after 2 a.m. and decided to have a sit-down on someone's stoop to keep the momentum going. We stared up into the night sky and began singing I like New York In June ... (yes, it was July, but we were giddy) ... when we were approached by two guys who came up to us so directly that we thought they lived in the building. We skootched to the side of the stoop to let them up but were met with a "gimme your money" and the revelation of a gun under the one guy's jacket. This is when Goldenboy gave his simultaneous translation of events to me ... a line which we repeat often and (trust me) which is now delivered with a lot more mirth than it was that night: "Oh Shit ... We're Being Mugged!"
Yes, indeed, we were being mugged. We didn't struggle, there was hardly a tussle, the non-gun wielding mugger even gently removed my watch from my wrist with all the care of a mother laying her toddler down to sleep. They took Goldenboy's wallet which (naturally, he's Goldenboy) he got back the next day. (I think he'd lost the same wallet 4 times and it always found its way back to him.)
Anyway, this was the birthday that broke the camel's back and Goldenboy vowed to never spend another cursed birthday with me again. You know, in a good way ...
For a few years I bought into the curse (my 25th involving a [never-told-me-he-was] married general manager of a pharmaceuticals company ... and an elaborate plan that devolved quickly into a brief encounter and a migraine headache ... I'll leave it at that) but then at 26 I went through a "hey, I'm in charge of my own life!" type revelation and decided the only person who could make my birthday curse keep rearing its ugly head was me. I've had really really great birthdays ever since.
When this year rolled around I knew I wanted to plan something special with Quibbit. It wasn't just a milestone birthday, but one of those that ended in 0 (or, you know, OH!) so I really wanted to have a great time. After getting engaged we'd originally made plans to visit a friend who lives in Washington State, spend some time with her family, then spend the big day in Vegas. Unfortunately, when Quibbit's mom got sick we abandoned our plans, deciding to put aside time to spend with her for her birthday which was just a few days after mine. Sadly, she passed away far too quickly.
As it often happens when someone dies, there's this huge reminder to live every day fully, celebrate every milestone grandly, and look on the bright side whenever possible. (Yes, I'm humming the tune from Spamalot, aren't you?) So in a last minute decision, and with the help of my family, Quibbit and I decided to spend my birthday in Atlantic City.
I hadn't been there in years, and even then, only once, and just for the day. So I was really looking forward to having a few days there to really take in the sites. Everything, from where we were staying to what we were doing was a surprise, so every moment was another delight.
Quibbit had gotten us a room at the Courtyard by Marriott, and the room was beautiful ...
... and was right near the Resorts Casino, and the Taj Mahal, both of which we could see from our room.
My Big Birthday morning began with Quibbit waking me with a song, and not one, not two, but three cards. They'd all been set up on the bureau during the night by him, and the cutest one was the flying piggie card, set next to the piggy bank I'd brought along for the trip. (I usually save up quarters in a retro little piggy bank to spend on slot machines. Slot machines don't take quarters anymore. Still, who couldn't smile when looking at a little retro piggy bank?)
We spent the day walking along the boardwalk, visiting the different casinos, playing the penny slot machines, with a little stop at the Tiffany & Co. store in Caesar's Palace where we went ahead and purchased our wedding bands (which we'd already picked out online).
Quibbit had made lunch reservations for us at the fabulous Cuba Libre restaurant in the Tropicana Hotel (the staff even put a candle in our little dessert -- prearranged by Quibbit) and then continued making our way to the other end of Atlantic City to Harrah's Casino where we took in a performance of The Wedding Singer.
Having never seen the movie I can't vouch for how true it is to the original plot, but I will throw in that I enjoyed it more for the 80s culture than anything else. (Yes I admit, while it wasn't my scene every weekend, and I was far from being anywhere near the Michael Alig crowd, I was definitely one of those who frequented Tunnel, The Palladium, and a few others that went quickly by the wayside.) Quibbit, who's own teen years were spent in his small Michigan town (population 3000) couldn't quite picture me as one of those high haired, neon and fish netted bustier wearing gals skipping around on the dance floor. But I was! Some times it amazes me how differently we grew up.
Quibbit, ever the romantic, squeezed my hand tightly during the song "I Wanna Grow Old with You" (I wanna make you smile whenever you're sad // Carry you around when your arthritis is bad // All I wanna do is grow old with you // I'll get your medicine when your tummy aches // Build you a fire if the furnace breaks .... So let me do the dishes in our kitchen sink // Put you to bed when you've had too much to drink // Oh I could be the man who grows old with you).
We ran outside after the show to see the fireworks (which, for some reason were going off on July 3rd) but we'd missed them by around 20 minutes. So we spent the rest of the night wandering around town till we made our way back to the hotel.
July 4th was a wonderful day too ... relaxing and fun, with just enough to do, but not too much to get done. We walked around 6 miles, from our hotel to the Absecon Lighthouse, then back to the hotel and on to Caesar's Palace with the obligatory stop at Fralinger's for Salt Water Taffy, fudge and other candies for my loved ones back home.
We headed back home on the 5th, full of sun, fun, and me ... with a new OH! at the end of my age. With so much change happening this year, it was nice to spend this milestone birthday happily, and to bring home a bag full of taffy and some great memories.
Even though The Birthday Curse of Luvviepuffaroo has long since been defeated, I'm always happy when I can add another stellar celebration to the plus side.
