Beyond the Shadowbox of a Doubt

I woke a couple times chilly and blindly seeking covers. That satiated, I returned to sleep until approximately 8am. And honestly, I was still a little tired but really wanted to get moving. Mindy didn’t budge as I slipped out of the room.

After starting some coffee I took 3 Advil, which was just before starting/doing calisthenics. By the time sit-ups and push-ups were done I was feeling much more eager and awake. But what really had me excited was that the sun was shining, something we hadn’t had much of lately. So instead of readying for a run, I decided to take a little time to walk the yard with my camera in tow.

Took 20-25 photos, and a handful of those were macros of monarchs playing on our purple butterfly bush. Headed inside around 930am where I promptly prepared and left for my run. I was eager to run in full sunshine. I wore long running pants with a short sleeved wicking shirt. That proved just about right. I was comfortable through out the three mile run.

Mindy was still sleeping when I got back home, which is pretty much what I expected. There’s no denying that my wife likes to sleep in on the weekends. Meanwhile, the entire subdivision was hosting a neighborhood garage sale, something that happens twice annually, and usually once around Memorial Day and then again right around my birthday. What I found most surprising was how many homeowners were selling framed art work, but only unfortunately stuff you might expect to find at Kmart. J

Mindy finally was up and about shortly after I got back from my run. She planned to be at Bella’s gymnastics show around 1130am and then at Jacob’s soccer game right after that. She then planned to meet her bff Teri for lunch immediately after soccer. Didn’t anticipate being home until 4-430pm, or just before we needed to leave for the Shadowbox Theatre.

Me, I planned to take care of the lawn having not mowed for 13 days on account of all the rain. Lucky for me it hadn’t grown all that fast over that time span, although I still planned to set the mower blade about as high as it would go. Before heading out to mow I moved the Accord to the curb then put the Pilot in the middle of the drive leaving myself plenty of room to maneuver the mower, whack, and edge.

Kenny, I noticed, was already out mowing his lawn. Unlike most other mowing days this summer, at least this one wasn’t scorchingly hot.  I chose to remain in my running attire through the entire mowing. I did the front first. Once I got around back I stopped long enough to go after my camera after spotting two or three monarchs on the butterfly bush again. This time I got a couple really good macros.

I finished up the lawn work by about 1145am and then headed inside to catch the start of the Buckeye game. But not wanting to sit idly by, I decided to repaint the inside of both the deck and garage entrance doors while also watching football. They hadn’t received a fresh coat of paint since 2001.

The Buckeyes looked sharp on their opening drive, picking up right where they left off the week before. However, Toledo made sure that it wasn’t just another ho-hum game. They made a game of it and actually had the lead for most of the first half and then again in the 3^rd quarter. I’m glad I had a project and house chores to keep me occupied during the game. In fact, I tinkered with the thought of trotting down to Kenny’s to watch with him but given that it was nip and tuck, I thought better of it.

In the end, the Buckeyes narrowly escaped an embarrassing loss as Toledo’s 4th & goal from our 15 yard line came up short, thus the game ended in our favor. We won 27-22. Lots of stuff to fix/work on.

After the game I headed up for a shower. By then it was almost 330pm. And by the time I got a shower and vacuumed the family room it was after 4pm. I was expecting Mindy home anytime.

I’m thinking it was just after 430 when she finally got home. She showered earlier so she only needed to change and apply make-up before we left for the CBC and the Shadowbox. Kenny recommended we take a cab that way we could get as crazy as we liked. Mindy took his advice and booked a cab to pick us up at 515pm. Tommy planned to meet us at CBC around 530pm. Tom Clark was going to join us too, but canceled Saturday afternoon. I thought he might do that.

Mindy and I walked Eiknarf around 5pm, and the neighbors were down a few minutes later. The cab pulled up right on time. I don’t know that I’ve taken a Yellow cab ever here in Ohio. There were four of us. Chrissy opted to sit up front while Kenny, Mindy and I piled in the back. Our driver was from West Africa, and I believe his name was something like Bama Cabbah. Chrissy engaged him in conversation through the entire trip.

Tommy was standing, waiting out front of CBC when we pulled up. We got out of the cab while Mindy settled the tab, trying to use her credit card. Tried at least three times but to no avail. Reminded me of my NYC cabbie experience. She ended up paying with cash. On his way out of CBC was none other than Ron Pizutti. Kenny joked about us standing in front of his Mercedes. Ron joked that we could either move or buy it. His wife Anne wasn’t with him. I found it a bit ironic that we met her there last week, and now he’s was there this week.

There were plenty of stools, so we opted to take up refuge at the bar. In fact, we sat in the same stools as the week before, only this time taking up a total of five. I sampled their new October Fest offering. Typical Octoberfest styling. I ended up ordering one. Kenny & Chrissy ordered Corona’s. Tommy ordered their flagship Pale Ale, and Mindy went with a glass of wine.

Our server, Aaron brought us a basket of bread too. We didn’t have a ton of time, so we ordered food fairly quickly. I ordered wings, and Mindy ordered their salmon. Kenny ordered a shaved roast beef sandwich while Chrissy only a salad but topped with chicken. Tommy went with the turkey pastrami.

Everybody’s food looked good.  I eventually ordered a 2^nd beer, only this time a Hogscraper, their September Hop Odyssey entrant, a hopped up amber ale. It was good. It was 635pm when Mindy said we needed to scoot. Needed to be at the Shadowbox to secure our reservations. They won’t hold ‘em if you’re not there to by 715pm. We wanted to get there with plenty of time spare, and did just that. It’s just up the street on the corner of Liberty and Front St, an ideal location from my perspective. What’s more, there’s a new bar going in right next door to the new Shadowbox on Front St called the World of Beers. They’ll be serving over 500 different beers with 55 taps running at any given time. Set to open in October. Now we’re talking!

The Shadowbox was fun and interesting from the outset. The performers are also the same folks taking tickets, making reservations, and then showing you to your seats. Not only that, but they’re also the ones who take and bring your food and drink orders. Our server/performer was Edelyn. She reminded me of the late Gilda Radnor. They, of course, are very animated about everything they say and do, I am sure by design, in their attempt to make it fun, enjoyable experience. Edelyn quickly announced to the already gathered crowd that she had a table full of virgins and a birthday boy - me. The other performers were taking care of the many other tables and did pretty much the same thing. That’s perhaps the only part I found corny. I mean after about 5 or 6 times, the whole table full of virgins thing got old.

But we were determined to have a blast. We had fun with the performers who interacted with us. To get started, we order 2 buckets of beer: 7 Amstel’s for Kenny, 4 Sam Adams for me, and 3 Corona’s for Chrissy. Tommy and Mindy planned to share a bottle of wine, a cabernet. We ordered a big bucket of buttered popcorn, too. Tommy & Kenny each donated $20 to help bring the youth in next year for theatre exposure – a notable and worthy cause. 

The show started just after 730pm. Just as they explained, there was a mix of music and sketch comedy. And once again, the Shadowbox performers did it all, both the music and comedic acting. And perhaps more importantly, they excelled at both. The musicians were better than good. However, the vocals might’ve been a tad lacking. I’ll tell you this much, they did a rendition of Frankenstein that was outta the park good. Awesome!

The comedy didn’t disappoint either. They left us in stitches leading up to intermission, where I ordered a couple more beers. The second half the show was at least as good as the first, and perhaps even better – funnier. The skit they did of elementary kids doing the Wizard of Oz was spot on funny. The show ended around 10pm. And while a second show started at 1030pm, we didn’t feel pushed out. We checked out the gift shop and Bistro. Mindy bought herself, Chrissy, and me t-shirts.

I think we were all buzzed, especially Chrissy. Mindy walked far ahead back to CBC just as we had planned to do all along. Tommy, Kenny, Chrissy and I followed somewhat far behind.

Mindy was already sitting at the bar sipping wine when we got back. Aaron immediately made good on his earlier promise of a free dessert in honor of my birthday – keylime pie. He brought it with a candle in it too. I ordered a regular IPA. I met an IT guy who was sitting across the bar. He ended up coming over and joining us. He might’ve been the only other patron at the bar. It was after 11pm, there stated closing time. They encouraged us not to rush, however. By then, Kenny & Chrissy were gone. They begged out soon after we got back and settled. Chrissy was done. Kenny called a cab to come get them. Meanwhile, Tommy offered to cab us home, having stopped drinking much earlier.

I’m thinking it was 1145pm when we finally called it a night and headed for home. Mindy and I walked Eiknarf as soon as Tommy dropped us at the house. Thanks Tommy, and Thanks Shadowbox. A good time was had by all! Coming soon – Rocky Horror Picture Show.