This is NOT what I wore out to my belated birthday dinner with RQS. I was thinking of wearing this outfit until I realized that it's a pain to go for a bio-break when wearing a jumpsuit. But I figured that I would show you how I looked today when I met with a friend for dinner. The trouble with that plan is that her phone is an Apple phone, and they do their damnedest to make their products incompatible with Android and Windows equipment, so that Apple can lock people into their ecosystem. And I had to figure out how to get 3 pictures sent to me in text messages from an Apple phone copied onto my PC, then accessible by Google's web software.
The above is the dress I did wear to my belated birthday dinner. It is comfortable, and I felt pretty when we arrived at the Hudson House Inn for dinner. This restaurant is only a few short feet from the river, and is a wonderful place to have a nice romantic meal. But I digress.
RQS and I have been at this place a couple of times. First, it was for a Hudson Valley Restaurant Week dinner. Next, it was for a Thanksgiving dinner a year and a half ago. I am no stranger to this place, and would cheerfully eat here more often if my finances allowed for it. Both of us ordered the same main course, crab stuffed salmon - and loved it. It's hard to believe that one can get filled up with a smaller quantity of high quality food than a larger portion of lower quality food. (Too bad that I grew up on junk food, and have a lower class palate when eating on my own.)
Years ago, when I was dating CSN, we had considered this place for a wedding banquet. (I'm glad that I terminated that relationship, as it would have ended in a costly and messy divorce.) The Hudson House Inn may have seen its better days. But I can't complain about what it is now, as it is known for being an excellent restaurant with nice accommodations for people who might want to spend a romantic weekend in Cold Spring.
You might wonder why I broke up with CSN almost 40 years ago. The first thing was that she was one of those yuppies who wanted to get to the top, and would never have understood who I really was inside. (And this was way before I realized that I was transgender!) Next, CSN wasn't a humble person as I remember her, and she was extremely status conscious. (I, on the other hand, did not care about outward displays of status. The last thing I wanted to be was a pretentious asshole - even if I didn't recognize it yet.) In the end, it was a good learning experience for me, as I learned a little bit more about who I was and what I valued in life. I still was far from the person I am now. But I had started to find out....
Fast forward about 40 years, and I am still living in the same apartment I bought before I met my late wife. Her death taught me to appreciate people in the here and now, as they may not be around in the future when I "have time" for them. So, I try to show RQS how much I care for her whenever possible. Though it might have been a birthday dinner for me, it was a way of realizing that someone like me has undergone similar experiences and is trying to show how important I am to her.
