Feeling My Age

When I think about it really hard it comes to me that perhaps the last time I went to a live Capitals' Hockey game was back in the old Capital Center! Now, after a little bit of research it turns out that the Capital Center, became the USAir Arena in 1993, then the US Airways Arena, before taking back the original name, The Capital Center, and then closing in 1997. I think the last time I went to a Capitals' game was before any of the name changes, and before I graduated high school which, oddly enough, occurred at the Capital Center. (At the time all of Prince George's High Schools used the Center for their graduations.) So it has been awhile since seeing the Capitals play live hockey.

This Thursday a coworker of mine handed me 4 tickets to a NHL Game: The Washington Capitals vs The Tampa Bay Lightning! I was excited. I went to the game with an odd assortment of my friends, old and new, and got ready to Rock The Red! We had Amazing Seats! It was an Amazing Game! We won 6-3, Semin got a hat trick, and I rediscovered my enjoyment of live ice hockey - sometimes I have a hard time following it on TV. Let's Go Caps!

Fast forward one afternoon and I go out for a quick bite to eat after work with some friends. I bring along the ticket stubs from Thursday's hockey game because they entitle us to free wings since the Caps scored over 5 goals. We order a few beers and the waitress asks to see identification. We all reach for our wallets and she turns to me and says, 'Oh, not you. You're fine.'

Ouch!

That stung a little. Actually, it was okay but then my coworkers, two really nice guys who happen to be over a decade younger than me start busting my balls about being old. It happens from time to time. A song will come on the radio when we're driving to work and I'll comment on how it reminds me of high school or college and they'll reveal that they were in elementary school when the song was popular. It's happened on numerous occasions.

Anyway, we enjoy a fun meal, pay the bill with the free wings cleared from the check, and head on our way. The host asks, 'How was everything?' I then make the mistake of telling the guy that this particular restaurant, located in my hometown, was the sight of one of my first jobs. Back then it was a Bob's Big Boys and I hosted there my Senior Year of high school. The restaurant then became a Shoney's and I waited tables there before heading off to college. The host gave me a queer look and tells me that this restaurant's been there for years, and before that it was a Boston Market. The host even suggest that I might be mistaken. I tell him that it was back in the early 90s when I worked there and the little jack ass laughs and says, 'Oh, well I wasn't even born until 91 so no wonder I don't remember that.'

So, in summation - I enjoy Capitals' Hockey, even though I hadn't seen them live since before they moved to the Verizon Center, and changed their color scheme twice. I had a good time hanging out with my friends at the game, and then again at a restaurant on Friday night even though 2 of the eatery's employees gave me the verbal equivalent of a quick kick to the nuts, and I might be realizing that the mid 30's are a little surprising to suddenly find myself in... I'm 35. Wow.