Jesse and the Rippers

I suppose that makes Noah and me the Rippers.

{Obligatory paragraph about how far behind I am.}

Fueled by Red Bull and beef jerky, Noah's brother Jesse braved the 8-hour midnight drive post-the-taking-of-boards to celebrate the 4th of July with us.

I appreciate this on several levels.

First, we love company. Second, it's especially sweet when the company is family. Third, I have MADE that drive and know how frustrating it can be when the last two hours are the last 20 miles. Fourth, Jesse left the beef jerky for Noah - so I can continue not buying the stuff and Noah can eat salty, dried meat like a real man.

The schedule consisted of a lot of the usual - walk through Central Park (and not just the trendy southern tip, we're talkin' the whole park), limeades at Grand Central Station, dinner from the halal food cart on 53rd, Van Gogh at the MoMA and chaotic lines at PathMark (visit, and you TOO can go grocery shopping with us).

I didn't take any pictures to prove we did anything but sit around the house on the 4th. But it was a thoroughly enjoyable day. I was so pumped that I had to start the day by purchasing flip flops (how did I make it to July without a pair?).

I like having Jesse around because he helps me feel like I'm not such a poser at hip concerts. We headed to Battery Park to see Jenny Lewis and Conor Oberst perform, and thanks to Jesse crankin' the tunes while I swept the kitchen that morning, I felt like I was already in the know.

From there, we hit the Staten Island Ferry in all her orange glory for a view of Lady Liberty, ate an all-American dinner of New York pizza and walked along the Hudson to catch the fireworks.

At dinner, I let Jesse in on a goal of mine. I'd love to bump into someone I know on the street sometime. Someone who doesn't know I'm here, someone I don't know is here - but not at church, that's a gimme.

Well, leave it to the uber-socialite to cross my goal off his list within 20 minutes. We get to the fireworks and as we're contemplating our freedom by wathing impressive displays of pyrotechnics, Jesse scans the crowd and says, "Hey, Kurt!"

Just a roommate from his undergraduate years. Haven't seen each other for one law program, one med program, two wives (one each) and a combined total of five kids later.

I need a new goal.