Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Attila the Pun

A friend of mine, Attila the Pun, turned 35 recently, so he held a party Sunday at Hibachi at Penn's Landing. His wife, who was also his high school sweetheart, had recently celebrated her 34th birthday, and their 10th wedding anniversary is coming up.

The Gryphon knew where the restaurant was, since it's in the Dave and Buster's complex at Penn's Landing. But I'd never been there before, and he'd never been inside. We were very impressed with the place.

It was a classy, modern Asian interior design: lots of red, natural woods, with black accents and a rock garden and water features. The best feature was the many large windows overlooking the Delaware River.

The room where the party was held was set up for about 70 people, although there was a folding wall in the back, so it could expand to hold even more. It was a corner, so we could look both across and down the river.

The Ben Franklin Bridge

There was a dance floor section, which the many children attending used to play. Some tables were set up containing a cake as well as some photos of Attila and his wife, including a poster which I'd seen hung on their son's door, containing pictures of both of them from childhood to the birth of their son about five years ago.

While he's flirted with standup comedy and is currently finishing a humor book, Attila makes his living working for the state government. His wife is an artist who does art therapy for special needs children. So we gave her a gift certificate to an arts supply store, and for him we bought the latest Eric Idle book, The Greedy Bastard Diaries, which chronicles his tour by the same name.

I took Attila aside at one point, and without telling him what we'd bought him, told him that if he'd already bought it he should let me know and I'd get him something else.

Also on the tables were plastic tubs of art supplies to entertain the children. Play-Do, paper and crayons were at all the tables. I joked with The Gryphon that you couldn't tell, upon entering, whether it was a birthday party for a child or an adult.

We didn't know any of the guests, many of whom are people Attila and his wife befriended since college and some of whom they know through their son's play group. We sat at a table with a family who knew them that way, through their 5-year-old daughter.

Everyone was invited to go to the restaurant's brunch buffet and get what they desired. I had to try a freshly made chocolate chip pancake, along with a miniature eclair and some fruit. Then I went back and got a plate of sushi. Yum!

We talked to the family seated at our table. The husband is a lawyer specializing in business law; the wife handles advertising for a magazine for the disabled.

The lawyer was funny; he kept asking me questions about myself, such as how I knew Attila, where I came from, what I do. But there were a lot of follow-up questions, too, and I began to feel like I was being cross-examined. He joked about how he was interrogating me.

The advertiser was much quieter and deferred to her husband when he spoke. There were times he cut her off without realizing it, much like my family is in the habit of doing. She seemed to be used to it.

We also found out some things about them. Both of them are happy to be working in the suburbs rather than the city. The lawyer, who had done both, said he was happy not to have to wear a suit every day. In fact, he usually goes to work in jeans unless he's appearing in court.

The advertiser also praised the virtues of a shorter commute, which led to a discussion about environmental issues. She had just seen Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth, and said she was being more conscious about conserving energy.

Their children were very well behaved. The little girl just played with Play-Do.

The son, who was about 10 or 11, sat quietly and listened to the adults. Sometimes, he grew interested in the conversation and jumped in to ask his mom questions. He had clearly learned this from his dad. I thought it was a healthy habit for a child, because he knows he can always ask questions. Instead of chastising him for it, they do their best to give him answers.

The littler kids got rambunctious after they ate, running around and playing with toys. Also, shrieking. You could tell the parents, because they didn't respond to the piercing noises. The Gryphon and I, however, would wince.

Attila and his wife made the rounds of the tables, greeting people and talking to them. His wife took pictures of everybody who was there. She also took one of us with my camera, by request.

I returned the favor, snapping a shot of them both on my own and on their camera.

Much like a celebrity, Attila was autographing and handing out head shots which he'd had taken several years ago when he was doing standup. On mine (see top of page), he wrote, "Alyce, I don't like Spam!"

Shortly before they served the cake, Attila took a microphone and gave a big announcement: they're expecting a child. They hope to find out soon what gender.

Then he sang a song he'd written for the occasion. He'd changed the lyrics from "Cat's Cradle" and turned it into a song about his life. I captured a small segment of it with my digital camera, which can record short video clips. Unfortunately, I had the camera turned the wrong way for part of it, not realizing that the video will only ever be horizontal. Me, with my bachelor's degree in Broadcast/Cable (Video)!

The kids help Attila blow out the candles.

After the cake was served, it was nearing 2 p.m., which was about when the party was supposed to end. We said our good-byes and were about halfway to the parking lot when I remembered I was going to ask Attila to do some music reviews for Wild Violet. He used to write for my feature radio show, Caverns of Your Mind, on WPSU at Penn State.

I suggested the idea, and he was open to it, so I went to the car and grabbed the stack of CDs I'd been sent for review. He picked two of them out. I told him that they only have to be about 250 words and he gets to keep the album.

"They can be funny," The Gryphon added.

Attila smiled. He seemed to like that idea. Can't wait to read what he comes up with.

Copyright 2006 by Alyce Wilson

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