Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

The Gryphon and I had a busy weekend, as we'd been invited to a couple events on Saturday. Saturday morning, he made us egg white omelets at home. Since we were going to two different parties that day, we wanted a light breakfast.

Our first event was a retirement party for his two bosses. They co-founded his company, grew closer over the years and eventually married each other! Within the last year, they sold the company to another firm because they wanted to retire. They've stayed on through the transition to ensure things worked smoothly.

They held a party at their home to celebrate their retirement. Their home is a really nice place in Villanova, which they're renting. I don't know architecture well enough to describe the outside, but on the inside they had an eclectic decorating scheme with an overarching Southwestern feel. The walls were all off-white with framed art prints, and they had colorful, southwestern carpets and light wood.

We were greeted by the hostess, who was wear a black pantsuit. The host took our coats. He was wearing a chocolate brown button-down shirt and dress pants. A number of coworkers were already there, dressed up in nice slacks or skirts, button-down shirts or sweaters for the men.

I fit right in with my outfit, a chocolate brown blouse with an A-line, knee-length skirt in deep greens, gold and brown. I paired the outfit with some brown boots that came almost to my knee. This, I've discovered, is a nice way to continue to wear knee-length skirts even when it gets cool. The Gryphon was wearing gray slacks, black shoes and this awesome paisley shirt I just got him. It's in earthtones and looks really nice with his hair and eyes.

So I was glad I hadn't taken The Gryphon's initial suggestion. Since we were going straight from there to a Halloween party, and because my beatnik costume isn't too outrageous, he told me I could wear it to the first party, too. I'm glad I decided not to; I would have felt very out of place.

The hostess led us right to the table where they had wine and beer. I had a glass of red wine and then walked into the dining room area, where they had tables set up with a wonderful selection of catered food. I selected a plate full of fruit and a couple pieces of cheese.

We knew that later on we'd be going to a typical Halloween party, where there was guaranteed to be some sweet stuff. So I filled up on healthy foods at the first event. After the fruit was a plate of vegetables (no dressing), and then some bean salad. Although I will admit, I tried a couple of the appetizers, such as mini crab cakes and brie, and I did have a mini pastry and a few chocolate covered cherries.

The Gryphon and I mingled with his friends from work. He introduced me to everyone. The women, of course, were all very interested in seeing my engagement ring. A number of them commented they never saw me around the office any more. I explained that my schedule has changed since The Gryphon and I started dating, so it's no longer possible to meet him for lunch.

We spent a lot of time talking to The Gryphon's assistant in the IT department. He's a young guy, probably in his late 20s. He'd brought his wife with him, who's an attractive young woman also in her 20s. They just got married last summer and are expecting a child. He has a three-year-old son, as well, who I've heard has a great sense of humor.

Our conversation turned to teaching, because the wife is a special education teacher in the Philadelphia school system, and the assistant has also worked in the Philadelphia schools, as has The Gryphon, who was once a chemistry teacher. While I didn't have teaching experience on the grade school or secondary school level, I have taught at the college level, while I was a grad student. So we had some great discussions about the problems in today's schools and what should be done to fix it.

I can see why The Gryphon is so happy with the assistant's work. He seems like a really bright guy who I imagine would be easy to work with. The two of them come from New York City and were joking that their only point of disagreement is that one of them likes the Mets and one likes the Yankees.

Incidentally, she was also wearing a knee-length dress with boots. Her dress, however, was more form fitting, since she has a slim figure where that sort of dress works.

Then we drifted around and mingled with other coworkers. I talked for a while to a group of female coworkers who oohed and ahhed over the ring. One of them was telling me, though, how she'd sold back her wedding ring when she got divorced. "You don't get very much for it," she warned.

That's OK. I don't expect that to be an issue. I've made enough relationship missteps in my life to be able to recognize a good thing when I find it.

At one point, we got into an amusing conversation with the hostess. She told me that it's a good thing that The Gryphon wasn't involved with me when he first came to work there, because he never took a vacation day then and didn't have an assistant!

The hostess also said that he was a nice guy before but he's even nicer now that he's with me. I told her I'd changed for the better, too, and that I thought it was a sign of a good relationship when you bring out the best in each other. She also said that when he got his hair cut recently, she thought he looked like a movie star! I have to agree that the new cut is very flattering on him.

I spent some time wondering around, looking at the artwork. They had some really interesting items: everything from Japanese paper art, to a signed photograph of Muhammad Ali, to a signed cell from a "Garfield" cartoon, to an intricate hand-drawn piece with calligraphy of Shakespeare quotes. I can see why The Gryphon liked working for them; they seem wide-ranging in their tastes and are probably very open-minded, easygoing people. That jives with the way The Gryphon talks about them, too.

Near a book shelf in the living room was a composite photo of vintage signs from Las Vegas hotels and nightclubs. It's called "Lost Vegas", and the host was telling us, "That's what Vegas looked like when I first started going there."

One of The Gryphon's coworkers said, "You realize you're dating yourself." He said he didn't care. He was also telling us stories about how he went to high school with Joe Namath and was on the football team with him. He's a real sports fans, so he got into some sports talk with some of the male coworkers. They were suitably impressed with the Joe Namath connection.

We stayed for about two and a half to three hours and then started saying our good-byes to people. The host and hostess thanked us for coming, and the host got our coats. On the way out the door, I was admiring their living room and saw a familiar looking glass sculpture in a protective case.

"Is that a Chihuli," I asked the host. He said it was and told me about how they'd bought it while traveling on an impulse. I'm familiar with Dale Chihuli's work through a museum where I worked when I first moved to Philadelphia. Turns out the host knew the museum director but hadn't seen him for about 15 years.

We thanked him again on our way out the door and were greeted by a bright fall day. The sky was clear and blue, the leaves brilliant reds and yellows. I was glad to be outside to enjoy it while it lasted.

Copyright 2006 by Alyce Wilson

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