A Table For Four

One year ago yesterday, by the day of the week, we were in Newport, Rhode Island for the wedding rehearsal and dinner in honor of our niece Carrie and her then fiance Al. It was a lovely late summer evening, spent surrounded by family and friends over good food, with lots of laughter. Last night, we found ourselves in Newport once again, on a similarly balmy night. This time just a few wharves away from where the rehearsal dinner had been held. This time with friends from the other side of the globe; friends we had never met before. This time there was also good food and lots of laughter.

Morgan, of DancingMorganMouse, and her husband, the pseudonymous “Mr. Brown”, were traveling all the way from their home in Sydney, Australia to New York City. As part of the journey they scheduled a side trip to Newport where we made plans to meet for dinner. I am, at heart, a shy person. So imagine the butterflies I had in anticipation of meeting someone to whom I had felt virtually connected for just over two years, but with whom I had never spoken. The butterflies were completely unnecessary.

We met at The Mooring restaurant and were seated at a table on the deck looking out over the boats, as the sun was setting. A waiter named Rob, with the patience of a saint, took care of us all evening. Though as we were so busy talking it was quite difficult to get us to focus on the menu and make our selections. We began with the “Bag of Doughnuts” which are the sophisticated version of the classic Rhode Island clam cake. In this case it was a fritter made with lobster, crab and shrimp, with a chipotle maple aioli sauce on the side. They were scrumptious and the rest of the choices continued to clear the high bar set by the “doughnuts”.

So, yes, the food was fine, the Sauvignon Blanc chosen intuitively by Morgan for its name "Frog’s Leap”, was a great accompaniment, the view peaceful, but the best part was meeting two new people who felt like old friends. The conversation was wide ranging, never flagged and included topics one is advised against venturing into, such as politics and religion. But because Morgan and I have been reading about each others’ lives and sharing lots of that with Mr. Brown and Chuck, we already had well-established, solid, common ground.

I’ve written before about how finding intelligent, kind, well-intentioned, genuinely funny people all around the world via Pink Granite has been an extraordinary gift. Knowing such good folks are just a few keystrokes away has brought happiness and contentment into my life. Being able to meet Morgan and Mr. Brown face to face and share a long (How did 6:00 p.m. fly by to become midnight?), lovely evening together was even better than I could have imagined.

: : Update: Morgan has now posted her perceptions of their trip to Newport!