It was a humid Friday evening in June(*) that Gordon decided to meet a couple friends at an air conditioned watering hole in the financial district in Boston aptly named 'The Good Life' for a couple post-work libations before commuting home to South Boston. Plans similar to this had run their course many times before and nothing seemed new and exciting about this particular Friday until a group of unfamiliar faces settled into three vacant bar stools closest to the door. It was obvious to those who frequented TGL that these weren't 'regulars'. The energy about this group did not wreak of the usual.....'long week at the office' accompanied by a constant stream of co-worker complaints. Could it be this was just the beginning of a Friday night for these girls? (*July 17, 2015, but it was humid all the same. Editor notes will are added in parenthesis for accuracy and clarification)

Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the bar, Gordon and his compadres discussed possible landing places for the night. Everyone was anxious to change out of their sweat lined work clothes and get the weekend started. One quick shot before departing would be enough to endure the Boston public transit chaos. Fireball?? Yikes!! Luckily for Gordon, two things needed to happen before he could get on with his commute. The first, he had to walk past that group of new comers, giving him one more chance to catch some good vibes and a smile from the pretty girl in the faux frames. And second, his friends wanted to accompany that fireball shot with a cigarette before going their separate ways. (The aggressive not-yet-5o'clock somewhere shot was noted by the newcomers, who quoted "No surprise the shot gave those guys just enough gusto to wave through the window while leaving but not enough to stop and have a conversation". Clearly the group had been jaded by the awkward and unfruitful dating scene of that in the late 20/early 30s era, riddled with unpromising online swipes and rare 2nd dates. However, the conversation quickly turned to reminiscing the previous Halloween when the TGL DJ refused to play Wannabe although the group was dressed as Spice Girls, major miss. But none like the potential missed opportunity of connecting with the guys at the end of the bar.)

Once outside and before he could finish explaining his affinity for faux frame girl, Gordon found himself coaxed back into the bar for an introduction to 'Shana from Indiana'. (As fate would have it, one indeed had guts enough to have a conversation, enter foot into mouth) Quickly he saved her number into his phone as 'Shana Indiana'. And she saved his as......'Gordon Good Life', how do you like them apples?

Those potential Friday night landing spots were scrapped for wherever these new friends planned on going (even to uncharted territory, over the river and through the woods to the adventures of Somerville). The two groups agreed to meet at a bar, The Foundry on Elm in Davis Square and spent the night dancing by the bar. The girls taught the guys how to do 'the dance' which all seemed a little too forced and choreographed for Gordon. Anyone who has seen him dance knows that "impromptu & improvisational" are the two words which best describe his dance floor prowess. This color-outside-the-lines attitude irked Shana a bit as defacto ambassador of 'the dance'. How could 'the dance' live on in infamy if people weren't doing it right???? (Confirmed.Fact) Whether this was the root cause or not, the two spoke only sparingly over the course of the next month. (4 days until the next text).

Finally one Wednesday in July, (Tuesday July 21st), after receiving some fiercely skeptical text messages (ex. Where do you work? Who's going? Is there cell phone service there? All reasonably skeptical), Gordon convinced Shana to join him for a cookout on one of the Boston harbor islands with colleagues. (Everyone has seen a movie on Lifetime Television - she was not about to be the next main character. She required many Gordon Good Life details, strength in numbers with 4 other willing females, 2 bottles of pepper spray, a best friend's approval and a guaranteed return time of 11pm sharp in order to accept the offer). What Gordon failed to mention was that the only way to get to Rainsford Island was by boat AND that he didnt exactly own a boat. Rather, he had convinced a co-worker to take everyone out to the Island without much of a plan to get them home in time for Shana's proposed bed time. It was a Wednesday (Tuesday) night after all, how late could they be? Well....after a long evening consuming ice cold, delicious Coors lights and about a million games of Kan-jam, Shana and her friends were ready to depart the island. Gordon broke the news to the girls that he wasn't in any position to bring them home but offered to call them a water taxi. Well, the water taxi never came and Gordon got his first (maybe second) taste of a displeased Shana Indiana. (She unsuccessfully tried to uber and panicked. She's not a very strong swimmer)

Needless to say about another month went by (Close, it was August 25, 2015, 2 days after Gord epically celebrated his bday in style in Ptown and Shana returned from a bachelorette party in the Hamptons.) before Shana responded to Gordon's request for a date. (After all, he did get her and her friends home safely from Raip Island and she was wildly impressed by his Kanjam skills and charisma). No friends, fireball shots, lawn games or water taxis. Just dinner (and a bad-ass-one-girl-band performance.) The two agreed to meet at The Beehive and were ushered to a table overlooking the stage. Here they discovered mutual interest in food, music and just how comfortable it felt to be in one another's presence. They capped off the night by taking Gordon's self proclaimed purse pooch, Bernie, for a walk. Many dates ensued, quickly (which Shana uncharacteristically kept record of each on a used index card, noting scores of bowling, ski-ball and mario kart) and it didn't take long for both to realize they had found a life partner (which they're honored to declare publicly in the presence of some very important people on the 3rd anniversary of their first date...what a special day, thankfully someone was keeping track).