Shrimp with a View

"It's not black tie," Margy said when she and I accepted an invitation to a swanky dinner at the New York Athletic Club.

Then why were all the men wearing tuxedos?

I bought a tux for our wedding, and I am always looking for an excuse to wear it. (Anybody need a waiter?) Of course, I can't really button the pants anymore, but I am willing to go an evening without breathing if it means I'm getting my money's worth out of the monkey suit.

Alas, that would have to wait for another time. But it's okay. I wasn't the only guy in the place in a blue blazer.

The event was fun. The huge rooms overlooked Central Park, and we got to hear great speeches and Cambodian folk music played by a father and his preteen son and daughter. (Good drummer, that kid.) Dinner was shrimp with soba noodles followed by chicken with baby bok choy. All that was missing was a swing band and a dance floor -- and my tux.