(Also posted on Kati’s moonlighting site, www.revelmama.wordpress.com.)
Only in New York. More specifically, only in Brooklyn. So I went to a semi-business meeting to follow up on an introduction that had been made a few weeks ago at the birthday party of a local entrepreneur, everything Brooklyn artisan ombudsman, founder of By Brooklyn, Gaia DiLoreto. We were basking in the cool glow of ice cream by our food company, Brooklyn Bell, when I was briefly introduced to one of the owners of an upcoming shuffleboard bar to be opening in the increasingly cool area of town known simply as Gowanus. When I floated the idea of an ice cream/shuffleboard marriage by him, I was surprised by his receptivity. That’s all I needed to know to be sure he was my kind of people. So we met last week, and I got a chance to check out the massive space that is slated to be home to the Royal Palms in the nearish future. I had Lil Bit in tow, since I kept her out of daycare to avoid passing her cold along to the other kids. Before we left the house, I let her pick three toys to take with us with the intention she could entertain herself while Jonathan and I talked some super serious shuffleboard/ice cream matters. She grabbed her long-handled (and loud) castanets, her small, fat red piano with four big plastic keys, and something else that was overshadowed by the two other toys. Earlier that morning, I indulged her request and let her watch Nick Jr. beyond the usual one-Dora-a-day. I found her enraptured with an episode of Bubble Guppies, which we don’t DVR and therefore don’t watch. But, watching tv aimlessly, you find out there’s more than just the favorite, regularly DVR’d shows (and that’s when life gets complicated).
Back to our visit — when I showed up at the future site of the Royal Palms and Jonathan saw kiddo in the back of the caravan, he told me excitedly that we would be meeting his partner, Ashley, who knew all about kids and music as well. Ashley rode with us to a nearby veggie drink place and we learned on the way that she is a/k/a Plucky Pea and head of the celebrated kids’ band The Jimmies. Not only that, but she stumbled into the gig from her voice-over work for kids’ TV shows, including one that we used to enjoy when we caught it in random, non-DVR’d moments – Jack’s Big Music Show. Among her plethora of other personas? None other than some of the Bubble Guppies (one episode is enough to catch ya but not enough to catch names). I still don’t know if Lil Bit understood when I seized the opportunity to explain a career not typically included in the first offered options of “what do you want to be when you grow up.” Didn’t matter so much, though. Our business meeting ended happily in an impromptu dance/jump sesh right there in the juice spot, and although Kiddo was more interested in the store’s swivel seats and leaning over me and under me and on me throughout the meeting than the intended distractions, I still got the chance to meet a jane of all trades (Plucky Pea herself) and learn about the marvelous plans underway for Brooklyn’s first and only shuffleboard parlor. And there will be ice cream!
@pluckypea
