Sometimes Surprises Come from Outa Nowhere

You know...after you know someone for 20 years, you think you've got it all covered. You've heard all his stories 50 times, and he's heard yours 100 times. You know exactly what he's going to order at Outback. You know his friends, and are friends with them too. You've travelled all over together. You've dated, broken up, dated, broken up, gotten engaged, and gotten married. You've been together through births. And deaths. You've owned pets and kids. And cars and houses. Solid, established ground, right?

But them WHAM! Out of nowhere your husband of 10 years does something completely wacko, and totally out of character.

This has happened once before, a long time back. There was this Halloween Costume Contest at a Hockey Game. The grand prize was an Air Hockey table. Sweet, eh? So - somehow - I convinced him to dress up like Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. I dressed up like Terri Irwin. And we went on the ice in front of 5,000 people. Not only did he dress up, but he acted it all out: we brought this huge blow up gator, and some brown cloth and some rope. When they called us, we threw the gator out onto the ice and jumped on it. Then we put the fabric over it's head and tied it up, all the while "wrestling" with it. It was a stellar performance, and we SOOOO should have won. Instead, some Star Trek Nerd dressed like a Klingon won. As my friend Lisa said "He pulled up to pick up the table in his custom-painted Star Trek Van. He probably dresses up like that EVERY weekend!"

The point here is that Bart would never do something like that. Me - absolutely. Him? Not so much. But he did it, and it surprised the hell out of me.

Fast forward 8 1/2 years or so. Mt dear friend "Tia" turned 40 last weekend. Bart and I were invited out to a huge party at a cool place called Cherry Pocket. It's a restaurant/bar/fishing camp/campground place. Very old Florida - very fun. Anyway, we were at this event for my friend, and the party was attended by mostly my friends. (Meaning mostly my girls, with a couple of husbands mixed in...) After the beer, and the air boat ride, and the Elvis show, and the SEC Championship game, and the appetizers (onion rings, fried grouper, fried catfish, fried gator, crab cakes, some sort of seared tuna, and peel and eat shrimps), more beer, then dinner (gumbo, raw oysters, garlic steamed oysters, the seafood boat, and the fried platter), we moved into the karaoke bar for karaoke and more drinking.

The beers turned to rum and cokes. The rum and cokes turned into shots. The karaoke got louder, and the bar started to empty out a bit. Now Tia LOVES karaoke, and she made everyone promise to sing. So after many many drinks, we all did. Mostly in groups. But then - here comes Bart. Next thing I know, he's up front, with a barrage of girls dancing behind him, singing Big & Rich's "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy." Not only does Bart HATE karaoke, but he's also not a big fan of Country music. But there he was. And as Tia's hubby Rod said "He didn't just sing it - he owned it!" He literally rocked out the bar! I about fell out! It's 3 days later and I STILL can't believe it! AND THEN...he got back up there with Tia and sang a duet version of The Dixie Chicks "Goodbye Earl." (He said - "It's Tia's birthday. If she wants me to sing, then I'll sing." Unbelievable.

Just when you think you know someone, they pull a whopper on you like that. Needless to say, my party-ass was so proud of my normally reserved hubby. Who'd have thunk it? Not me, and I know him better than anyone.

Oh - and if you ever get the chance to wear a tiara and carry a scepter - even if you have to steal it from the birthday girl - you should definitely do it. Very empowering...