The first year I lived in Calgary, a friend from Ontario visited me during the Calgary Stampede. On the Tuesday night, he and I along with a friend/coworker went to Boston Pizza to watch the MLB All-star game. It was a good evening, chatting, catching part of the game as well.

The coworker and I continued the tradition and went out again a year later, back to Boston Pizza and watched the game.

She left BDO where we worked, but we remained friends and we have continued the tradition of meeting on the evening of the all-star game and going to Boston Pizza.

Last night was the 10th annual dinner, again, at Boston Pizza. We enjoy meeting and catching up. We chat occasionally on Facebook, maybe 2 or 3 times a year, although one of those conversations is always confirming dinner.

This year, I made a mini getaway out of it. I arrived in Calgary Monday afternoon and stayed over for 2 nights. I umpired a baseball game for the Babe Ruth league on Monday and I umpire another this evening. I will then head home. It’ll be a long day, the game won’t be over until 930 or so, I’ll get on the road for 10ish which means getting to the Pass by 1230.

It’s been a great few days, highlighted by dinner last evening. I hope the tradition remains for many years to come. We’ve joked that I’ll be 104 and ER will be 97 and we’ll still be at Boston Pizza. That would be sorta cool.