[Trubmeisters] July Meeting Notes
Date: 2003-07-21 15:22

I didn't forget about you all.  I just been busy and on vacation.
Finally found a few minutes, so how about a short report on the July
Meeting.  Maybe meeting is a misnomer.  Then again, all our gatherings
are not really meetings!

I want to start by letting EVERYONE know this annual event is in
jeopardy of not happening next year.  Janet is disappointed in the turn
out.  She really wanted to have everyone there.  If interest does not
pick up, she said she wanted to have the "meeting" at their house in
Cedarburg next year instead.

If you are under the impression this is a "camping" trip, think again!
This is an opportunity to stay at a luxurious suite of rooms located on
a crystal clear sand bottom lake.  The amenities are overflowing, and so
is the beer.  You may think I am kidding (I do that every now and
again), but I am not.  This really is an indoor activity.  The cottage
is very beautiful and well maintained.  The water is very close, and
much better than any lake you find near where we all live.  The insect
population is no worse than Betty's back yard.

What I want to stress here is that you needn't be afraid to join in next
year.  Put it on your calendar.  It really isn't camping.  That part is
optional.  If you really want to camp, you can.  If you feel guilty
spending the night, I am sure Janet will take compensation for your
nights stay.  You can negotiate that with her.  Baby sitting George for
a few hours might be worth a dozen nights.  They have plenty of room.
If we get too big a crowd, our cottage is only 20 minutes away, and we
would be more than happy to give you an indoor place to sleep too.  One
last thing.  The plumbing is indoors, and the water is good too.  It is
just like being at home.  Join us next year and see how much fun it can
be.

Now on to the weekend ...

Friday night was gathering time.  We all met at the cottage and decided
to go out for supper.  There was some sausage and beer for appetizers
before we left.  We went to some Irish named place.  I told George to
get reservations, and he said they had plenty of room.  When we got
there, they said they would have a table ready in 15 minutes.  We had 7
people, and they only had a couple of tables big enough.  When they
called us to go eat, Janet let some other people go ahead.  So we ended
up waiting until 11 PM to eat.  Betty was shriveling up from starvation.
The wind almost carried her away just before we finally got nutrition.
This gave us a chance to catch up on old times and talk about Janet
while she was in the bathroom.  I would go into the detailed
conversation here, but since I found out she reads these, I can't.

We drank a few pints of beer and watched some people stumble out of the
place.  When it got too cold for the old women in our group, the men
followed them like dogs inside.  Shortly after we were seated.  George
made a few passes at the teenage waitress.  I guess she was used to that
by now.  By the end of the night we learned she was just young looking. 
She had kids and was lactating.  I have no idea why that is important to
mention, just that it explained the size of the material in question.

They served fish to most of us.  We all got some, but not what we
ordered.  Seems they were running out.  No one went hungry, and the food
was really good.  Then again, after starving for so long, boiled shoes
would have been satisfying.  ;-)  As usual, the conversation was a
little on the adult side.  I forget the exact topic, but there was a
family next to us, and the mother was laughing out loud at one point.
The kids had curious looks on their faces, and the Dad seemed more
disgusted than anything else.  Hopefully the kids learned a thing or
two.

We drove back to the cottage and George started a fire.  Everyone sat
around it for a while and we had a fireworks show.  Not as good as it
could have if Steve were there, but satisfactory.  I guess it was almost
midnight, and a neighbor came clopping down the street in flip flops
just as we did the finale.  She said she had kids who were trying to
sleep and asked us to be a little quieter.  So much nicer than the
Mequon neighbors who call the police first then try to ... Oops! I was
gonna say try to talk to you, but that would never happen in Mequon.
They just call the police and act like they don't know you.  We decided
it wasn't the kids who wanted to sleep.  It was her, and the kids were
just looking for any excuse to stay awake.

I can sympathize with her.  Our kids wanted to stay up and sleep in the
tree house in our back yard last night.  The impending thunder storm was
no deterrent either.  I have no idea when they finally came in, but my
youngest was wandering the halls about 3:00 AM this morning.  So, I
suspect it was about then that they finally came in.  I say let them
enjoy the summer.  Back to the weekend story.

I really didn't check what beers were on tap.  I mostly drank wine all
night.  Sorry, I can't go into the beer details like I should for a beer
meeting.  But the weekend was so much more than just beer.  George
decided to get rid of the evidence, and put the fireworks in the fire.
I have done this many times and had almost no problems.  I was positive
all of them went off, but must have been mistaken!  We were entertained
by seeing how fast Betty and Janet could jump when the last couple of
packs of gunpowder went off.  They patiently waited for about half an
hour in a very hot fire to do so.  I think they must have had a mind of
their own, and wanted the audience to be well rested and un-aware of the
impending doom.  No one was hurt, and we all laughed about it later.

Everyone finally went to bed, and Di and I drove to our cottage.
Tomorrow was another day, and all were planning on visiting our place.
We had our annual property owners picnic.  So after that was over, I
called George, and they drove up to our place.  I guess it was boat ride
time, so we waited a couple hours for them to do that back at G&J's and
then they all showed up.  We did the grand tour.  Our place is only one
floor, so it takes much less time than G&Js does.  We sat for a while
and laughed at the people landing and launching boats.  We are right
next to the launch.  One fellow was pretty bold.  He walked right out on
our pier to get in his boat.  That was pretty bold with me sitting there
staring at him.  :-(

Anyhow, we then went to Springwater for lunch.  The trip over was
delightful.  Only one short detour during the shortcut.  If you are not
aware, Waushara County has very few straight roads.  And they have 3-4
of each road with the same name that do not connect!  We did a little
exploring.  We got to see where G&J used to spend their summers too.
The food was buffet style pizza.  Someone ordered a sandwich and others
ordered a single pizza.  They wanted to take some home for breakfast.
We ate and had a couple drinks.  Walked to the waters edge and finally
went back to the Cottage.

Saturday evening was mostly spent indoors talking and telling stories.
Very comfortable and interesting topics.  I am going to tease you and
not tell what we talked about.  That way you will feel obligated to
attend next year.  Later on, Dan put a CD in with Christmas music on it.
A little ditty about some kid who farted on Santa's lap.  There was also
a song that went like this (sing to It Came Upon a Midnight Clear) I
came upon a road killed deer ...  Quite a few others also.  One was a
sad story about Mom and Pop waiting at home for their children and grand
kids.  Not all were Xmas related.  A seemingly favorite was Cows with
Guns!  You gotta hear it to understand.  I couldn't do it justice
quoting a few lines from it.

Finally it got very late, and Dan had already changed into his PJ's.
Everyone was mopping around pretty bad, and Betty was passed out on a
couch.  Did I mention they have 3 couches that make into beds?  Plenty
of room for overnight guests.  We all said good night, and Di and I
drove back to our place.  I was flying out of town Sunday on business,
so we didn't get a chance to see what happened that day.  But I am sure
breakfast was interesting.

Join us next year.  I am sure you will all love it.  A weekend away from
the smog and pollution will do you good.  

Next month will be at Jim and Sue's.  Is your new place ready?  They'll
let us know where we can all go I am sure.  ;-)  See you where ever that
happens to be.

A Good Beer To All, And To All A Good Beer!
                                          Jeff Kane