Another week by the boards

Finished off the week Friday, when 2 old friend stopped by for a visit before they head to Florida for the winter.

Instead of Tom, Dick, and Harry, we had Tom, Dick, Ross, and me. Tom and Dick, me, and a few dozen others, used to be called the "Ho House Lounge" gang out at the Racquet Club south of Celina. The Racquet Club(now called something stupid, like Break Away Sheethole Rec Plex) was our hangout in the late 80s through the early part of the 2000s. Dick, Tom, Me, and the others spent way too much time in the bar there, and not enough in the weight room or exercise center...in my case, I spent 4 or 5 days a week, a couple hours a day lifting weights and working out, but "balanced" that out by spending 4 or 5 hours sitting on my arse in the bar, drinking Miller Lite. Now that was a balancing act.

The Racquet Club's bar, nicknamed, "the Ho House" by us, was a nightly meeting spot, where we ran up our bar bills, thus killing our future retirements, for a dozen or more years. The old gang is now spread far and wide. Few remained members, once a new management took over in 2002. They(the female managers) hated us, guess we were too loud, and drank too much...so they tried turning the bar into a Latte' and Muffin joint...that didn't work, but they did manage to get us to stop coming to the place....and Breakaway has never measured up. We are gone, but so is most of their business, and all of the fun. Patricia is still a member, as is Ross, Dick's son. Ross was a workout specialist from his high school days, and is still at it in his early 30s, and is a local lawyer as well.

Dick now lives in St. Petersburg most of the time. Tom gave up farming once his dad died and moved on this his first love...horses. He works with and trains, pacers and trotters, half the year in Florida, and the rest in the Midwest. Yesterday, as luck would have it, Tom was on his way up to visit before heading to Indiana to stay with his sister and her husband for a few days, he hit town just as Ross and Dick were to stop by for lunch and a beer. We headed out to the Moose for a few beers and sandwiches, then topped it off by hitting Smedley's Irish Pub for some Oktoberfest brews...lamenting about the past. All agreeing that being either retired or working jobs we loved, wasn't all that bad. It was a good get together, Dick heads back to Florida with his lady friend today, Tom will stop by to watch the Buckeyes take on Michigan State before heading to Indiana for a couple of days...then he will head to the Horse Farm near DeLand for the winter.

Thanks guys for stopping by, and thanks to Ross for being our Driver for the afternoon.

Enjoy the weekend all.....

back later>>>>>>>>>>>>

photo-Ross, Dick, Tom, and Me, looking better than we should after our "lunch".