The Perfect and "Wicked" Weekend

A little rain rolled through western Ohio last night, the first dent in the string of sunny days we have had for the past 4 days. Dent I say only because by sunrise, the sun had moved the clouds out, and we appear to be in for a couple more days of sun and above normal temperatures, before rain moves in(but the temps remain warm) by mid week.

The Reunion Weekend_____part 1

For the next few days, I will post photos, stories, and make comments, about the weekend just ended...a 48 hour period which saw plenty of old friendships renewed, and plenty of quality time spent with my wife of 33 years. The story of the Mini Reunion of Air Force Security police that served in Vietnam and Thailand, and the musical prequel to the "Wizard of Oz" called "Wicked".

Friday______

Patricia drove her van and I headed south towards Dayton in the Dodge....youngest son, Hal, had hit a table that had fallen out on I-675 sometime last week, and needed to borrow one of our vehicles while his gets body work and repairs done...so I gave up the Intrepid, and will use the Jeep Wrangler for the duration.

No traffic problems as we drove the 90 minutes to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and the Hope Hotel and Conference Center. Of the 45 of us that would attend this years event, at least 25 would spend the weekend at the Hope(named in honor and highlighted by a gallery of the legendary entertainer Bob Hope, a friend indeed to the American GI over his lifetime).

After checking in and getting settled in our room, Patricia and I headed down to "Packys" Sports Bar and Grill...Packys is also named after Bob Hope, it was nickname when he was boxing as an amature back in his Cleveland days....an experience that, by his unsuccessful work, that led him into Movies and Hollywood. Arriving ahead of us were Jack Smith and Roberta, and Denny and Angie Evans, who had flown in from Dallas, Texas. This year Dennis and Angie would win the "farthest traveled' award. David(who was stationed with me at Tan Son Nhut) and Brenda Ramey would arrive next, followed by the Phu Cat gang, and Wayne DeZarn and his family, along with our Reunion Photographer, Mike......by the time we retired for the night(early for us old folks) some 25 folks had arrived, with another group set to meet us at the Air Force Museum in the morning on Saturday.

Some of us had met before, but we also had quite a few newcomers as well. One of the highlights, in a crazy way, was 4 of the guys trying to finish off a complete appetiser of Nachos, Cheese, Sauce, and Jalapeno Peppers each one by themselves...a barging at $8, this thing could have fed a family of 4 for a week! Dave Ramey was the first to try to finish one, followed by Wayne DeZarn, and John Galinac, and one other guy....that brave victim's name escapes me at this moment....regardless nobody came close....Galinac did the best, he came close to finishing off about half the plate, but that was as good as it got. The photos speak for themselves.

All-in-all, The Hope was a quality place to spend a weekend, the rooms, while nothing fancy, were big enough and clean(the pillows sucked, they were too small and thin, but that is my only minor complaint)enough for all...the prices $69 to $74 a night were great, and Packys was the hit of the weekend as a place to meet. We ended up eating most of our meals there, and used it as a gathering place to wine, dine, and BS the weekend away. The Hope will probably be the site for us to stay come the regular big Reunion, scheduled at Dayton in October 2011....263 rooms, should be enough to hold us all., but that is a decision not made by me.

Saturday was the busy day of the weekend, especially for Patricia and I. In addition to the Museum gathering and tour, my wife and I had a date at the Off Broadway Musical "Wicked" on Saturday Night at a sold out Mead Center(2300 seats) at the Schuster in Downtown Dayton. I will blog about Saturday on tomorrow's posting.

Other Things_____

Did anybody catch the Academy Awards last night? Of course I didn't...but I saw where the lame assed anti American, anti Military, pro Islamic Terrorist film won 6 Oscars including winning Best Director, and the Best Picture Awards....2 words to Hollywierd "____ You"...nobody watches your tired ass Anti American films, like this piece of swill. The director did thank the troops in her acceptance speech, but the underlying theme was anti American, and like most other "winners" in Hollywood these days, nobody is seeing this film, it's playing to empty theaters.

In Sports___

Duke in the ACC and Ohio State in the Big Ten both clinched top seeds in their respective tournaments, leading into the March Madness of the NCAA Tournament.....Ohio State defeated Notre Dame 2 games to none in Hockey to move on to face Miami of Ohio, in CCHA Tournament action, top ranked Miami is led by Celina product Cory Reichert in Goal.

Tonight we finish up the "playing" portion of the Dartball Season with the Wabash Valley All Star Game at St. Johns....I'll be there along with JD, and Edison, representing the home team. Next Monday is the finish, as we have the league banquet.

Photos-(Some but not all, just the better ones, are from our Reunion photo guy, Mike)-The Vietnam Security Police Statue on the Grounds of the Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. Great Photo by Mike.... Early arrivals Dennis Evans from Texas and Jack "Old Cowboy" Smith from Columbus, BSing at Packys. Middletown, Ohio's Dave Ramey, a big guy himself, was no match for the plate of Nachos and "Stuff"....and a photo of John Galinac's plate before he dug in....and finally for today, the entrance of our weekend home, The Hope Hotel and Conference Center at the Base.

Tomorrow, more photos, and highlights of the Museum and "Wicked".....

Back Later>>>>>