Kokomo Vietnam Veterans Reunion part 4

Today is the official beginning of fall, and it appears that the week ahead will be a prelude to just that...today started out with rain showers overnight, and as I begin today's post it is cool, but humid outside....I'm almost ready to turn the A/C on just to get the moister out of the house.....thing look cool and somewhat wet for the remainder of the week.

No game tonight, back at it Thursday with a JH game at Delphos Jefferson....Saturday a football/baseball triple header, and Sunday Sam will return home and we will work a youth league double here in Celina.  Staying busy, and I can feel it in my legs and other areas, it's not easy getting old, and trying to stay active, but it sure beats the Hell out of sitting on one's backside for hours on end.

Kokomo part 4

I had planned on ending the Kokomo Reunion tour rehash today, but with the stories, and especially the photos, I think I will do one more day tomorrow, just to finish it up to my satisfaction.


Thursday Evening....

The group from the Boar's Nest and old and new friends headed out for the entertainment area late Thursday Afternoon...beer was mostly my drink of choice on this day.  After the hard stuff(which I seldom drink) I was back to my old habit of drinking lite beer along with some Sam Adams Autumn brews...I do however remember partaking in a sip or two of the other stuff along the way.  Accompanied by our new Afgan War buddy, Ian, and the old fighters from the Army and Marines during Vietnam, we spent the next few hours listening to the solo show of Russ Chandler, a retired Air Force Master Sgt...he entertained a few hundred folks for a couple hours, as we sat on golf carts and in lawn chairs....after that, as dark settled into the camping area, we moved to the entertainment stage area, and watched and listened to a mixed group of guys and girls called Lemon Wheel, perform songs and acts, mostly from the music of our era, but the ladies tossed in some Lady Ga-Ga as well...or as McCandless calls her, Lady Gag-Me. 

They performed for nearly four hours...but by this time, most of the gang, still feeling the effects of the night before, had headed off to bed.  That left me and Tom and a cooler of beers....we worked our way back to the camp on Tom's golf cart, stopping on occasion by a familiar group or two that had their bond fires going.  It was almost Midnight when we arrived back at the Boar's Nest, to discover that somebody had dressed "Sweetie Pie" in a outfit made for pimping(see yesterday)....we sat down with the guys from Bay City, and finished off the cooler of beers, before finally calling it a night sometime around 1:30 in the AM.


 Friday would be the official opening day of the Reunion, and I would remain for that and a few hours longer....but this would be my last night in camp...Friday and Saturday would beckon for the others, and there were bricks to be placed at the memorial, Ian Weiger would hand the flag flown in Afghanistan to Dollar Bill, the HCVVO Prez, and "Santa" and friends would make the rounds taking up donations for the Veterans Home....that part of the story, and photos will come on tomorrow's final segment...the reunion may be over, but those memories will be told again next year I am sure.


back later>>>>

Photos-One of the two VN Veterans who handle American Bald Eagles at the Reunion, the birds were a site to see, whether on their hand perch or flying during the opening ceremonies.  The late afternoon sun was setting as the entertainment on Thursday began...since I broke my good sunglasses on the golf course last week, I planted my "dorky" back up shades on my face to combat Sol.  One Thing about Tom McCandless, who has been at 26 of the 29 reunions, he knows just about everybody...whether it be HCVVO Board Membes, are grunts from the Army, Marines, or Navy retired or other career handlers from their Air Force days....Tom makes it easy to get around and make new friends, or find old ones....The final photo is a group of my pool playing buddies from Wednesday Night.....

More Photos and the Opening Ceremonies from Friday will be posted tomorrow.