A confession: I love planning, posting, and hosting Paloozas, but I get tongue-tied when trying to write about them afterwards.Having said that, this party was a total blast.
Rantapalooza IV was hatched a couple months ago, when trailing wife wrote to me with her family's travel plans that included a stop in DC the first weekend of August. Would we consider having a RB get-together? [You're kidding, right?]
So first to check with Fred. Are Hizzoner and Ethel up for it? [Yes! Yay!]
Can we have it in DC? [No, too far]
How 'bout somewhere roughly halfway between DC and Bawlmer [Sure]
Good. Howzabout Rams Head in Savage? A fine watering hole in a historic setting [Yup]
Awesome! Parameters worked out, now time to publicize. First post up, I flush out one surprising lurker and get the usual chorus of "My cousin's nephew's best friend is getting married in Auckland that day", "The contractor's coming to grout the rabbit hutch", "I'm gonna be playing nickel slots and hitting on showgirls in Tahoe", and other less than compelling explanations. There was also some muttering about packing to move, but I found that highly implausible.
The emails roll in, replies roll out, post a few more reminders, rsvp everyone, and finally it's P-Day.
I stop downtown to pick up the impossibly radiant trailing wife. Mr. wife and their lovely daughters, er, trail behind us in their rental car as we make our way up the ever-scenic US 1 all the way to Savage.
Then on to Rams Head, arrange the tables, inform the restaurant staff to send anyone babbling about "Fred" to our private back room. The guests arrive: Fred and Ethel, Rambler, Bobby, Mrs. Bobby, Nimble Spemble, Eric Jablow, Barbara Skolaut, mhw, and one lurker who later told me he was quite apprehensive about attending, but reported he had a very good time indeed and that the Rantburg community (and perhaps the bottomless gin and tonics) made him feel right at home.
And then ... and then I was too busy hostessing to actually remember what happened. Surely any or all of the luminaries listed above would like to jog my memory and fill us all in...