Soon I had my stereo connected. It's not the one I use
in the house, but a bunch of cast-off components that were abandoned by people
during the short time when I repaired electronics for a living (!?!). There was
an Audio Technica disco mixer that was too labor intensive for them to pay for
after drinks had been spilt in it. A couple of Sansui 3-ways some over-zealous
music fan had blown the speakers out and couldn't afford to replace. And my
favorite: a circa 70s 400W Dynaco 460 amp that another technician had given up
on as irreparable... it cost me 25 cents for an output transistor insulator to
fix. I had borrowed an FM tuner from the University. I also had a couple of
Walkman-type CD players, but they saw little use during the party.
When Karen returned with the T-shirts, I
didn't take time to look at them, I opted to go for more beer. I also decided I
was going to have to buy enough ice to get the 4 coolers stocked with sodas and
brew.
As I took off toward town I saw the ice truck
pass me. I made sure all was clear and did a U-turn in the middle of the
highway. I passed the store when I saw they hadn't stopped and kept on going
until I found them at the cable TV place. I didn't have time to wonder why a
cable TV place needed to buy bagged ice wholesale. Well, I had time to wonder
but didn't take the time to ask. Yeah, they were supposed to deliver to some
old store, did I know where it was. I sure did, you just passed it. It had the
big silver MAMBM sign out front just like I told the lady it would.
A few minutes later Mike, Kurt, Dave
Schultheis and I watched them 2-wheel ice into the store and load the freezer.
The ice paid for and them on their way, we loaded the coolers with what beer
there was, iced them down and carried them to the tent. Now it was time to
resume the beer run. Still no toilets.
As I got to the check-out counter of the
supermarket, I noticed my neighbor from about 4 houses up in line ahead of me.
He turned and said hi, then did a double take at the 10 cases of beer in my
cart. "Planning a party?' And so I had to relate a short version of the
MAMBM internet motorcyclist's reunion rant I had repeated so often to other
curious folks. The old woman at the register got so tickled at the story, when
she rang up my purchase she made a mistake, had to have 2 other girls try and
help her clear it and even then when I checked the receipt out in the parking
lot I discovered I had only been charged for 8 of the 10 cases. Thank you very
much for your contribution, EW James and Sons Supermarket.
On the way back I saw a group of bikes
stopped at the beauty shop on the right. Hmmm. Unless they were looking for
haircuts, they could be looking for the party. I pulled in and asked where they
were going. It was Ray Kimbro, Mike Rambo, Melvin, Drag Pipe Doug and John
Schnupp. I told them to follow me.
Back home, I topped off the coolers. I got
out the box of 4"X6" rectangles of 3/4" plywood kickstand pads
EVLTWN had sent from Nashville and set them on one of the end tables. By now
the Butlers had arrived, plus Rosie, Kenny, Kent and my "cousin" Jim.
It's a long story about how we became kin, but I'm glad he could make it to the
family reunion. I was trying to keep track of people as they arrived in order
to give them their Netscum Eyeball in West Tennessee (NEWT) numbers, but the
sequence became blurred in the effort to get things ready and keep things
going. The second pop-up tent was to go over the serving tables. Luckily I knew
how to put this one up. Rosie helped me stretch it out and soon we had shade for
the sodas and tea. Karen (love her!) was doing her part so I didn't notice when
chips and salsa went on the tables under the tent. When I thought I had a spare
moment to sit, I remembered the T-shirts in back of her car. So I jumped up and
got the box and brought it under the tent.
Now I have a copy of the email to the brother
in law of the screen printer. I distinctly asked for the price of black short
sleeve pocket T's printed in one color on the back only. He had forwarded the
email to his wife and she had never replied. So a couple of weeks before the
party (he had said to allow one week lead time), I had asked what was going on
and he said he'd take care of it. Now when I opened the box I found I had
shirts printed on the front, no pockets. I was bummed to say the least, but it
was too late to turn back. Karen said that they must have done them the night
before or that morning, the gal she picked them up from's hands were as orange
as the ink on the shirts.
(Photo credit: Kurt J. Bigalke)