Awake: 5:37am Temp 62 sleep 6+00 clouds & rain overnight @ Nicktown, PA.
Kathy & I attend 8:00am Mass &, afterwards, drive directly to the Cambrian Hills Country Club to help prepare for the Golf Classic tournament starting @ 11:00am. Joe, one of the long time members who has a lot of experience knowing what needs to be done, had me & Eric (a very amiable teenager & son of a Rotarian) moving long tables out of storage & setting them up outside under cover to be used as long desks. Inside the building, we set up chairs on many long tables & covered each table with a wide & thin white plastic making them look (from a distance) somewhat formal; this is where dinner will be held around 6:00pm.
Joe was only getting started: next Eric & I worked on organizing the donated gifts & cash prizes that will be raffled off; listing sponsors to make sure they are being appropriately advertised outside on the big board where everyone can see them &, then, separating the small sponsors & donations from the larger ones.
Meanwhile Kathy is helping with the outside Nesco Roasters: filling them with hot dogs, kielbasa & sauerkraut. This was a very popular corner. During some idle moments, Kathy made a quick trip to Barnesboro, where she found a nice children’s cassette tape so I can thoroughly test that tape player & a very nice pair of shorts with extra pockets for me.
Around 10:00am the players are signing in, paying their fees &, then, checking out the free eats & drinks before before it's time to climb into their golf carts & tee off.
My other job, which I was honored to be assigned, is to be "the Ice Man.” Keeping the keg of beer sufficiently surrounded with ice & making sure the (4) types of soda & the bottled water are submerged in cold icy water. (3) different types of potatoes chips were also available.
Today’s weather: hot, humid & threatening rain. In fact, twice those players were chased under cover to the club house due to heavy waves of rain. There were 18 teams all total.
Kathy & I had told the Rotary members that we could only stay until 4:00pm due to another commitment. They were fine with this & appreciated our dedicated help.
We were getting into our Suzuki when the 2nd rain wave came rolling in; just then, Larry from Wisconsin calls: he tells us about his recent hernia & a possible operation sometime soon.
En route to Don & Josie’s place in Ebensburg, we take time to tour the new sub-division of Emerald Estates, approx (3) miles from Ebensburg. Nice size lots & beautiful large homes. Next, a quick stop @ the West End Market for groceries & then we arrive @ my brother’s place @ 5:35pm.
Don & Josie greet us as we pull into their driveway. Don tells us they have finally found some landscapers, who after all these years do such a great job to meet their high expectations, that they signed a contract with them. “Who are they?” we ask. “Josie & me!” Don replies. Indeed, their lawn, trees, bushes etc, looked professionally tended; even with rounded sawdust mounts throughout.
Within minutes, my sister, Corinne, with her roommates, Patty & Jane, arrive from the town of Lilly. We are gathered here this evening to help celebrate Corinne’s 60th birthday. We’ve come to the right place: Don & Josie are excellent hosts; they know what you like & they serve it well. We snack & drink wine (except Corinne who has a non-alcoholic beer) & gab for nearly 50 min before Don begins the grilling of chicken, kielbasa, & hamburgers. Josie adds the potato salad, deviled eggs, baked beans, & rolls. The delicious meal is devoured, the traditional “Happy Birthday” song is sung, & then, the Ice Cream Cake with after dinner spirits rounds out the feast. How can they top that? Well, they did.
Down in the music room sits the old family player roll piano; Corinne selects the songs (it’s her birthday) & pumps the pedals & the girls all sing to the beautiful selected music. It brings back such good memories of us playing this roll piano so many times for many occasions on the farm. Tonight was a special night for Corinne & her plan of how she wanted the celebration to be; Don & Josie fulfilled that plan; it made for a casual, fun, & memorable occasion. We are delighted to be a part of the celebration and wish Corinne many more happy birthdays…don’t forget to include us in future festivities!
Lights out: 11:58pm
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