Over the last number of months, there has formed and grown, via our cool toy Facebook, a group of Glendale High School graduates of my class ('68), many on whom I have not laid eyes for, lo, these last 42 3/4 years. I have attended three reunions--10, 20 and 25; there was one other, but I couldn't make it. Therefore, the most recently I've seen any of these folks is almost 18 years ago, now. To say the least, I've been terrible about keeping in touch.
Most of the people joining up on the FB site are classmates that I certainly remember and liked, but was not particularly close to via common classes or activities. Still, it was so interesting to share memories and to learn what some had been up to for the last, oh, 40 years, or so. Out of that process, an idea grew to have a mini-reunion. From all the input over a few months, last weekend happened. Another by-product of the site and the reunion-planning was that I became more acquainted with several of my classmates who have spent their careers in art. So, another part of the reunion activities included an art show with about six of us participating.
But first, I had to get there. I like to drive, plus I wanted to take some pieces of calligraphy and a few baskets and a couple of display tables, etc. The first event was planned for 5pm Friday, so I calculated about 7-8 hours of travel and allowed for settling into the hotel. If you've seen the blog posts from these last few months, you know that we've had quite a snowy winter, including pre- and post-. It became obvious by early Thursday afternoon--Tom's birthday--that I might get snowed in and not be able to leave on Friday morning as planned. So, I chained up the Sube, threw in the tables, art and pot-luck food (for two of the events) and carefully drove out to the closest county road, which is Greenhorn by our mailboxes, 3/4 miles away, where I hoped a county plow would have it cleared by the time I needed to go the next morning.
Then I hiked back. Tom and I had planned to go out that evening to celebrate his birthday, but I ended up making dinner and chocolate cake, instead, which worked out fine. And the power stayed on, which was extra-fine (and unusual). That's Tom at the top of the page, of course, holding his four-layer apple/sour cream chocolate cake (which, naturally, we gilded with a bit of Cherry Garcia).
Next morning, at about 7:30, with the rest of my luggage (including three annuals that I'd stupidly forgotten to put into the car the day before), I set out in the falling snow on foot to get to where I'd left the car, hoping that Greenhorn had been plowed. There I am, ready to go, then, in the next shot, looking back at Tom, who is delighted not to have to accompany me--you have to mag in to see how big his smile is.
The next pic is that of my boot tracks as I hike toward the car. Upon arrival at Greenhorn, however, I saw it had not been plowed, and lots of snow had also piled up around the Suby. I threw my stuff in, started the engine, began to clean the windows, and then to kick wildly at the snow in front of the car to try to make a path over to some truck tracks in the road I thought I could use to drive out.
Then, I heard a lovely sound--indeed, the loveliest in this particular situation: a little tractor-plow chugging over the hill. It was one of our neighbors, Mike, who had come to scrape the snow away so that his wife (who also drives an Outback) could get to work. So, here you see a shot of Mike gallantly making a path to the tire tracks on the far side of the road, which I could, then, follow to a plowed street in town. And I was on my way by 8:15!
(cont'd)
