According to the calendar, it’s now July. But from the amount of precipitation we’ve gotten lately, it seems more like April. Could someone please give me back a nice warm, sunny summer? I’m tired to rain – especially when all the rain has brought our pool to new heights and turned it from a pretty blue to a murky green. Yuk! And just when we’re getting ready for Ralph and the girls to arrive for a few days. Looks like Burl’s going to have to get out the vacuum if it doesn’t clear up soon.
It’s been a short weekend for me – on Friday night we did a motorcycle ride with friends and rode to Old Hickory BBQ and Steakhouse in Crane, MO. The rain held off until after we got home so we had a good ride through some pretty countryside and then enjoyed dinner while being serenaded with live bluegrass music.
Yesterday I ended up at the office for almost 9 hours – not exactly how I wanted to spend my Saturday but I got so much accomplished and now can breathe easier going into the week. Burl showed up around 2:00 with my daily diet Coke – what a guy! Last evening we drove to Freistatt with some friends to eat German food at Biermann’s – my meal was so-so but the soup was to die for, the beer cold, the company lots of fun and the atmosphere perfect – the restaurant is in an 1800′s general store so the ambiance made up for the just-average entree.
The highlight of last week was on Thursday night when my Rotary club celebrated our 40th anniversary in grand style. We took over Hammons Field, home of the Springfield Cardinals, for the night and had quite a party. Due to threatening storms we had to re-arrange some plans but still were able to have our drinks and hors d’oevres on the Redbird Roost concorse followed by our annual Shrimp Feed – an event to which spouses had never been invited so it was a big deal for them. The menu never changes – caesar salad, garlic/parmesan toast and huge PRAWNS – they give a whole new meaning to Jumbo Shrimp. Following dinner we broke into discussion groups for our annual club assembly to address several different questions and get feedback from those in attendance.
Then our outgoing president did a “year in review” and honored the outgoing board – and finally it was time for installation of the new board and officers. Next on the agenda was to have been a video of our last 40 years followed by fireworks but with storms looming on the radar, we enjoyed a fantastic fireworks presentation and just as the video began, so did the rain! Fortunately it was short-lived bringing the evening to a close on a high note. Here’s to many more years of service, fun and fellowship for the largest club in Distict 6080 – Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast.
