1. Fifty years ago, Roger Pearson, Terry Turner, and I were teammates as seniors on the Kellogg Wildcats basketball squad. For much of the season, I was a bench warmer, but Terry and Roger logged in a lot of playing time. The Kellogg Junior Varsity coach and the Varsity's assistant coach was a brand new teacher at Kellogg High School, Dale Bachman.
Today, we three old Wildcats and our coach reunited at BJs Brewhouse at Valley River Center in Eugene.
Believe me, there were no awkward silences.
The four of us launched right into some serious yakking, remembering when Dale ran wind sprints along with us high school players, when Don Knott hit an amazing jumper at the buzzer in overtime and we Wildcats defeated the mighty Coeur d'Alene Vikings, when Dale jumped up and down as if on a pogo stick in his excitement when we won that game, when we faced Sandpoint's great John Andrews, and many other memories from those days at Kellogg High and other basketball memories as well.
We also talked about other things, stories from the past, golf in the present, and on and on.
To my delight, the great yakking was enhanced by Terry, Roger, and me all deciding to be a part of my campaign (!) to SAVE THE PORTER. We all ordered a pint of BJ's PM Porter on Nitro, a smooth, kind of creamy, well-balanced, and delicious beer.
For nearly two weeks, I've had the deep pleasure of sharing meals, tea, beer, and great times with friends I've known for many, many years in Eugene.
It staggers me with gratitude that Terry drove down from Portland, Roger buzzed down from Salem, and Dale risked being late for the women's basketball game at 2:00 between UConn and Oregon so that the four of us could break bread, drink beer, recall times we loved, share some good laughs, encourage each other in our present lives, and continue friendships that have been ongoing for 50-60 years.
I've posted two pictures of our esteemed group at the bottom of this post.
2. After visiting Francoise and having a great talk with her, Debbie and I went to Cornucopia on 17th for a quick drink and an order of French Fries. Oakshire brews a delicious Pale Ale for Cornucopia called Frog's Wort and it had been about fifteen years since I drank one. Since I've recently been enjoying Pale Ales -- mostly when a PORTER wasn't available (they need to be SAVED!) -- I ordered and thoroughly enjoyed a pint of Frog's Wort. It's an easy drinking beer, made tasty by the Cascade hops that give this longstanding beer a citrusy feel. If you'd rather your pale ale not be too bitter, the Frog's Wort will be right in your wheelhouse. It has enough of a subtle bitterness to keep the beer from being too malty, but the bitterness doesn't linger -- instead the citrus-y flavors of the hops are what last.
A former Cornucopia employee, Starr, is woman Debbie and I have known since she was a kid and hung out with Molly. Starr works elsewhere now, but, lo and behold, her husband, Paul (is that right?) was our server and so he showed us pictures of their child, their dogs, and moments in their family's life. We also got to see Cameron. We used to frequent Cornucopia regularly and Cameron was often our server or bartender and it gave me a jolt of excitement and appreciation to see him again and have a precious few minutes to tell each other how great it was to see one another again. He was busy and couldn't linger long.
3. Anne returned to her house today after a weekend away and Debbie and I decided that we would end our visit after tonight and drive back to Kellogg on Tuesday, the 18th.
I loved staying at Anne's house, not only because it was comfortable and welcoming, but because we also looked after her splendid dog, Poppy. Poppy was great company, quick with her affection, eager to alert us to people walking by the house, and always willing to have us pay attention to her, talk to her, and pet her.
I'll miss Poppy.
Debbie, Anne, and I walked up the street to Joy and Bob's house and enjoyed a delicious pasta dinner and played a name that song kind of game that led to Debbie seizing control of the house piano and giving us an impromptu, delightful, and somewhat caustic performance of "(You Sure Would Look Cute in a) Paternity Suit". That was a blast and it was fun to meet and spend time with Bob and Joy.
Here's a picture of the esteemed lunch group today. We might not be in anyone's basketball hall of fame, but we sure as hell have been enshrined in the Great Guys Hall of Fame. There are a ton of Kellogg guys in that sacred shrine!
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