January 11, 2006
Lunch

Question.  Our bike riding geezer group is planning a summer pedal along the shores of Lake Superior.  But how will we ever be organized enough to ride from the Canadian border to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula when it takes 15 e-mails just to have a beer in Grand Junction? 

It started with the Judge.  His e-mail read “Can we do our bike trip in minn/wisc a week earlier so I have time to get back and then go to Iowa and ride RAGBRAI.  So if we pick and plan our Gopher/Badger/Wolverine bike trip now for a week earlier than we talked about, we probably could do it since that is 8 months from now.”  (Please remember the man spent decades behind the bench with brevity absent from his job description.) 

Next to be heard from was the Bean Counter, ”OK with me especially if the judge is doing the almighty RAGBRAI (fool)—but we do need to talk because setting the date that works for all is important at this time…maybe over a beer at the Blue Moon.” 

What you need to know is the really important thing for the Bean Counter is the beer.  We suspect when his wife calls and asks his choice for dinner, he inquires if they could get together and discuss it over a beer. 

The Judge was right back at us.  “Planning it over beers at the Blue Moon sounds good.  I’ll be gone this week.  P.S.  I was watching the Jimmy Stewart movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life, last night and noticed there was a bar in it called the Blue Moon.  Junction Dick, you king of trivia, had you noticed that?” 

Why wouldn’t I have noticed?  Isn’t the world aware, in addition to the Grand Junction Blue Moon and the It’s A Wonderful Life watering hole, Blue Moon bars are found in Plentywood, Montana, New Sharon, Iowa, the Eagles Nest at the top of the Lionshead gondola, Madison, Wisconsin, Stockholm, Sweden and Seoul, Korea?  Plus there was an album “Swinging At the Blue Moon Bar & Grill” recorded by Mel Torme’s son, Steve Torme-March.  Steve’s mother divorced Mel and married Hal March, Jr. the TV host of “The $64,000 Question” which naturally reminds one of the old chestnut; if Hal March, Jr.’s son, Hal March III, married actress Tuesday Weld, would her married name have been Tuesday March the 3^rd?  And what would cause the Judge to think my mind is pre-occupied with trivia? 

Then the Fundraiser chimed in.  Currently on the mend from surgery (in our geezer group someone is always recovering from something), he wrote, “I don’t care much about horses or bike saddles but I could drive….and I know two new jokes!” 

Back in the final days of our Valley Agency slo-pitch softball team with age taking its inevitable toll, we had eight guys who wanting to pitch, four demanding to play first and no one offering to be anywhere in the field where running or bending were required.  Today history repeats as our bicycle group consists of ten guys going on the trip, only five of whom wish to ride, the others preferring to take in the scenery from inside the accompanying motor home.