Thursday, July 27, 2006

The part of the Class of '66 Reunion I missed

JAMESTOWN, New York - I never played golf (the real kind, not the miniature version) largely because I didn't own golf clubs as a kid and the nearsightedness limited my ability to whack the little white pill very far.

I learned early what a divot was and my brief tryout for the golf team ended very quickly and with a lot of shouting on the part of Dick Shevalier, if my memory serves me.

So, I didn't get involved with the golfing Saturday at the reunion, instead I went down to the Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club and quickly hooked a ride on a sailboat as crew in the charity regatta going on. The whole club was buzzing with racers and if you haven't seen the yacht club in recent years, they have installed a large in-ground swimming pool. Very upscale.

I landed on a boat owned by Geoffrey Bond, who lives in the old Bootey house (we called it the Bootey mansion, when I was a kid) next to Lakewood Beach. We had two great sailing races (took a second and a fourth) and had I not almost swamped the boat in the second race, might have done every better.

Whatever. I did get a world-class sunburn on my face, which was exacerbated by far too many glasses of Pinot Grigio Saturday night during dinner and after in between dances. That song "Hot, Hot, Hot," is still stuck in my head.

Fitz & Captain Geoffrey
Fitz & Captain Geoffrey Bond (center)

While I was getting ready for the race, I ran into Sharon Ticknor (Class of '69) who was crewing in the regatta also, but on a large cruising boat. My boat was about 16-feet long, a little tender and we forgot the cooler with the drinks.

No wonder pirates say Arrrrrgh - it's when they run out of beer!

Sharon Ticknor & daughter
Sharon Ticknor & her daughter

I've received several more reunion photos - thanks Randy and Allan - so I have an excuse to keep typing and avoiding the writing deadlines I have the rest of this week and next.

But if you didn't take a close look at the golf photo of Jack Eckdahl at the top, look at it again. What a great grin - at least before he takes the shot.

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