Boys and Girls

 Good Morning California.  Did I forget to mention it is May?  May 3rd in fact, as another month just flew by.  Spring has definitely sprung, right into summer!  In a few short days we will reach 90 degrees.  That was FAST!

I bid farewell to Cyndae as she departed for Sacramento, screaming STOP to no avail. She left all of her charging cords and devices on my counter.  Such is life when you get old.

In a flash, the day was gone once again and I was off to the Boys and Girls Club.  We didn't have this when I was a kid.  There was no play time, other than when long lost cousins came for a short visit to the ranch once a year.  There was no place to hang out with other kids, no basketballs to throw, nor company to play with.  

In TOWN however, was a group on the south side of the tracks who set up games for after-school kids.  A babysitting arrangement more or less.  It's funny now, but back then, they thought we were rich because we lived on a ranch, and we thought THEY were rich because they had a place to go play with their friends.

This is another Elks Bingo donation project.  We donated $5,000 to the local Boys and Girls Club, giving us a table for dinner.  This year it was set up a little differently.  No silent auction (what??), no dessert auction (NOOOO!) and only ten items to raffle off.  Hmmm I think someone missed the boat here.

It was interesting to find that a local girl who grew up at this club, became an amazing Mexican food Chef, and started up a cooking class for the kids.  Now THAT'S a great idea!!

Here's two of the hardest working people at our Lodge.  Kathy keeps our entire cooking crew in line, volunteering almost every single day, and her husband Nick is head of the local Honor Guard.  They perform Honor Guard services every single week.

This looks like Nick and his son, but Glenn is a retired Coast Guard Commander and was head of Veterans Services for our County.  He definitely does NOT look his age.  I have so much fun with these wonderful folks ......

Dinner was an Italian medley of deliciousness.  There was pasta with chicken, raviolis, meatballs, mushroom chicken, salad and French bread ... all prepared by another Boys and Girls Club attendee.  His family had a very hard time during his childhood and he spent many hours at this facility.  He grew up, learned to cook and just last month became the new owner of one of the best restaurants in town.  

This was the weird part.  The theme of the night was Cowboy Roundup for Kids.  We were all encouraged to wear COWBOY.  The entertainment however, was far from cowboy!  There were two groups of dancers.  How cute is this??  

I think I've mentioned in the past that we have a huge contingency of Hmongs living here.  Though I didn't get a good picture, there were twelve girls dressed in their traditional wear, dancing up a storm to their music.  It's actually story telling with their feet and hands.  They got a standing ovation.

Next was the older group.  This was actually their first performance of the year.  Many of these kids come to this building after school every day.  

I think they kind of missed the boat, but here's the spiel.  The bullet train to nowhere is supposed to come through here, right where the building stands.  It's ridiculous, but they are going to tear this building down completely, along with everything else along this line.  Of course they have run out of money since they blew through billions and billions of dollars (which went in SOMEONE'S pocket) and haven't even laid down one rail.

Because of the graft and corruption, the Federal Government has (thankfully) refused to give them any more money.  I mean really ... AMTRAK already runs along this exact same route and you can ride it for pittance.  Even though it appears the move will never happen, the Boys and Girls Club is trying to raise over a million dollars for a new building and half a million for buses.  

I guess they thought everyone would donate big bucks just for that ... but asking folks to stick a big check in an envelope instead of having fun bidding for desserts or auction items, didn't go over so well.  Did I mention there were ELEVEN tables with no one sitting at them?  

Of their ten items to be raffled off at $10.00 a ticket, there actually was one cake and one pie.  The guy who won the pie stood up, grabbed the microphone and began to auction it off.  People went crazy as people do with auctions.  The pie sold for $1400.  Now THAT is a MONEY RAISER.  

Next up was this cake, donated back to the guy with the microphone ... so he auctioned it off too.  Bid fast, bid HIGH ... that's my motto!!  Two of us each bid $300 for this beauty ... and he instantly said SOLD ... we both won.  Do I get the cake I asked?  And he handed it to me!

Yessiree ... a $300 banana something cake came home with me.  I haven't figured out what to do with it yet, but I suppose I should take it to the lodge to share.  After all, it's not on my diet.

I'm sure we'll be back here next year for another fundraiser.  The governor is $100 billion short to finish up the train to nowhere, and $35 billion short just to get it from Bakersfield to Merced.  That's 160 miles that takes two hours to drive.  I don't think that price includes the train cars.  Anyhow, now they are looking for PRIVATE donations to finish up railroad construction.  Anyone want their name on a train car??