Dueling Pianos

The best part of the day was laying out in the sun.  Here's my view.  When I was younger and would actually wear a bathing suit, mostly because there were a lot of trips to Hawaii, I would lay out every day. I know, it's not good for you, but it was better than getting scorched in the sun while swimming and diving in the ocean all day.  Anyone remember the days of baby oil and iodine?  

Basting evenly is all important.  Here's my view when I turned over.  Here's my plan ... every day I will move the lounge chair a little further over so I can pull the weeds while I'm getting toasted.  I'm absolutely certain they will NEVER disappear at the hands of the gardeners, so I'm doing it myself.

It was a lovely day, but soon turned cold and breezy, not a fitting environment for a tan.  In no time I was off to the local fairgrounds for Dueling Pianos.  This is actually a dinner (or at least I thought it was) for CASA ... Court Appointed Special Advocates.  In case you were not aware, foster kids usually get taken in by people who are not that great at parenting.  It's all about the money.

Why the system is so bad, I've no idea, but this organization provides advocates for the kids, appointed by the courts, to be sure the kids are okay and get what they need, even if it means moving them to another home.  It's an awful situation, but these folks, mostly judges, are trying to make it better.

The Elks Lodge is all about donating for kids.  Bingo and our RV Park donate all their proceeds to charities ... and this one is a good one.  We paid for the Dueling Pianos entertainment, for which we received a table for eight.  That's so each of us can bid on other items up for auction.  Can you tell I arrived first?  I knew there was very little parking at this venue.

Ummm yeah, I thought this would be all about dueling pianos like the picture.  I was wrong.

In no time our table was a cluttered mess.  That's the list of items up for bid and my bid number on the right.  There was wine available, but honestly, no room to put anything, let alone a plate of food.

My bid number stayed upside down most of the night.  This is a pricey one.  Even the silent auction stuff (not all that great in my eyes) was going for $500 and up.  That's not in my budget.  About that time, a very weird looking guy came up, patted me on the shoulder and bowed, while pointing to the Elks logo.  What?  I didn't get it until later.

Here's the strange part.  I was expecting dinner.  Where's the food?  Four stations set up around the room had food that you went and got for yourself.  The one right next to us was pasta from the best restaurant in town.  It wasn't bad, but I kept tasting that stuff all night long.  My bad ... I ate the whole thing.

One station had mini tacos (I passed) and one had sliders.  I would have taken the pulled pork, but they were out when I was there, so I grabbed a barbecued tri-tip slider.  It was REALLY good, but I completely forgot it had a nice thick BUN.  Those don't like me at all.  Hey ... let's make it worse with the dessert auction.

Also different, your table decided how much they wanted to put in the envelope.  Whoever donated the most, got first choice of desserts.  We got second choice because Bingo donated yet again.  I won't tell you what this cake cost because you would rightly pass out instantly.  It was probably the best cake I've had in my life, 80% of which was frosting.  Cutting it made a pretty big mess.

I mean it was just amazing, but instantly began a fight with the pasta.  Oh my aching stomach.

The weird guy bowing?  That's him on the far piano.  Apparently he was thanking the Elks for paying for their performance.  You thought this would be some amazing pianists playing back and forth on baby grands?  Me too.  

Nope .... it was a rock band of two old(er) people playing electronic pianos under pink and blue flashing lights.  There was no dueling pianos, just rock and roll songs.  Oh my gosh ... they were so loud in this terrible-acoustic building that I had to cover my ears.  They took requests if you threw in at least a $20 bill (many tossed in $100 bills), all of which went to CASA.  They had people up dancing and singing like crazy.  Really, they were a great duo ... getting everyone to dance and sing along like that.

The funniest part ... I didn't know a single person there except my table mates.  Apparently I don't get out enough.  Here's some of what the auction brought in.  Four tickets to a Giants Baseball Game with the Los Angeles Dodgers ... $1100.  A party in a barn for 30 folks ... $1800.  A day at the gun range with the Police Chief ... $1600.  You're going to laugh at this one ... a hotel room in our tiny little Motel-6-town for one night, dinner and drinks, along with ice cream.  No kidding, it went for $1000.

Seven days in a mountain cabin ... $4000 and a chuck wagon meal with our Sheriff (you've heard me talk about his cooking) went for $4750.  That's WAY above my pay grade.  When they got down to the cash donations, on the MUCH lower end, I finally raised my bidding number.  

That's when I snuck out of the building while my ears were still semi intact.  They rang so much I didn't get any sleep.  It would have been so much nicer had they toned it down a LOT.  Still, it was a great night for a good cause.  

My stomach no longer complaineth!!  It's still going to be another recuperation day!!