White shirt, Blue shirt, striped tie, fancy tie, bow tie, decisions, decisions. Ok, it is time to get up, we need to roll out for the lot at 9:00 am. Stopped and got a quick bite for breakfast, I think my body was shocked, cuz thats a rare day. I wanted it to be a good day, so nothing to chance. Angela rode up to Sun City West with Stephanie, and I took a ride with Walt. We arrived, and I spent an hour sitting out front literally enjoying the Arizona climate, staring at the Mountains, knowing I was a mere couple hours from the Grand Canyon.
My mind drifted back to last year when I was here, I took time to visit the final resting place of my step brother who had passed just a couple months before I was there. The day was warm, the cactus were plentiful, I was in a place called cave creek. My Stephanie went over to Surprise to pick up Ray, a brother Mason from Marquette Lodge 101, who just moved out to Arizona for the health benefits and to be close to family. It was nice to have Ray with us for lunch. It was also great to see my old friends, Paul & Beth, Tom and Pauline, Ed and Penny, PGMs Wells, Wilson and Sanborn, David (another yooper), Har and Diane, John and many others. The Tappens came in, and I met James for the first time. He is a snowbird, coming back to Michigan each summer. He presented Angela with a simply stunning piece of jewelry that he made from glass and wire. To me, a bolo tie with a Petosky stone in the shape of Lower Michigan. Another very nice piece. It was cute, when I sat down, Judy Gunn leaned over and whispered, Grand Master I wanted to talk to you about my husband getting his 50 year pin. "We contacted Grand Lodge but have never heard back". We call my husband Bob, but his name is; and I said Charles........ She said why yes. I said, let me take care of this for you, I will make sure he gets the pin. We proceeded to a delicious lunch, with Key Lime pie that momma would have been proud of. The program started in short fashion, and I presented a widows pin to Elise, 4 new Lewis Cass memberships, and a 50 year pin. Guess who got the pin ? Your right, it was Brother Bob Gunn. Surprised is an understatement, and Bob had some very nice remarks after the presentation. I did have to apologize to Mrs. Gunn for not letting the cat out of the bag sooner. I had the opportunity to make a few remarks before we wrapped up the luncheon. Tom Skoog presented me with a one of a kind "Finish" gift, which I will cherish for years to come. Thank you Tom and Pauline. Several prizes were given out, and I'm sure everyone present enjoyed the event.
On the way back to Scottsdale I called my cousin Bernadine, and asked if she would like to come over and visit. Gee, its only been 30 years since we visited. I grew up around her on the Farm out in Trenary, so we reminisced, talked about children of family I never knew existed, and generally enjoyed a couple hours visit before we had to head down for dinner.
This Evening we gathered at the
Buca di Beppo restaurant for dinner. Angela has a big fish for dinner. She said it was good, but I just couldnt look dinner in the eye....
