Kill the Messenger!!!

Wow! Eventful weekend!

On Friday, "The Neighbor" and I made it known what we think of each other. There was some language used that our moms most likely would not approve of, (Moooommm! He started it!) and before the day was over he had lined up 4 railroad ties, his riding lawnmower, and his utility trailer as a makeshift fence to divide out property.

Oh! And he called the cops on me, too.

Not only is this town beautiful, it's finally starting to be fun! :)
(I rather enjoy telling the story. Let me know if you'd like to hear it.)



On Sunday I received a call from David from his mom's phone asking if I'd come and get him. A half tank of gas and 1.5 hours late to work later... (again - more detail available on request)

Oh! And she called the cops on me, too!
(OK, fine. I'm just kidding on that one.)


But Saturday is the focal day for today's blog.
And so it begins...


I received a text message last Thursday which said some friends from college were going to be getting together on Saturday, and they were wondering if I was interested in joining them. Their plan was to hit the buffet at the casino in Redwood Falls and then go to the outdoor concert.

The last time I'd seen two of these friends was 3 years ago (one now lives in MA) so they didn't really need to entice me with food.

So, after a solid day of yard work (which I find highly relaxing even with The Neighbor next door) I got cleaned up and pulled on some of David's clothes (because he was still gone and couldn't complain about the switch from my shredded Ralph Lauren jean shorts to his overpriced current name-brand khakis) and off I went to Redwood.

I pulled into the parking lot, and after driving up and down every aisle anywhere near where I wanted to be - I finally just parked way out in the middle of nowhere where nobody else would be likely to park. (Easy to find the car that way.) As I walked along toward the hotel where we all planned to meet, I noticed there were many empty parking spots much closer to the building than where I was parked. They all had signs in front of them that read "Reserved for Tribal Elders". I hope that all the Tribal Elders who chose to not park in the vacant, convenient spots were out looking for a groundskeeper.

We met up on the 6th floor of the hotel part of the casino as one of the friends and her husband had rented a room there. They had invited some friends from their town to join our gathering, so I met some new people, which is almost always a good time.

When everyone that was supposed to be there had finally shown up - we headed down to Main Floor...purchased out tickets for the concert... then wandered off to the buffet where we all lined up along a long table like we were in the dining hall of some grand castle.

Upon attaining a satisfactory "buzz kill", we wandered out to the fenced-in amphitheater area. We received our "Admission Paid" bracelets upon entry. A bit further up we received our "Over 21 and will be drinking tonight" bracelets. And then, after we had purchased our drinks and were ready to enter the last gate to the performance area, we were required to provide the torn stub of our ticket one last time. (I'm thinking that if they tried really, really hard...someone might come up with a slightly better "entrance strategy".)

We'd purchased tickets for table seating so that we could visit easier, and the tables were about the size and shape of the one you see in movies featuring King Arthur. So I plopped my royal arse in thy royal throne (plastic chair) at The Mythical Round Table surrounded by many a nobleman and lady who had acquired similar status in the kingdom.

The band that performed goes by the name of "Hairball". I thought about having the title of today's blog be the same name, but I didn't want you to start reading this with the impression I was about describe a gift that Claire, Clairee, Dangit, or Insertyourcat'snamehere might leave for you. (Cat's names listed in alphabetical order so that none of the mentioned cat's should feel slighted.)

The performance was actually very impressive and a lot of fun. The band plays all 80's music by "Hair Bands". They have two lead singers, and while one is singing the other is changing into the style of clothing that the original band's lead singer would have worn as he sang the song in the 80's.

They opened with Kiss, so the singer was dressed in black and white, with the black wig, and black and white face paint, and had the sweet axe-shaped guitar. When they performed songs by Prince, the singer was dressed in a wig and wearing the purple outfit and completely looking the part. And they did the same each time they switched to a different band!

They had pyrotechnics, confetti cannons, and dry ice for fog effects. They sent out beach balls into the dance area, as well as these massive confetti filled balloons which the singer would pop when they came back to the stage, showering the whole front area. The light show was on time with the music, and (of course) the present company was great! :)

For the encore, they ended with AC/DC. I thought it odd that they sent the large beach balls out into crowd as I don't remember colorful beach balls making a regular appearance in AC/DC videos. Then it became clear. After he finished singing the song he was on, there was a short pause... and then (in nearly perfect AC/DC imitation) there came, "my balls are always bouncing - to the left and to the right."

I found it amusing.

Then the light show dimmed and fireworks launched into the sky from right behind the stage.

And it when it was all done, our table looked like some big, strange, round chess set - with the pawns being all the plastic cups of the mixed drinks and the beer bottles being the power pieces.

But there was also a Dr. Pepper bottle. (Sir Dr. Pepper?) Anyway, it was the only bottle that still had a cap on it. I missed where it came from, but with the rest of the empty containers being kings, queens, rooks, bishops, castles, and pawns of rival kingdoms...

I thought, "That must be the messenger one hears tell of... " ;)