Convention survival

I was re-elected President of District Six, Sons of Norway over the weekend. Our District has about 7000 members in 55 lodges in the five southwest states. I had no idea presiding over a District Lodge meeting would be so exhausting.

The host lodge set me up in the most beautiful hotel suite I've ever seen - it was just gorgeous. Laura and I delivered the libations for the hospitality on Sunday. I checked in on Monday and had meetings with my Board on Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday evenings entailed hosting cocktail parties.

I won't bore you all with the details, but there was a solid week of meetings and parties. Thursday, Friday and Saturday were devoted to District Lodge Meeting where I presided over 187 Delegates and Board Members.

This is where things got a bit scary. You see, I have felt over the past few years that our President had chosen less than stellar Parliamentarians. In my opinion, some have been weak, while others have been terrible. I put my thinking cap on a year ago and got a friend from the San Francisco lodge who is an attorney and so sharp. Yup, I thought, he's going to be the best Parliamentarian that District Six has ever seen. Imagine my shock when I got an e-mail from him the day before the big meetings started telling me he was stuck in a trial and couldn't come. Ack! Talk about panic.

After I caught my breath, I knew I'd be fine. Our International Director could help me out and I had the foresight to invite our CEO from Minneapolis, who was a great help, too.

It was a great week. Everyone was so nice to me and there was a lot of fun mixed in with the work. I did survive, but it was exhausting. After a good night sleep I'm ready to go back to work.

Gladdy update II

We got another pic of the Gladillac today. She is beautiful and Jason has wasted no time in spiffing her up. Reminder..... Look at the pic of us with the Christmas tree... that's what she looked like 19 days ago when she rolled out of our driveway on a trailer. Jason added a white vinyl top in the past few days.
I think Jason has done a great job. He is not putting the chrome strips back on the sides, as one was damaged.
I can't wait to see what he does to her interior - as it was pretty tired. Stay tuned for more updates.

Gladdy Update

We indeed, sold the Gladillac to a good home. Two days after Jason drove to Fresno with her, we got an e-mail from him with a lot of pictures. He spent all day Monday working on her - taking off the chrome, beat up vinyl top, etc.
Yesterday we got a bunch of new pictures. He has taken care of all of the rust that was under the top and painted her. The subject line on his e-mail read "Gladillac After Paint". He calls her Gladillac!
I think she looks great and am looking forward to seeing her restoration in process.

'Bye Gladys

Aunt Gladys was actually my Mom's cousin and as close to a sister as Mom ever had. I absolutely adored her. She was by far my favorite Aunt. She was a small, pert woman who had a penchant for huge Cadillacs. The last car she owned was a 1966 Coupe De Ville, gold with a vinyl top. When Aunt Gladys passed away in 2003, my cousin, Susanna graciously gave me the car. We called her "The Gladillac" or "Gladys". This 18 1/2 foot beast took up more than her share of the garage and Pat's new car was sent to the street.
We didn't drive her much, but she was always our transportation up to the Santa Cruz Mountains to get our Christmas tree. We could fit a 9' tree in the trunk with very little hanging out the back.

Gladys was not very pretty, as her vinyl top was crumbling and paint was faded, but the engine always started right up and she ran strong.
Our intention was to restore her to her former glory, but we finally came to the conclusion that we didn't have the time or resources to do it. So, she went on Craigslist.
A guy named Jason called and was very excited. He is a freak for 66 Caddys and has a club of guys with the same passion. He plans to restore her and not use her for a parts car. I know she's not very pretty anymore, but she's not an organ donor.
So The Gladillac left us today on a flat bed trailer, heading for Fresno, where ironically, Aunt Gladys lived for many years. I said goodbye to her and cried as she left our driveway, which is kind of stupid I guess. I mean, it's only a car. But that car belonged to my beloved Aunt Gladys and I have been her guardian for the past five years. Jason said he'd keep in touch and send us updates on her rehabilitation. It's been a bittersweet day for me, seeing that car leave, but I know Aunt Gladys would be happy that The Gladillac has gone to a good home. She'll be pretty again some day.