Monday, September 04, 2006

Felberpalooza: Day 1

I left Nanticoke much later than I meant to (around 10:40 Saturday morning, after setting up flood contingencies and stopping at the bakery and the bank) and drove for more than 150 miles (of a total of over 210 miles) crossways through Ernesto to get to Grouseland. My trip took nearly an hour longer than expected, and I arrived at Grouseland to see...a single car. The festivities had been relocated to a nearby (relatively speaking) hall, and Murray's lovely wife (forgive me, I am terrible with names, and my computer is terrible with looking up names while I am composing a blog entry) led me there personally. We pulled up to the hall, and I stepped into another world...
There he was: Adam Felber, whom we had come so far to meet and who had travelled so far to meet us, seated at a bar surrounded by what I knew must be Felbernauts. (Above, the Felbernauts attend to the words of their charismatic leader: Adam, Cooper, Ann, Dee, Murray, and Al. Not shown: yr. hmbl. blogger/photographer, and George, George's Sister, and George's Sister's Husband, all of whom showed up later.)
Felbernauts believe in the importance of good nutrition and healthy eating. Note the bottled water.
Adam tempts fate and risks losing face (literally) by keeping George's Sister's Dog Cody's rawhide stick away from him.
The guest of honor, satirist / writer / radio personality / blogger Adam Felber. Note the luggage. Adam flew in on Saturday morning, and was flying out early Sunday morning. As the evening wore on, it made less and less sense for him to stop at a hotel for a few hours, and he left directly for the airport Saturday evening. The bottle of Maker's Mark that didn't end up in Adam's luggage.

Despite a serious disruption caused by Tropical Storm Ernesto, the Felberpalooza was a lot of mellow fun. Felbernauts were there from Seattle, Pittsbugh, two parts of North Carolina, Virginia Beach, Nanticoke, and, of course, Grouseland. One thing that we found remarkable (aside from the fact that Ann, Dee, and George's Sister are all redheads): every person there was exactly like you would expect they would be based on their comments on Fanatical Apathy. We had a small but intense group of smart, funny, friendly people, and we had a wonderful time. We are all looking forward to future events, perhaps more centrally located to allow for ease of travel for more Felbernauts. But such plans can be left to themselves for now.

The night wore on, Adam had to go, and we had to relinquish the hall. After a hasty partial cleanup (Murray, who had arranged the hall and the festivities, also arranged a cleanup crew to finish things off) and a quick standup reading from Schrodinger's Ball (we nearly forgot!), we withdrew to Grouseland for some backyard astronomy through Murray's 6" Skyquest Dobsonian. Then it was off to the Day's Inn in Town Hill to rest up for the rigors of Day 2 of Felberpalooza.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Harold, the photos are great, except I look much older than I am in real life.

D.B. Echo said...

It was that darned indoor lighting. Of course, I look awful under indoor OR outdoor lighting, so you'll only be seeing bits of me. Like my leg after the Tragic Biking Accident on Day 2.

dee said...

Harold -- didn't we have an agreement about otoshopPhaying ouricturepays?

I love the donuts and Maker's Mark. Too bad we hadn't opened up the chocolate cake by then.

It's such a hoot now "hearing" you as I read what you write.

D.B. Echo said...

Dee, I still have a few more photos I can photoshop. I'll start looking for appropriate donor bodies!

As for the ponczuki (or however we spell it!) the next time I see them there I'll see about arranging shipping myself. Anything to spread happiness through good eatin'!

Anonymous said...

Nice work Brother Harold.

rimalicious said...

For some reason I was picturing hundreds of adoring fans gathered outside around a stage with Adam on it holding a microphone in front of Felberpalooza banners and such ... guess not. LOL

Anonymous said...

Harold,

It was good to meet you and have you join in. A small party but better for having been so. Well worth all the effort.

Anonymous said...

Damn you, Ernesto. That intimate a gathering of people that interesting, and you forced me back to Florida to defend the homestead.

Thanks for posting the pictures, Harold.

David

Anonymous said...

I agree with Murray. Being a person who throws alot of parties I have learned as I have gotten older (older than dirt according to Harold) that the smaller and more intimate a party is the more you get to enjoy those who do come.

When you keep the numbers down you get to speak to ALL.

My husband will be glad to know he isn't the only Makers Mark fanatic.
I guess to know he isn't the only donut fanatic as well.

You guys look like you had a blast.
:)