Sunday, August 19, 2012

Charlotte Olympics Party, Friday, 8/17


Shortly after my nephew Ricky scored Gold and Silver Olympic medals (for the 4 X 200 and 4 X 100 relays, respectively), the family announced a celebration for him in Charlotte on August 18.  I figured that, with 60,000 USAirways miles I'd carefully saved from expiring over the years, Ron and I would get there free.  Well, not exactly.  After forking over 42,500 miles plus $80 for me, plus regular airfare for Ron, plus a couple of fees for "Premium" seats so Ron could stretch his legs a little in Aisle seats, we had nonstops booked to and from Charlotte.  Fortunately, the charge for the seat upgrade also gave Ron early boarding, ensuring overhead bin space for our small rollaboard.

By a happy coincidence, my employer declared that the office would close at 1 PM as a reward for meeting our goals in a recent charitable drive.  Still, it felt like a full work day.  A call I'd been waiting for came in with a verbal offer from a company where I'd first interviewed 2 months ago, getting more excited at the prospects of working there as our discussion continued.  I happily accepted the offer, then e-mailed my boss in Zurich, and spent some time discussing transition plans before a much-needed workout in the pool and departure for the airport. 
Our flight pushed back almost 15 minutes before the scheduled time, we were shortly first for takeoff, and were in the air before the scheduled departure time. Murphy's Law, of course.  If we'd been frantic to make a transatlantic connection, it would have been 4 hours late.  Instead, we landed 45 minutes early after a fligt made even more pleasant by the glass of wine I ordered en route.

We got our rental car, a Crown Victoria that got less than 20 mpg, but gave us a comfortable ride for the weekend.  After checking into the Residence Inn Piper Glen (free on Marriott points), we headed over to the house of John and Les, my brother- and sister-in law.  The official party wasn't till the next night, but their house was already open and welcoming a succession of family:  my parents, a brother and sister-in-law, and of course Ricky and his brother and sister.  Ricky was a little jet-lagged, having gotten home only a couple of days before after checking out Paris with his friend Rebecca Soni. 


The medals were very heavy- 400 grams of pure silver, plus gold electroplate on the gold one.
The obverse sides.


As we talked, hugged and caught up on each others' news, I realized I still marveled at how blessed we are that we can join family for occasions such as this without worrying about it making a dent in the budget, and how I can get a half-days work done in Kansas and be visiting with family in Charlotte by dinner time.  When the airlines do it right, it still feels a little miraculous.

Charlotte Olympics Party, Saturday, 8/18


Saturday was beautiful and sunny.  Ron and I enjoyed breakfast at the hotel, then I went swimming while Ron relaxed in the room.  The hotel had a very large group of family and friends staying for a wedding, and many were sitting around the pool.  I didn't get it.  How can people be that close to a pool on such a beautiful day and just look at it?  A few immersed themselves, but it was mainly to cool off while keeping up a conversation with others in the chairs.  I had a large expanse of pool to thrash back and forth and get in a good workout.




 
With my brothers John and Paul.


With Ron.


We headed back to John and Les' later in the afternoon, where another brother and his wife arrived, along with some nieces and nephews and their Accompanying Persons. 



Ricky was busy signing a stack of photos to put out at the party, which would be held at the neighborhood Clubhouse.  That morning my brother, Ricky and other family members had gone out for a round of golf, where Ricky later described his dad's score as "a sloppy 76".  I'd take that score any day.  For 9 holes.  A very young female admirer, hearing Ricky was on the course, met him and tweeted adoring thoughts to her followers immediately.  The family reported that Ricky handled it graciously.  I'm not surprised.


With Ron and me.

With my parents.  My mother still has a photo of 2-year old Ricky in swim wings on her refrigerator.

A great-looking family, including Benji the dog.
 
And my personal favorite- Tim (with his brother Rick in the background) in London.
 

The party started around 6:30 PM; the lawn of the Clubhouse had been sprayed with the Olympic Rings for the occasion.  A generous spread of food and drink was available; Ricky's orthodontist had partially sponsored the event.  Nice publicity for the guy who engineered the million-dollar smile! 

 
With perfect weather, Ron and I spent a lot of the time out on the back porch, having a wonderful conversation with Gran and Pearl, a couple in their 90s who had been friends of the family for years.  A few other friends and family joined us.  Later we enjoyed a video slideshow of Ricky and the family at the Olympics, followed by the "Call me Maybe" video by the USA Swim Team.  The Olympic Rings had been lovingly made by a friend, and included pictures from all stages of Ricky's life to date.


Les' brother did a wonderful job as emcee, welcoming family and friends from all over, and introducing the family's pastor as "the first guy to dip Ricky in the water".  After the video Ricky answered questions from the guests.  The only off-limits question:  "What's it like to swim with Michael Phelps?"  Later, Ricky and my brother John addressed the group.

 

The cake.

As the crowd thinned out, we took down the decorations and put the furniture back into place, and walked back over to John and Les'. 

And a good time was had by all.

Ron and I said loving goodbyes to the family and headed back to our hotel for the night.

Charlotte Olympics Party, Sunday, 8/19


The whole gang.

Sunday morning dawned with rumbles of thunder.  Not a good start.  Fortunately, the weather cleared and by the time Ron and I had finished breakfast and were ready to go, the skies were clearing up.  Thanks to the GPS we'd brought with us, we found the airport without incident, returned the rental car and got to the airport with 70 minutes before flight time.  I'd printed out or boarding passes the day before (Ron had joked, "if I'd been in charge, we'd be buying tickets at the airport").  The TSA staff helpfully pointed out to those of us bunched at the B concourse checkpoint that C and D were practically empty.  We ended up in D, although I told Ron the real question was which line had the Iraqi family whose kids had sippy cups in their backpacks.  Fortunately, we got through quickly although I was not happy to see that now they scan you rdriver's license (what are they storing?  who gets to see it?) and that unless I wanted to be groped by the TSA, the Nude-O-Scope was in operation.  Assume the position.  I'd forgotten that it would catch the wad of Kleenex and my driver's license still in my pocket.  Yes, I AM a threat to the flying public.

But, we landed on time and were home by 2 PM.  It was a short but happy trip.