In the most recent newsletter, Greg tells how the Charlotte group surely must be "hiding" from newcomer Jack Chapman; one of the 'anchors" who recently moved here from the Memphis group.
Well, funny you should take that angle...'cuz as it happened, poor Jack and Charlotte were met with a 'By George' Group greeting that probably felt like they were being hidden from! And it's all my fault. First; some background: I promise, I had the best of intentions- but you see...the Charlotte group is in theory a large group...but in reality; seldom do more than 2 or 3 of us get together on a monthly basis (normally the last Monday of the month). I'm sure many reasons play a factor in this. Not many of us live in downtown Charlotte (sorry, that's UPTOWN Charlotte, but that's another story!). Some can't break away from their UPTOWN cubicles, or take the time to drive in from the 'burbs just for lunch. Busy, Busy, Busy! And I completely understand; some months I'm in that same boat.
So, in an effort to try and get more of us together, I thought it would be a good idea to try a different time slot...say, a Saturday morning brunch get-together! What a good idea, right? Well, yes. In theory.
For our recent September meeting, I selected a "central" location just off the highway on the southern side of the city where we could meet; a fairly new Bob Evans restaurant that would be able to fit us all in...should the numbers swell to say, 6 or 7! I emailed the group, including our new member Jack, with all the info & 10AM meeting time. It looked like we were to have about...you guessed it; 6 or 7 of us in attendance, based on responses. Wow!
Flash forward, 9:45AM Saturday morning. I pulled into the Bob Evans parking lot and...what the hell? I was greeted with a boarded up Bob Evans building; no signage, no nothing! Gone. Deserted. Empty. Nada. How could this be? Nothing CLOSES DOWN in Charlotte! It has only been open for maybe 4 years? I just ate there 6 months ago! It was a new building...in an area that was growing...hotels had sprung up around it, as did fast food icons Jack in the box, and Sonic! I had nobody's cell phone numbers with me...no one will know what to do...and worse yet; Jack and Charlotte were coming to their first meeting...how on earth will they find a restaurant that no longer exists in a place they've never been to? This was playing out like a bad dream, or worse yet; a Stephen King made-for-TV mini-series!!! Ding-Dangit! Way to go, Dave! Great idea!
So I sat in the parking lot...already writing my email apologies in my head, when suddenly...a van pulls in...it's Jack Chapman and his wife! Using an expression I acquired from JPL, "Good Lord & Butter!" How in the heck did they find this place? Turns out, Charlotte recognized the building as a "Bob Evans" building. She's quite observant, and how glad I was for that! Soon, Tom Haines found us...he stopped at Wendy's and asked the guy mowing the lawn. Good thing Tom understands a mix of Spanish and hand signals, or he wouldn't have found us either. We waited there for 20 more minutes or so; then the 4 of us (that's right; only 4...I had some casualties due to my slip-up) drove a block up the road and had brunch at the Marriott. We swapped work samples and stories. Jack's work is is A-league material; I really enjoyed it. He shared a copy of the Midsouth Cartoonists Comic Book with us; what a cool idea. That Memphis group is impressive, I thought to myself. I'm not sure what Jack must be thinking about this rag-tag CHarlotte group...but despite the scheduling debacle, I hope he comes to another meeting...I haven't heard from him since!
I did have to send off some email apologies, so to avoid any miscues, I think we'll meet on our usual day for October. Last Monday of the Month; 11:30 AM at Heroes comic shop and a walk to lunch. I can't goof this one up....in theory.