Hampton, Virginia was the site for our Spring meeting. It was a combined meeting of Chapter 33 (our chapter), Chapter 84 (Hampton Roads Chapter) and Chapter 11 (Capital Chapter). There were a few members from Chapters 6, 45 and 57. It probably was a good thing we had a combined meeting because only fifteen members from our chapter showed up. We didn't have a very large chapter turnout but there were at least nine members from the other chapters. Actually, there were probably more floating around the hospitality room, reception and dinner. I have the names of only those members who attended the meeting on Saturday. My hat's off to the following guests for their help in making this Spring Meeting one of the best gatherings we've had:

Jerry Mierle
Gene McCarthy
Jack Tobin
Carl Nagle
Edwin Campbell
Mike Linnane
John Underwood
Bob Wynn
and Lee Fields.

For those of you who were there but remain unnamed, accept my apologies. I am amiss for not getting all the names but all of you were instrumental in making this a great gathering.

Many of the fifteen members arrived on Wednesday, 17 May but they must have hid in their rooms because the only person I saw that night was Dewey. We had a beer in the hotel lounge. Dewey didn't bother to drive. He just hopped a plane in Chattanooga, flew to Ashville and then to Norfolk, VA. He probably spent less on his plane ticket then Marion and I spent on gas, wear and tear and food for the trip (coming and going).

I got a GPS system for Christmas and decided to see if that really worked. It got us to Hampton, VA with no problem but then we drove around Hampton for an hour or so trying to find the Hampton Inn. It would have probably worked better had I put the correct address in the system. I was off by just one digit. Instead of xx15 Coliseum Drive I put xx14 Coliseum Drive. Since xx14 Coliseum Dr didn't exist, we were directed to go up this road, down that road, make a U-turn, go back up this road and back down that road. A couple of U-turns later we finally stopped and ask directions.

Ron and Doris were there as was Judy and her cousin. Art and Brigitte were there but staying at Lee's for the night, OC and Sheila, Bennie and Margie didn't make an appearance until the following morning at breakfast. I guess the long drives just about did them in. We're not as young as we used to be, you know.

The Hampton Inn was beyond a doubt, the best hotel we have ever stayed at. Lee Fields, the manager of the Inn and also a member of Chapter 84, bent over backwards to make us welcome. When we checked in, we were given meal tickets for breakfast buffet for each day we were staying. The fourth floor (Executive floor, reached only by key) was ours exclusively. The Executive Lounge was overflowing with coffee, cakes, cookies, water, soft drinks and a computer that we could use to check mail and send messages. All of this, by the way, was without charge.

Each morning we met in the hotel restaurant. The buffet consisted of scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, home fries, biscuits and gravy, hot cakes, French toast and all types of fruit. If you didn't like what you saw on the buffet, you could order eggs to your liking from the grill. After breakfast most of the members just went their separate ways for the day and met later in the Lounge (now turned into the Hospitality Room).

I won't bore you with the events of Thursday and Friday except to say there are so many places to see and things to do in the Hampton area it would take more than two days to do them all. And if you were really gutsy, you could take a short trip (about a hundred miles or so) to Washington DC and visit with President Bush and First Lady Laura.

Lee Fields and his staff threw a reception for us Friday night. There were crab legs galore and all sorts of sweets and other goodies. I have no idea where Lee and staff found the uniforms but they were dressed in Jungle fatigues, bandannas and berets. They looked like they just stepped out of the jungles of South Viet Nam.

Saturday, the ladies went on the Navy Cruise (a navy launch went up and down the James River and viewed all the ships and subs). The Cole was there all repaired and getting ready for another trip to the Middle East. This lasted two hours exactly and then it was off to Olde Williamsburg and more shopping. Now we've been here three days and they are still into this shopping mode. Talk about Power Shoppers .
At 1400 hours (give or take a couple minutes) we held our meeting. Unfortunately we were short 10-12 members to have a quorum so all we did was sit around and shoot the bull. We did decide on the date and place of the Summer Meeting. It will be held in Ashville, NC (see the Alert Order Page on our website). This will be hosted by none other than our President, Bill Long and Associates. The Associates being: Mike DiRocco, Charlie Ponds and Robert Charest.

And will wonders never cease! It is usually easier to pull eye teeth without Novocain than to find where the next meeting is going to be. This time we not only have a firm commitment for the Summer Meeting in Ashville, NC but we also have a firm commitment for the Fall Meeting in Americus, Ga. This one is being hosted by Bennie and Margie McDonald (see the Alert Order Page on our website).

Judy Hines was appointed Chairperson of the "Widow's Committee". Judy is the first widow of this Chapter to avail herself of the privilege of becoming an associate member with all rights and benefits appertaining thereto (Hugh Johnson's words not mine). I do believe it will fall on Judy's shoulders to try and enlighten the other widows of this chapter that they should also think about becoming an associate member. I've known Judy for many years and I think if anyone can push the associate membership, she can.

And then came the Chapter Dinner. This was Prime Rib and all the fixin's. For you sweet-tooth guys and gals, there were at least four different types of desert. Just like in the old Army days, you could take all you wanted but you best eat all you took. I doubt if there was a morsel left on the plates. The gala event ended with Lee Myers (the host of this event) and Bill Long (our President) presenting Lee Fields with a Chapter XXXIII plaque for his outstanding contribution in making this one of Chapter XXXIII's finest meetings.

And, of course, no chapter meeting would be complete without our usually auction and the fantastic, priceless antiques that were placed up for bid. Art had even gone as far as traveling all the way to China and picking up, at no small price on his part, two hundred and thirty knives from the Ming Dynasty. These knives (and one sword) were recently discovered when they were excavating the current site of the Three Gorges Dam. The rather large sword included with that find is believed to be the sword that Chow Ming, himself, wore as he went to do battle against the hordes from Mongolia. I know it just broke Brigitte's heart to part with all these historical artifacts. But it's all for the good of the chapter.
All in all, the final results from the auction were about $750.00 for the Scholarship Fund. You can thank our very capable Auctioneer, "Sly" Shank and Associates, for their undying belief that there's always another buck in someone's pocket. He even auctioned off a priceless Ming Dynasty knife to Dallas, the bartender.

And let's not forget to thank our brothers and comrades-in-arms from the other chapters for making this meeting a memorial meeting. I hope we can join forces at some future date to talk of old times and tell the big stories.

And so another Chapter Meeting, in the long list of Chapter Meetings, came to a close. I'm trying something different this time. There are photos to be viewed if you want. Just click on the chapter tab to pull up them up.