The weatherman worked overtime in Americus during the weekend of 19-22 October. Bennie and Margie must have really called in some markers for the weather guys. The temperature was crisp in the mornings but warm later in the day---a great fall weekend. Many arrived on 19 October and the rest (your humble correspondent among them) came in on Friday, 20 October. Regardless of when you arrived, Margie and Bennie went out of their way to make sure we all had a great time. There must be something about a Jamison Inn. You couldn't have asked for a better place to hold a meeting in Virginia then at the Jamison Inn and the staff at the Jamison Inn in Americus did the same. All I can say is the corporate headquarters for the Jamison Inn must spend a lot of time, effort and money in training their personnel. Our hats off to the staff in Americus.

Friday evening, as per normal, was spent telling stories that have been passed down through generations. The staff at the Jamison Inn threw us a reception in the team room and everyone attacked the pizza and wings with gusto. In fact, Jim Rawlins and John Heist were fighting over who could eat the most and the hottest wings. Jim and John complained the wings weren't hot enough so they doused the plates with Tabasco sauce and dove in. We had to call the fire department to help put out the fire that was erupting from their eyes, nostrils and mouths. They used several towels to wipe the sweat from their faces and still all they could mumble is:

"Man! Those wings are good!"

Saturday most of the members joined Bennie and Margie for the tour of the Andersonville National Park and the Confederate Prisoner of War camp. In case you haven't heard of Andersonville, Georgia, it was the site of the Confederate Prisoners of War Camp. I understand, although I wasn't there in person at the time, that it was one hell of a place to be. Not many prisoners lived though the horrible conditions.

Then it was off to the South Georgia Technical College for a quick lunch and, after the lunch, we were entertained by Brigadier General Gerry Peddle, Retired Chaplin General of the Canadian Armed Forces. BG Peddle briefed us on the newest conditions and feelings of the Canadians towards their friends to the south. It was a very interesting talk. It seems the federal government in Canada changed. Like the advertisement claims: "Out with the old, in with the new." Relations between the two countries are improving. BG Peddle emphasized the point that the Canadian military and the American military are really not all that different.

Then it was Billy Waugh's turn. He gave us an outstanding briefing about the new Special Forces and their role in the War on Terror. He described some of the futuristic equipment now being used by SF in Afghanistan. Billy did mention that everything he talked about was unclassified and all the talk was his own. He spoke for no government entity or branch.

And finally we set up for the meeting. We recognized two members from Chapter LIX (Art Tucker and Charles Stewart and his lovely wife Linda Stewart). There were twenty-two members who signed in at the door. For some reason or other, we lost three members between the time we started lunch and the time we started the meeting. In any case, we didn't have enough members (again) to have a quorum so there was no meeting. We did nail down the location of the next meeting. Well, actually we didn't nail it down in stone but we have a pretty good idea where it will be. It'll be a toss-up between Ashville and Brevard, NC. We didn't actually nail the date down either. It'll probably be the third weekend in January but that is subject to change. Someone questioned the possibility of snow in that AO but we were assured there would be no snow in January. Snow comes in February and March.

And so it was back to the Team House for drinks, bull sessions and possible meetings. Our President, Bill Long, asked for a headcount (just to see if we had enough members for a quorum) but we still came up with nineteen...one short. We figured we would have everyone present at the BBQ but we still ended up with only nineteen members. Bill then decided to call it quits and we would go down once again as one member shy of a quorum.

Dinner was served out in the open next to the pool. The BBQ pork was good. The Brunswick Stew was good. The BBQ chicken was good (I suppose since I didn't eat any). The BBQ baked beans were also good. The BBQ knats that swarmed about us was not so good. The servings were huge and more than enough to fill you up. There were lots of leftovers and you could eat to your hearts content.

And the night ended with everyone back in the team room swapping stories, watching the football games (Jim Rawlins was rooting for Alabama but it was to no avail. Alabama lost to Tennessee 16-13. Still I think Jim won because of the point spread.) and drinking the beer. Margie and Gerry presented Phyllis Fine, host for the Jamison Inn, gifts in our appreciation for an outstanding job of welcoming our chapter to Americus.

And so Saturday night ended and Sunday came all too soon. It was a time of good-byes and "see you in North Carolina" and "have a safe trip home".

I have done the photo session a little different this time around. I've added a guest page and our normal photopage. You can meander through them at your leisure. Hope you enjoy them.

As soon as I get the information, I'll post the next meeting on our site. In the meantime, I'll see you in Brevard or Ashville, North Carolina on the 3rd weekend of January (if it isn't snowing).