Out of the Ashes...

The Old Crew...

Saturday I worked the little gig in Chicago. Child support has to be maintained, even above my own interests. So I worked it. Good thing, too, because later that night there was going to be a little shindig for one of my former Lobster co-workers. Li’l Kat...my kitten...my adopted sister...is turning 30.

Of course, I pointed out all the new wrinkles, exaggerated or not. Ain’t I a good big bro? *snicker*

Yeah, it was nice to see the old crew. Most are still at RL, some are not. It was doubly good to see the ones that left before I did. It was a blast, I tell ya. Then again, it always is when partying with that crew. It was an 80's theme, which was odd...because...most of these folks were still aged in their single digits during that decade. SOME were either toddlers, babies, or not yet even thought about yet. It was very strange seeing the younger Gen X and newer Gen Y types trying to be sooooooo 80's.

The hosts of the evening were Russ and Pam <last name omitted>. I worked with Pam and never before met her hubby. Saturday was my first dig of the guy. My first impression was his costume. It was immediately apparent who he was: Dee Snyder of the hard rock act Twisted Sister. Almost a dead ringer, too, complete with (I kid you not) yellow and black striped hot shirt with open mesh in the front. Easily the best costume of the whole group. Classic... Even outdid the birthday girl herself.

So, we had the old RL crew together again, some relatives, AND Russ’ pals. Took awhile of joking a bit with his friends (all of whom I immediately liked) before I realized - THEY’RE COPS!! Yeah. Chicago city cops. Wow, they can party - almost as much as the RL crew.

That pretty much explained why no one called the police for our party’s rather raucous behavior and loud tunes (yes, outside as well as in). That ROCKS!

So there ya go, folks. If you wanna party, get loud enough to keep an otherwise quiet, peaceful neighborhood awake all dang night - invite a group of well-known active duty coppers.

I ended up leaving around 3:30 AM, because I had an initial interview the next day. It really was hard to tear myself away. It’ll likely be awhile before I get to party with the crew again.

Now I did do something productive while there. I took a tiny break from all the fun and loudness to verbally finalize a deal with one of my old crew members. Celeste...good kid. I worked with her for MONTHS before it came out that she had a degree inn English Literature and Composition. Not creative...per se...but precisely the kind of formalized education that has her tailor made for the editing process on a professional level. In fact, she did that for our fellow workmates from time to time for their school papers. She agreed to give my book a professional beating. She’s back in school for yet ANOTHER degree (daaaaaaaannnnnng) plus she works two jobs (double daaaaannnnnng), but once classes are out this term she says she’ll get right into it. The original agreement didn;t mention any kind of compensation other than “Oh, don’t worry about that. I love doing that. I know, I’m weird.” But I can’t ask someoen to undertake a major project on my behalf without SOME kind of payback. Right?

So, I talked her into a 50-50 split. I thought it out enough to have a good quickie proposal ready to go. I write, rewrite, and whatnot...she does whatever pro editors do. We formalize the arrangement as a business partnership when it’s ready to market for sale. When it sells, she gets half. Period. That’s only fair, after all - in my view she’s doing the hard work.

I did get her to understand that I was NOT being overly nice and to understand that I have no problems waiting on her timetable. I worked with both Celeste and her mother, and I know them well enough to know that when they make a promise they find ways to keep it. With Celeste’s kind of talent AND education, it’s easy to be patient.

I had fun and did some business. Li’l sis Kat had a great ushering into real adulthood, and I was reminded that law enforcement types can party as hard or harder than we hospitality types. Yes, it was a good night. One to remember for awhile.

Now, I just gotta remember how to get a hold of the pictures I somehow ended up being a part of. Maybe I need to call Da Boysssss....