I forgot about something Saturday night that I had found
hilarious! I guess I felt the time crunch last time, and it
slipped my mind...

In between coming back from dinner and going up to my
room¹, I, not surprisingly, got on the computer.
The computer had (likely still does, for that matter) MSN and
Yahoo Messenger on it, and I felt like chatting - especially since
some of my contacts on those services are people that had been
signed up for the meet, but hadn't been able to come. However,
the only people on were Lady Scott and Amy
So we talked some more...

And now we come to the day Theory stated was the only important
day of the meet², the day
that all of us were together...

Morning

Since I was scheduled to go to church with Lady Scott, Amy,
and Shorty (and Tac did come along after all, and brought Zak) and
I knew that I would not be back before check-out time, I had
packed up the night before. After further thought, I made a point
of unpacking what I wanted to wear after church, so I wouldn't
have to deal with my suitcase later. After going through the room
a couple of times to be sure I had everything I came with, I
headed down to the lobby to check my email before I checked
out⁴. Then I checked out,
and watched Tac play on the computer while we waited for Lady
Scott.

I put my suitcase in the trunk of Lady Scott's car, and we were
on our way to church. Lady Scott works in the nursery during
Sunday school - which is before the service - so we left her there.
after a little boy showed us how some of the really neat
toys worked. Then the question came up - did
Tac and I want to go to the adult class, or go with Amy and Shorty
to the teen class? We decided to stick with the girls, whom we
knew, despite my not being a teen for 8 years ⁵. We
watched a video, and Zak found yet another woman to kiss. After
Sunday school, we went down to meet with Lady Scott again, and Zak
met some other ducks.

After church, we took Tac back to the hotel, and I went to the
Scott home to change out of my dress and into some shorts. I was
hoping that there was a Walmart on the way either to their home or
to Long's Park⁶, because I had
arranged to call 2legs from the park if I could get more time on
my phone card. Turned out I couldn't call him. Before we went
back to the hotel⁷
we ladies stopped at the store for some things, just in
case...

On to the park!

So we met the rest of the non-locals back at the hotel (except
Shea and TJ, who were eating or still at church or something - I
don't remember, and I'm not sure I was clear on it then...) and
got in their respective vehicles to follow Lady Scott to Long's
Park. We were supposed to meet Jimi and Theory at the giant
playground, but it turned out that you can't get there from the
entrance we used - not by car, anyway - so we ended up parking in
the first big enough spot, and then started wondering how we were
going to meet up with everyone who wasn't from the hotel. Shorty
took off across the field (the giant playground was visible from
our spot) to wait for everyone else, just as Jimi and Theory
pulled up. Jimi said that he just attached himself to the line of
lost-looking cars, figuring it was us... I think Theory did the
same.

We dragged (OK, OK, a couple of the guys dragged⁸) a
couple of picnic tables together and food was set out. Then Shea
and TJ arrived⁹! The Ids, except for Id herself, ate at another
table. (I think they'd had their fill of weirdness, maybe? But
from what I've been told, they'd fit in here great if they'd
join...) Anyway, not much was eaten, as it was too darn warm for
appetites, although Lady Scott's whoopie pies proved popular!
Several photos were taken, including one of the
attending-in-spirit researchers. Unfortunately, either the sugar
in the whoopie pies was too great, or the double shot glass he
held in his wing hadn't been empty the whole time, but Zak
hit AWK with his brand new car.

After the photography session, some decided to play moops ball, while others decided to be
sensible and sit in the shade and chat¹⁰. However, moops ball is an audience
participation sport, and I still say that there must have been
points for making me screech, duck, and cover¹¹... And then the water fight... but
with only one water gun (a super-soaker that looks like a blaster
from Star Wars... Ya think TJ's a ?). It
quickly turned into TJ hiding from Shea while everyone else
laughed... but Lady Scott had a bottle of water with a squirt top,
so TJ got Shea back.

They weren't the only ones running around getting each other...
I'm not sure how it started, but for quite a while, Shorty and Tac
were stalking each other. I know there was tickling and
ice-down-the-shirt¹² involved, but I
don't know which came first. All I know for certain is that Shorty
proclaimed, 'Eeeewwww, he's sweaty and disgusting!'

Unfortunately, Tac and Paul had to leave around 2.30, because
it would take them 4-5 hours to get to Tac's house, and then Paul
had a further 4-5 hours to drive from there. So they may have
missed the water fight - I don't remember¹³. Then Jimi
had a call on his cell phone - there was something wrong at the
school he works in, and so he had to leave. The next group to
leave was the Id family, but not until Alexandra got her things
out of their minivan and into Mr Christopher's family's
vehicle¹⁴, not long after. Around 4 pm,
those of us left got chased out of the park, as there was going to
be a concert, and we were where they needed to park to set up. At
that point, we bid farewell to Mr Christopher, his parents, and
Alexandra, while the Scotts, Theory, Shea, TJ, and I went to the
Scott home.

I had wondered, at the time, why Alexandra was so insistant on
staying a bit longer, but I just figured she was having a good
time, and didn't want to leave so early. And that may have been
part of it. Maybe even a big part. However, I managed to totally
miss the real reason... my only excuse is that I was
missing Tom badly¹⁵ and trying not to let the adorable newlyweds
make me miss him even more¹⁶. What on earth am I going on about?
There was a bit of romance in the air. ¹⁷

The Scott home, or, Lord Scott in exile

I'd gotten to meet Lord Scott earlier, but I think a
horde¹⁸ of h2g2ers was just too much for him... he
stayed in the basement the majority of the time we were there.
Which was too bad, as we had fun. Don't know where he would have
sat, though...

So what did we do that was so much fun? Did we split up and get on
h2g2, since the Scotts have 4 computers? (After all, most of the
weekend there was at least one h2g2er on a computer somewhere...)
Actually, no. We sat and enjoyed the coolness, and talked. Shea
and TJ regaled us with tales of the big move, and of the time they
met Gosho and Blue Valentine. And Shea told us about Jeff. I want to meet Jeff too¹⁹... TJ was
almost another victim of The Chair That Makes Men Sleep, but
escaped by volunteering to take Lady Scott to go pick up pizza, as
her car was blocked in.

We talked almost incessantly, except for the 20s... for some
strange reason, around 20 after the hour, the whole time we were
at the Scott's, a silence would fall... Except for the final 20,
which is why I've kept insisting that Shea, TJ, and I must have
left around 9 instead of 8.30, as there was no silence right
before we left. Several topics were covered, including Shea
speculating on how she'd decorate their place... I believe a
duct-tape-and-wire mural was what was decided on? We also discussed pizza toppings and pizza eating
habits²⁰ (obviously,
this was before calling in to order the pizza)... After Lady Scott
and TJ left, I finally remembered that I'd
promised²¹ Amy that I'd demonstrate
*that-face-that-Tom-makes-that-I-don't-like* so I did. No one else
could come up with a better description than that, either.

Well, as I said before, Shea, TJ and I left around 8.30, and I
heard that Theory left soon after, so I'm guessing Lord Scott
finally emerged from his self imposed exile shortly thereafter.
I'm not sure he'd even come up for pizza!

Back to New York

We had a nice drive to Shea and TJ's, though it was
nearly 1 am by the time we got there, so I'm going to tell the
rest in my next installment, which will be the last one, I
promise. (I bet you thought this section was going to be yet
another 'We-drove-and-talked-and-here's-some-footnotes' bit,
didn't you?)

Pennsylvania 'Duck' Meet; Part One
Pennsylvania 'Duck' Meet; Part Two
Pennsylvania 'Duck' Meet; Part Three

Amy Pawloski

10.10.02 Front Page

Back Issue Page

¹I thought saying I went right to bed didn't
feel right!²Because he was there³... ³You really
didn't think I could leave that line alone , did you,
dear?⁴I wasn't sure that they would let me use the computer
once I was no longer a guest...⁵I'm older
than Tac, who I don't really think cared one way or the other
anyway - unlike myself, I don't think he's shy.⁶There wasn't.⁷Lady Scott again being the only one
who knew how to get where we wanted to go - if it wasn't for her,
the entire weekend could well have been a disaster...⁸No, I
don't remember who, and I didn't see anyway...⁹Which is why I didn't see who moved the
tables.¹⁰I was
sensible...¹¹I have
really bad depth perception, OK? ¹²Tac's shirt¹³It was over a
month ago! I think I'm doing pretty well...¹⁴They all know eachother IRL, so she could go
home with either family.¹⁵I'd not seen him for a week at this
point, and hadn't talked to him since the last day I'd been at
work...¹⁶The fact that I'm incredibly
dense about such things even under normal circumstances could also
be a factor...¹⁷Before you rush over and congratulate
them, Theory and Alexandra have since decided to be
friends.¹⁸Though 3 of the 7 were his family
members...¹⁹²⁰Normal, or with a fork...²¹Threatened?