|
|
|
Iona Building, |
|
|
|
Iona Building, |
Supreme Session 2006
(To stop the music on this page,
click on the stop button on your browser)
| Session Diary | |||
| Sunday, July 30 | Monday, July 31 | Tuesday, August 1 | |
| Wednesday, August 2 | Thursday, August 3 | Friday, August 4 | |
| Saturday, August 5 | Sunday, August 6 | ||
|
|
|
|
Okay, it's actually Saturday night, but we are packing and doing other last minute things as we get ready to head for Vancouver, BC for Supreme Session 2006. This promises to be a fun Session and everybody is looking forward to it. We will be leaving the house early tomorrow morning so I thought I would do a quick post this evening. Also, depending upon the Internet situation at the University of British Columbia I may or may not be able to sign on Sunday night from Vancouver. Anyway, I have posted a couple of pictures above. The first one is just some of the items we are packing. As you can see they cover our entire bed. I think that we should actually just put the house on wheels and drive it to Vancouver. There would be a lot less to pack. The second picture refers back to my first set of pictures from last year. As you may remember, we had just begun having our bathroom refinished and I posted a couple of pictures of the early stages of the project. Since that time I have had many inquiries regarding the outcome of the job. Well, yes, it is finished and you can see our new vanity above, but it did take a while. The gentleman who started the job became ill, and we eventually had to switch contractors. It was November before we had a finished bathroom. Once we did however, I guess we were bitten by the refinishing bug because since then we have completed the entire first floor of our house, except for the kitchen. On Monday, the workmen will begin refinishing our kitchen, so we will be coming home to another mess, but in the long run it will be really cool. Well, Toni is toiling away alone in the other room so I need to get back to packing. I will be talking to you soon. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hey everybody, it's early Sunday Morning and I have just a minute before we head out of here. Toni is doing a bit of re-packing in the other room. Do you notice a theme here - when there is some serious packing to do I am sent to the other room . . . just where I really want to be ;) I already have a couple of shout-outs to give. First to Ian Milne from Queensland. We talked a bit about my daughter, Katie, who is a singer. We were just in Los Angeles meeting with record company executives and music producers as we work our way towards a recording contract for her. The trip went very well and things are looking good, at least at the present time. In the music business you never actually count on anything until it is completed, but we couldn't be happier with where things are right now. Anyway, Ian sent word that there is an Australian singer named Katie Underwood, and hopefully that was a good omen. I told him about Carrie Underwood, so maybe there is room for at least one more Underwood, although my Katie's professional name is Katie Louise, which is her first and middle name. While we were in Los Angeles, we hooked up with some great Jobie folks. We had dinner and a fun night out at the Universal City Walk with Chantay Niebur, her Dad Wally and her fiancé Howard. Thanks to them for all of their hospitality. Other shout-outs go to Brian Thompson, the VAGG of Queensland and David Kirk, PAGG and Grand Secretary of Queensland who both sent some very nice e-mails about Session and other items. You can read about Brian's Supreme adventures by Clicking Here. When I was in Queensland when I was Associate Supreme Guardian, David and I went to the Brisbane Bronco's rugby game and we had a great time. Go Bronco's. Another shout-out goes to Melanie Strachan, the Grand Guide of Queensland. Melanie is a good friend who also keeps a Supreme Session Diary. You can view her Diary by Clicking Here. I have so many friends from Queensland and everybody there is so friendly. Thanks to all of the for their e-mails as well as their hard work for Job's Daughters. Well, that's about it for now. I will try to check back in this evening. Bye for now. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I'm back folks. It's about 11:30 p.m. here, and I am one tired puppy. My Supreme Travel jinx didn't strike too bad, but it did manage to rear it's head just a bit, but that comes a bit later. First of all my daughter Kim took us to the airport and we quickly went through the baggage check and got our boarding passes. Our traveling crew consisted of Mom Toni Underwood, Mom Kathy Rodemacher, GBHQ Katie Rodemacher, Miss Missouri Maggie Delaney, Julie Delaney, Jane Spurgeon, and me. Also on the same plane with us were Dad Craig Stratmann, GIG, Kim Stratmann, Paula Howard and Erin Howard. The flight was pretty good, although for some folks who shall remain nameless (Maggie and Mom Kathy) some of the turbulence frayed their nerves a bit, and the landing was an adventure for them. After we landed we got our baggage and headed over to the Enterprise car rental place to get our rental cars. We were upgraded to a full size car. At least that's what they call it. I'm not sure just whose standards they are using to figure out that this was a full size car, but it was a bit snug for 4 people and 32 pieces of luggage. Did I say 32, silly me, of course that can't be correct. It had to be 52 pieces of luggage. After all, we will be gone for a whole week. Once we got the cars we went to a place called Dave's Diner. The food was great and the atmosphere even better. It was a Route 66 theme, and we dined under the Route 66-Missouri sign. Pretty cool. We then got on the road to Vancouver. Now remember, Mom Toni and I were running on about 2 hours sleep at this point. I started out driving our car, while Jane was driving the other car. Driving through Seattle was a chore in itself. A lot of crazy drivers were on the road, and they were speeding and zig-zagging all over the place. Sort of like bumper cars, only with real cars. Anyway, we made it through Seattle and were on the road for a bit when I really started getting tired. Mom Toni said to pull over before I fell asleep and she would take over. We pulled of in a little place called Skagit County. Well, it turns out that the other car wanted to pull off at that same time so the riders could . . . how can I put this delicately . . . the riders wanted to rest. Therefore we went in search of a restroom. First, we had pulled into the parking lot of the visitor's center, so they all went there to rest, but the visitor's center was closed. Then they walked over to another establishment, but there was no place to rest there either. No big deal, we all figured. Mom Toni suggested that maybe we should just get on the highway and go to the next exit. No reason to do that we figured, surely there would be a restroom close. We hopped back into the cars and drove to a nearby restaurant. Well, even though the word rest in in restaurant, we were not allowed to rest there. Mom Toni again suggested the next exit, but no, that just wouldn't do, so we drove on down the road to a convenience store. Well, it was convenient for everything but resting. No public restrooms. Well, we then decided to go in search of a gas station. Now some of the riders were getting a bit desperate to rest. Mom Toni gave her now familier suggestion of the next exit, but as usual in this matter, she was ignored. We found a gas station and pulled in, but it looked like there weren't any restrooms. Oh no, what would we do . . . but wait, there on the wall, a sign that said restrooms. Hooray, we found some. Maggie jumped out of the car ran behind the building where the restrooms were located and . . . came back around the corner with a forlorn look on her face. The restrooms were for members only. We don't know what you had to be members of to use these restrooms, but whatever it was, we sure weren't members of it. After the ensuing suggestion by Mom Toni and the utter indifference to it from the rest of the crew, onward we pressed, driving by a athletic field where we looked in vain for a porta-restroom. No such luck . . .but look, down around the curve in the road, another convenience store. We drive to it and low and behold, this one is going out of business. No useable restrooms, but they would sell us water at 30% off. Figuring that would only lead to us desiring more rest, we passed on the deal. They did tell us, however, that there was a Lions Club Park where there were some restrooms. Do you have to be members of the Lion's Club to use these restrooms we wondered. Well, nothing ventured nothing gained we figured and drove to the Lions Park. There were the restrooms . . . with a big sign that read RESTROOMS CLOSED . . . Uh-oh we all moaned, but then noticed in smaller letters at the bottom of the sign . . . RESTROOMS CLOSED at dusk. Well the sun was still high in the sky so we were in luck. We must have all been pretty tired by this point because everybody went and rested for a while. When we were finished resting, we got back on the highway, and of course, at the next exit, it looked like the vacation destination for restrooms. There were gas stations, convenience stores, parks, restaurants, private residences all with public restrooms advertised on signs in front of their buildings. Of course Mom Toni would never gloat in a situation like this. She merely smiled with the calm serenity of one who has been proved right after flying in the face of all conventional wisdom . . . not that you would call any of the rest of us particularly wise, but at least we were all well rested. Down the road we went. I nodded off to sleep, only to be awakened with the message that we were nearing the US-Canadian Border. Of course, with all of the traffic going into Canada, it took us about an hour to get to the customs checkpoint. After the usual questions at customs (What is your name, what is your quest, what is the average airspeed of an un-laden swallow) we journeyed into Canada and on to Vancouver. We had a few missed turns and added a couple of mad dashes through construction zones, but we finally made it to the UBC Campus and check into our rooms. We ran into some friends from Wyoming Utah, and of course British Columbia. We made it to the rooms, and later went out to eat at an Irish restaurant. Following that it was on to the local Safeway Market to stock up on goodies for the rooms, and then we trudged back to the rooms to settle in for the night. That's about it for now folks. I am really tired and ready to hit the sack. We have a tours early tomorrow, so it will probably be evening before I am able to post again. I will leave you with a couple more pictures from the day's activities. Good night.
To view a scene of our plane landing in Seattle,
Click Here |
To return to the Session Diary Table of Contents, click
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hello everybody. Whew, what a long day. We started out bright and early when Mom Toni signed in at the registration table and got all of our Session Materials. After that it was a quick breakfast and then off to our tour, which was a cruise of the Vancouver Bay and a shopping excursion. It took a while for me to get my sea legs (and let's face it, my land legs aren't all that great to begin with). Most of the others, however, were right at home right away. The boat had music playing during the cruise and when Copacabana came on, everybody started dancing. To view a scene of some of the dancing, Click Here. Now Dad Lon Goede wasn't up and dancing, but that doesn't mean he was sitting still. To view Dad Goedes seated dancing, Click Here. Remember that you will need QuickTime to view this movie. You also want to stop the music on this page from playing. To stop the music on this page, click on the stop button on your browser. Also, these are large files so please be patient. We had lunch on the boat and it was really good; chicken with a tasty sauce on it. After lunch we cruised around the harbor for a while. It was a lot of fun. After docking, we went on a bit of a shopping spree. Well, the gals went on a shopping spree. I managed to find a nice comfortable bench and sneak it 40 winks. Hey, at Supreme Session you nap when you can. Around 4:00 we all got back on the bus and headed back to the rooms. I had just enough time to change clothes and get back out to catch the bus for the Masonic Meeting. There was a great crew, and several Missouri folks were there, including Dad Dennis Flanery, AGG, Dad Craig Stratman, GIG, Dad Lon Goede, Dad John Vezeau and me. The meal, prepared and served by the local Bethel, was very good. During the actual meeting, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Degree Team performed the Master Mason Degree for two candidates. The work was very well done and the team received a standing ovation at the conclusion of the meeting. After that it was back to the rooms where I am now doing this update. Sorry if it is a little short, but I am really tired and we have an early day tomorrow. That's all for now. Good night folks. |
To return to the Session Diary Table of Contents, click
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hey folks, how are things going. Today was sort of a mixed bag. We started our with the Missouri Breakfast at the Student Union building here on the UBC campus. I think the restaurant was overwhelmed with this large of a gathering this early in the morning during the summer session. Still, they were able to get everybody served in a fairly short amount of time. The food was good and the company even better. We were all there basically to wish our Miss Missouri Maggie good luck in the Miss International Pageant. Our Grand Guardian, Mom Helen Kramer, presented Maggie with a gift as did our GBHQ Katie. Maggie was thrilled with the gifts and even more happy with all of the good wishes for her. Following Breakfast we went upstair to the Session Sales room. The Doc Morgan room looked sort of empty. We found out the reason was that most of their inventory was being held by Canadian Customs. Hopefully they will be able to get the material through and to the sales area in a couple of days. After all, you can't sell apples from an empty cart (sorry about that, it's the good old Arkansas boy in me coming out :) Then we made the rounds of all of the Jurisdictionals sales tables. They had a lot of neat stuff. We also went by the Alumni Table where Tomilynn McManus, PSG, and our own Marlene Frakes, PSG, were selling. The next thing I knew I had been drafted into service selling items while Tomilynn went to the Board Meeting. That was cool. It gave me a chance to sit and rest my aching back (it has been giving me problems on the trip). Following lunch we all headed back to the room. Everyone was sort of worn out from the last few days worth of traveling, touring and not sleeping. I was pretty tired, plus I was about to have my "get on the local time zone nap." Every time I go to a different time zone for any length of time, it takes me a couple of days to adjust. Finally I will lay down for a nap and when I wake up, I am on local time. Everyone else also took the opportunity to nap and I tell you what, it really hit the spot. After our naps, it was time to head for dinner (pretty good timing with the naps, huh?). On the way to dinner, we saw some punk rock poodles. One had a blue mohawk, ears and tail and the other one had pink/purple ears and tail. The owner also had blue pink and purple in her hair. The funny thing was that the owner was not a puck rocker, but a lady of around 60 years of age. Hey, whatever floats your boat. We had dinner at a Greek Restaurant where the food was very good, but the service wasn't quite up there with the food. They completely forgot Katie Rodemacher's order, so she was eating about 10 minutes behind everyone else. Also, the silverware started to attack Jane Spurgeon. It turns out she was wearing a magnetic bracelet and necklace, and the silverware as sticking to them. Jane took them off, and the rest of dinner was fairly uneventful.
After dinner we headed back to the campus for the HIKE Dance. We had a great time doing a little dancing (in my case, very little, as in none . . . Well, I did wave my hands around once or twice. Hey, that's my version of dancing. The girls were having a fantastic time dancing (for real dancing) while Mom Toni and I had a nice time chatting with Dad David Kirk of Australia. We also visited with some other of our Australian friends, as will as with Patty Reardon of Washington and Mary Strehle of Virginia). It was a fun evening.
Following the dance we headed back to the room for some ice cream (sugar free for me), some quick updating of my diary and then off to bed.. At least that was the plan. I have since uncovered a fiendish plot that has been foisted on Mom Helen's Roaming Gnome, or as she calls him, Ganomey. It seems that Ganomey has been kidnapped! That right, can you believe it? Anyway, upon further investigation I have discovered evidence that might lead to the eventual discovery of the culprits and the return of Ganomey to his rightful homey. I have come across some pictures, and will be posting a few of them here each day in the hope that we will recognize something in the pictures that might lead us to Ganomey.
What has happened to Ganomey? Where has he been taken? Who could have done this terrible thing? When will be be returned? For the answer to these and other semi-scintillating questions, tune in tomorrow for another episode of As the Gnome Turns. Good night folks. |
To return to the Session Diary Table of Contents, click
 Having fun at the Royalty Luncheon |
 Pictures from the Past included GBHQ Katie, Mom Rodemacher, Mom Underwood and Mom Frakes . . . Can you tell who is who? |
|
Hey folks. It's early in the morning and we are just about ready to head over to the first Business Session. Maggie is already over at the Miss International Competition. They have their interviews and ritual competition today. Go Maggie! I am sending a shout-out to Carolyn Woods of Missouri who sent a nice e-mail about the diary. She mentioned that she grew up in the suburbs of Seattle, Washington, and that now most of her family lives is Skagit County. Gee, I hope they are all members of that gas station so they can all . . . rest ;) Just kidding. Thanks Carolyn, I really appreciate it. Another shout-out goes to Ron Zimmer, who sent us a note on Sunday. Sorry I missed you earlier, Ron. I'm gonna hop off now. Just wanted to say hi before we get going today. I'll be back later tonight with more updates. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Mom Toni and I spent the morning at the first Business Session, and it was very Interesting. Our SG, Mom Windbiel, and our ASG, Dad Smiley gave their reports and they were both very good and received standing ovations. Following the morning Session, I went to host the Men of Job Luncheon while Mom Toni and most of the girls went to the Royalty Luncheon. Both luncheons were very well attended and everyone had a wonderful time. After lunch it was back to the afternoon Business Session. Mom Shirley Bryngleson and I were honored to serve as the host and hostess of the afternoon session, and we introduced Mom Windbiel and Dad Smiley. We both received some lovely gifts for our efforts. Thanks to Mom Windbiel and Dad Smiley for asking us to serve in this capacity. The afternoon session went very well. We had a lot of legislation, but all of it flew by. We did come to a bit of a bump in the road when an amendment regarding what to do when the number of members in a GGC drops below 100. After much discussion, it was announced that the amendment would be re-worded overnight in order to take into account the many concerns expressed about it during the day. After that, the business session came to a close.
Then it was time to get ready for the Formal Opening. Everyone got into their finest duds (That's clothes for those of you under 40 or so) and sauntered over to the War Memorial Coliseum where the opening was to take place. Mom Marilee Smiley and Dad Fred Windbiel served as the host and hostess and did a great job. After that Mom Windbiel took the gavel and ran a very organized Formal Opening. Even with the Degree of Royal Purple being performed, and a very moving Necrology Ceremony, the Opening was over shortly after 10:00. Believe me folks, that is a quick Formal Opening. I have sat though some that I thought were going to last until breakfast the next day. Congratulations to all involved in the Formal Opening for making it one of the best. Following the Formal Opening we all headed back to the room to chat, nibble on some chips and then hit the sack. The Supreme Bethel Meeting starts very early in the morning. 7:30 a.m. to be exact, so the girls went to bed fairly early while I came in here to update the diary. I have some more shout-outs to some good friends who e-mailed us about the Session Diary. First to Dad Bill Walker, PSG. He passed along some very nice words about my hosting the Men's Luncheon as well as the diary. Bill is here at Session and is checking the Diary from his computer in the room. Bill wasn't able to be at Session last year. He was sorely missed and it is great to have him back. The next shout-out goes to Nancy Spraker, PHQ Bethel #97 Gardner, Illinois and the Associate Matron of Chebanse Chapter #279 in Chebanse, Illinois. She say that the diary makes her feel like she is back in Job's Daughters. Thanks a lot Nancy. I am glad you enjoy it. The final shout-out for tonight goes to Mom Linda Sinley, PGG-MO. She sent a nice e-mail about the Diary and other things as well. Mom Sinley has moved to Arizona and really likes it there, but misses all of her Jobie friends back in Missouri. She says hi to all of the Missouri Jobies and wishes Miss Missouri Maggie good luck in the Miss International Pageant on Thursday Night. Now folks, the mystery of the disappearance of Ganomy deepens. As you know, yesterday we had assumed that Ganomy had been kidnapped. This has turned out to be an erroneous assumption. It seems that Ganomy was wanting to see a little more of the Vancouver Area, so he actually talked some people into taking him on some private tours. He concocted the kidnapping story to through off anyone who might have decided to come looking for him. The plot began to unravel when his new traveling companions found out just how much Ganomy can eat and how much it costs to feed him. Now they want to give him back, but he is refusing to come back just yet. He says that he want to roam more than his cousin, the Travelocity Roaming Gnome, and that he will not come back until he does so. I don't know folks, Ganomy seems pretty intent on accomplishing the nearly impossible task of catching up to his cousin.
What will happen next. Will Ganomy continue his wandering ways? Will he come back soon? Will he get enough to eat? Will his cousin drop a piano on Ganomy in order to keep him from catching up? The answer to these and other unusual questions will be answered tomorrow on the next episode of The Edge of Ganomy. Good night folks. |
To return to the Session Diary Table of Contents, click
 Mom Windbiel and Dad Smiley at the Alumni Luncheon |
 Arizona/Virginia perform their skit |
|
Just time for a short update before we head to the Formal Banquet. At the Supreme Bethel Meeting, Erin Duskey from Pennsylvania was selected as the new SBHQ. From Missouri, Marci Baty, PHQ #15 was selected as Supreme Bethel Fourth Messenger, Erica Wallace, PHQ #7 was selected as the Supreme Bethel Representative to Ohio, and Nicole Baty, PHQ #15 was selected as the Supreme Bethel Representative to Sergipe (Brazil). Our new Supreme Bethel Representative to Missouri is from South Dakota. I will try to get her name later. Congratulations to all of them, as well as all the girls who were selected during the Supreme Bethel Meeting. For lunch, many of us attended the Alumni Luncheon. It was very good, and we had salad and a selection of quiches. Yes, real men do eat quiche, although I've heard a rumor that Gnomes do not. More on that later tonight. Following the luncheon we went to the afternoon business session. It went pretty well. We passed one amendment (a list of passed amendments will be available later), and the controversial amendments regarding suspending GGC charters were withdrawn. I am sending a shout-out to Judy Dickson, PGG & GS-KS, who sent us a very nice note regarding the diaries. She is heading to the rodeo tonight with her Granddaughter Abby Becker, and I am sure that she will have a rip-roaring time. Another shout-out goes to Julie Emberson, PGBHQ-IL, who wrote us that she really likes the diary and feels like she is right in the middle of all the action. She sent along a hello to VASG Tom Sapp. I delivered the message, Julie, and he saysf hello right back. When I first told him you said hi he got excited because he thought you were here. I told him you were via the diary. That's it for now. Everyone is getting ready for the Formal Banquet and then the Miss International Pageant. Good luck once again to our Miss Missouri Maggie. Talk to you later this evening. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Okay, I'm back after a very long evening. It is pretty late so I will just do a quick wrap-up of the evening. The Formal Banquet went really well. We had prime rib and it was delicious. Dessert was cheesecake, which unfortunately I cannot have since I am diabetic. Sweets are normally not a problem for me, except for, of course, cheesecake, so passing up dessert was tough for me, Mr. Willpower. Yeah, right ;) Following the banquet we headed over to the Miss International Pageant. It started out well, but about halfway through, the computer they were using for tallying broke down, so they had to do everything by hand. There was a very long stretch where the M.C. William Walls, Miss International Chelsey and even some members from the audience entertained. Finally they caught up and the evening continued. Here are the results. Written Ritual Winner: Erin Weisshaar of Wyoming. Oral Ritual Winner: Sarah Shepheard of Virginia. Essay Winners: 3 way tie between Kimberly Garrett of Utah, Lindsey Solda of California and Stephanie Begin of British Columbias. Miss International Congeniality: Erin Weisshaar of Wyoming. 4th Runner Up: Eden Clausen of Nebraska, 3rd Runner Up: Kimberly Garret of Utah, 2nd Runner Up: Samantha Johnston of Alberta, 1st Runner Up: Sarah Shepheard of Virginia, and your new Miss International Job's Daughter is Erin Weisshaar of Wyoming. Congratulations to all of them, as well as to our own Miss Missouri Maggie Delaney. She did a wonderful job representing Missouri, and we are all so proud of her. I have some shout outs to send. First to Jennifer Hallahan, Miss Missouri Congeniality, who sent us a nice note and says hello to Miss Missouri Maggie. Also to Shannon Snell, PSBHQ, who sent us a very nice note of thanks for the Supreme Diary. Another shout out goes to Ian Nelson, ABG #4, Queensland. He says that all of the blogs from Supreme are keeping him up to date. His daughter, Reanna, was one of the pageant contestants this evening, and she did a fantastic job. Finally to Katheryn Kereluik, the mother of the GBHQ of Ohio Katie Houck. Katheryn was a member of Bethel #50 of Missouri, and one of our traveling companions, Jane Spurgeon, was the Honored Queen who Initiated her. Pretty cool. Uh-oh folks, it seems that Ganomy is now feeling the pressure of trying to catch up to the traveling record of his cousing, the Roaming Gnome. Try as he might, Ganomy just can't seem to catch up, and it is getting to him. He has taken to sleeping in garbage bins and hanging around dangerous sights. When he gets dirty, he goes to the restrooms of restaurants and cleans up. It is not a good way for poor little Ganomy to live.
We are all worried about him. Why can't Ganomy just come home? Is it anger? Is it ego? Is it pride . . . or is he just lost? Find out the answers to these and other redundant questions when General Ganomey continues. Good night folks. |
To return to the Session Diary Table of Contents, click
 Dennis, if you put one more ice cube down my back I swear I will choke you! |
 Guess Mom Helen's two passions? That's right Masonic Youth and Sonic Drive-In Restaurants |
|
Hi folks. Sorry to be so late with this update, but it was a very long day. We started out with the morning Business Session. Today's features was the Supreme Council Elections. Mom Toni stood for Supreme Marshal, but unfortunately lost in a very close election. Still, she was very upbeat and wished the new Supreme Marshal-Elect, Elaine Gray of Queensland good luck. The following were elected during the morning session: Denise Noonan of Indiana: Supreme Guardian Congratulations to all of them. I know that they will do a great job. Following the morning session, Mom Toni and I journeyed over to the Grands and Past Grands Luncheon. We were joined there by our GG, Helen Kramer, AGG, Dennis Flanery, PGG's Marlene Frakes, Ginny Goede and Phyllis Boehme. PAGG's Lon Goede, John Vezeau and his wife Colleen. We had cold cuts, salad and some delicious soup. The meal was very filling and everyone had a great time catching up with old and new friends. After that it was back to the afternoon business session. During this session Mom Windbiel and Dad Smiley gave their retiring remarks. They were very moving and had many people in tears. Also speaking at the session were the SBHQ Meghan, former Miss IJD Chelsey and new Miss IJD Erin. They all did a fantastic job. Then the afternoon session came to a close and Mom Windbiel and Dad Smiley led their officers out of the room for the final time. They were given a standing ovation.
Then it was time to head to the Past Supreme's Dinner. On the way we saw some Jobies playing music and singing trying to raise some money for the Miss IJD Travel Fund. I tell you what folks, these girls never stop trying to help one another. That is so cool. On the way to the Dinner I ran into Dad Bob Thurman, PASG. He had forgotten about the dinner, and this is the one where he and his partner, Jeanine Hinman were to be initiated into the Past Supremes Club. Bob then went with me to the dinner. Mom Toni came a bit later with Mom Shirley Bryngleson. We had a wonderful time at the dinner. Following the meal, PSG Vanessa Fowler led a very good meeting. Jeannine and Bob were initiated in fine form and are now full-fledged members of the club. During the elections for officers of the club, the sound of a railroad locomotive could be heard as the new officers were railroaded into being elected. They were Susie Mentel, President, Bill Walker, Vice President, Shirley Bryngleson, Secretary, Jeannine Hinman as Chaplain and yours truly as Treasurer. Man, talk about a fast election. My head is still spinning from the speed of that locomotive that railroaded up into our new offices. Oh well, that's the way it goes sometimes.
After dinner, Mom Toni and I took some time to walk along the beach. It was very beautiful and we were there just as the sun set over the water and mountains. Wow, what a view. I can see why so many people like to live here. It is a wonderful city. In he meantime, the girls and their chaperons went to the Supreme Bethel Installation. Just prior to the Installation, the competition awards winners were announced. The following Missouri Girls received awards: Erica Wallace of Bethel #7 won 1st Place in 4th
Messenger Then the Installation got underway. Erin Dusky of Pennsylvania was Installed as the new SBHQ. From Missouri, Marci Baty, PHQ #15 was Installed as Supreme Bethel Fourth Messenger, Erica Wallace, PHQ #7 was Installed as the Supreme Bethel Representative to Ohio, and Nicole Baty, PHQ #15 was Installed as the Supreme Bethel Representative to Sergipe (Brazil). Congratulations to them and all of the new Supreme Bethel Officers.
Following the Supreme Bethel Installations, most of the Missouri Delegation came to our suite for a big pizza party. We all had a really great time. We ate pizza and some sweet treats (no sweets for me though). Some of the girls went over their Ritual Competition score sheets with Mom Toni. We sang Happy Birthday to Gloria Payne and Maggie Delaney. We also had some fun with some Colorado and Nebraska folks who stopped by to visit. The night finally came to an end and Mom Toni, Jane Spurgeon, Julie Delaney and I just sat in the living room of our suite too exhausted to move. We watched TV for a while and then summoned up enough energy to head for bed. I stayed up a little longer doing this update. I am sending a shout-out to Carrie Curry, PGBHQ of Illinois. She is enjoying the diary, and also says hello to Aunt Rhena, and hopes she is sticking by her buddy. Another shout-out (actually a triple shout-out since it goes to 3 people) goes to Mom Patti Brand, Dad John Brand and GBJP Daniella Brand. They sent a very nice note about the diary and send their thanks to Miss Missouri Maggie for doing such a great job. Now for our Gnightly Ganomey Update. After falling into much despair, Ganomey decided he had to get his head together. First he snuck back to the Gage Towers and got some decent sleep. Then he figured what better way to get everything together than to hit the high seas. So he headed down to the water and went sailing and kayaking. While there he saw a whale. He was beginning to feel a lot better about himself and decided to head back to shore. Suddenly, there on the beach, who should he run into but . . . his cousin, the Roaming Gnome.
What will Ganomey do? How will he react to his cousin's presence? Why is the Roaming Gnome on a beach in Vancouver? Who is writing all of this stuff? For the answer to these and other obsequious questions, tune in tomorrow for the next exciting adventure of The Secret Ganomey. Good night folks. |
To return to the Session Diary Table of Contents, click
 Installing Officer Susie Mentel and Supreme Guardian-Elect Denise Noonan |
 The rehearsal comes to a close |
|
Just a quick hello this morning. I have a 12:30 meeting about the Supreme Website, and then a 1:30 rehearsal for the SGC Installation this evening. Gotta run. I'll check in later. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hey folks. My Supreme Website meeting went well this morning. The new Board Web Liaison will be Bill Walker. We have some exciting new ideas planned for the Supreme Website so be sure to give it a look at www.iojd.org. After that meeting I went over to the War Memorial Auditorium for the SGC Installation Rehearsal. That went pretty well. I am the Installing Junior Custodian, a job which requires very little talking but quite a bit of walking, which for those of you who know me know that walking is not my strong point. I have bad knees and a bad back, so it should be an interesting evening. Oh well, anything for the Order. While we were at the rehearsal, we has a special presentation. Mr. Reardon of Washington will be playing the bagpipes this evening. Well, it is also Mom Noonan's Birthday, so he played happy birthday on the bagpipes while everyone sang for her. I caught some of it on video, although the video only the bagpipes can be heard very well, but everyone was cheering and singing along. To view the video, Click Here. Remember that you will need QuickTime to view this movie. Also, this is a large file so please be patient. You also want to stop the music on this page from playing. To stop the music, click on the stop button on your browser. Following the rehearsal I came back to the room. No one else was here, they were all out on shopping trips, tours, etc. I had the whole place to myself, and it was wonderful. I made myself a sandwich, had some sugar-free ice cream and watched Superman II on the television. T he was a very relaxing afternoon. Katie and Kathy Rodemacher got back a little while ago and they had gone on a shopping tour of Vancouver. Katie came back with these really cool shoes that make her about 7 feet tall. Well, maybe not that tall, but she is significantly greater in stature when she has these shoes on. Anyway, now I am getting ready to dress for the Installation. I will put my monkey suit on one more time and head on over to the auditorium. Before I run, one quick shout-out. It goes to Claire Lindsey, PBG #29 and Skip Lindsey, PABG #29. They sent a nice note regarding the diary, as well as about their daughter Heather. Heather's husband, Steven, is in the military. He will be going over to Okinawa, Japan in October, and when he has settled in, Heather and Kylie will follow, probably around the first of next year. They will be there for up to 3 years. Hope everything goes well for them. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Just got back in from the Installation and everything went very well. Even my stint as Installing Junior Custodian went okay. At one point while escorting the DeMolay International Master Councilor, he, Dad Smiley and I went dancing up to the East. It must have been quite a sight. I had a lot of fun during the ceremony, probably too much fun, but hey, if it isn't fun, why do it? Denises Noonan was Installed as the new Supreme Guardian and Tom Sapp as the new Associate Supreme Guardian. I know that they will do a great job. This Installation sure got them off to a fantastic start. We once again sang Happy Birthday with a bagpipe accompaniment. It sounded great.
Following the Installation I came back to the room. Mom Toni and Jane brought back Italian food for us and we chowed down. The Baty's dropped by to visit for a while. Finally it got late and everybody went to bed and I came in here to update the diary. We leave pretty early in the morning and will be traveling most of the day so it might be Monday before I actually make my final wrap-up. Now it's time for the final Chapter of Ganomey Come Home. When we last left Ganomey, he had come face to face with his cousin, the Roaming Gnome. Well, it turns out that while Ganomey was suffering some serious doubts about his ability to break the Roaming Gnomes record of places visited, the Roaming Gnome was feeling the pressure and to stay in first place, had himself cloned. That's right, the Roaming Gnome was also the Roaming Cloning Gnome. The Gnome Clones would run all over the world pretending to be the original Roaming Gnome, thus artificially inflating the Roaming Gnomes Gnumbers. After a while of doing this, the Roaming Gnome felt guilty and came to Vancouver to find Ganomey, apologize to him, and let him know that Ganomey should be the real champion Roaming Gnome. Well, they had a very heartfelt meeting and Ganomey said thanks, but that the Roaming Gnome could keep the record. All Ganomey really wanted to do was to go home. He had a great time traveling around the world, but now he just wants to go back to Missouri and visit all of the Bethels there. Ganomey and Roaming Gnome hugged and parted company, and Ganomey went home
Thanks to everybody for tuning in to this final episode of Attack of the Gnome Clones. TRIVIA NOTE: The French-based Garden Gnome Liberation Front (Front de Libération des Nains de Jardins) wreaked havoc in France until 1997 when a northern French court handed its ringleader a suspended prison sentence and fined him for his part in the disappearance of around 150 gnomes. Variations of the prank have appeared in the such foreign movies "The Full Monty" and "Amelie." In the film Amelie (2001) impish actress Audrey Tautou plays Amelie, a shy, single coffee shop waitress living in Paris who decides to help lonely people fix their lives. To inspire her widowed father Raphael to travel, Amelie sends his garden gnome on a tour of the world. Good night folks. |
To return to the Session Diary Table of Contents, click
 The bags are packed |
 Just time to grab a quick bite of breakfast |
|
I have just a minute here to say hi and bye. We are getting ready to head out of Vancouver on our way back home to St. Louise. It has been lot of fun here and we had a great session. As I said last night, it will probably be tomorrow before I really get a chance to post my final comments on the session. Thanks for reading. I will talk to you later. Bye for now. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Well, my Session Travel Jinx kicked in again, but in the long run everything turned out fine. We got up early in the morning to pack the cars, and pack them we did. There was not a wasted inch of space. As you probably know folks come home with more stuff from Supreme Session than they came with. We were no exception. Therefore our bags took up more room. We actually had one suitcase in the back seat of our car that created sort of a wall between Kathy and Katie Rodemacher. That would come into play later in the trip.
Once we got the cars loaded, we hit the road back to Seattle to catch our plane. Everything was going fine until we hit the Canadian-US Border. There was a major line-up of traffic, just like when we came the other way into Canada. It took about 90 minutes to get up to customs. When we were there the agent took all of our papers, checked them out, and then said, "Hey, what's going on here? I can't see the other person in the back seat." He couldn't see Kathy Rodemacher in the back seat. I could almost hear the dragnet theme start playing and expected the customs police to drag us out of the car. Fortunately all we had to do is move the suitcase a bit so Kathy could poke her head forward and the agent could get a look at her. Deeming her no threat to the US, he gave us back our papers and waved us on through. You know, now that I think about it, this was my second interaction with custom's agents on a Canadian Supreme Session Trip. If you will go back and check my Diary for our Vancouver trip in 1998, on the way home I was stopped by the potato chip sniffing dog at Toronto Customs. I guess some things just never change. Okay, we make it through customs and were now on the road again. We were starting to get a little hungry, and guess were we were? You got it, Skagit County. Actually in a little town in Skagit County named Sedro Woolley. We noticed a sign for the Iron Skillet Restaurant on a highway sign. The Iron Skillet is a nationwide franchise of truck stop restaurants that feature good food and reasonable prices. We got off the highway, and turned towards Sedro Woolley. About 4 miles later we arrived, and there was another directional sign for the Iron Skillet, so we followed it to . . . no place near the Iron Skillet. We drove around for a while and found no trace of the Iron Skillet. There was also a sign for a Dairy Queen that also seemed non-existent (some of the girls wanted ice cream). We stopped and got some gas at a closed gas station (the pay pumps were still functional) and while there we asked another motorist for directions to the Iron Skillet. He told me just how to go. Katie Rodemacher also asked him for directions a bit later while I was in the car waiting. He also gave her explicit directions. Of course the two sets of directions did not coincide with each other. So we followed both sets, one after the other, and you guessed it, neither set got us anywhere near the Iron Skillet. I was just about to give up and head back to the highway, but decided to give it one more shot. We stopped in a gas station where a nearly unintelligible man mumbled some directions. Well, since the folks to spoke plainly didn't get us to our destination, the only logical thing to do was to follow the directions that I could barely understand. Guess what, it worked . . . sort of. Now the Iron Skillet Restaurants all across the US are large restaurants, featuring a gas station, shops, showers for truckers, media centers, etc. When we pulled up in front of the Sedro Woolley Iron Skillet, it was a building about the size of my garage. It had a hand painted sign that said Iron Skillet on the front of the building, and a couple of cars in the front that would make any 16 year old potential driver decide to abandon his or her dreams of motoring anywhere in the world. Obviously this was not the place we thought it was. It might have been a perfectly good restaurant, and I know you should not judge a book by it cover, but we were so disappointed in not finding what we were looking for, that we turned right around and headed back to the highway. When we got to the highway we noticed a restaurant called Bob's. It looked clean, nice, and we were really hungry by now, so we went on in. Boy, what a great decision that was. The food was tremendous, plentiful and inexpensive. We could not finish our meals, so we took some with us for the flight back to St. Louis. Ah yes, the flight back to St. Louis. We had fiddled around in Sedro Woolley for so long that we now had to hurry to make our plane. We would have to drive 80 miles, check in our rental car, get our luggage to check-in, and then make it to the gate. Could it be done? Would the car have enough gas? Were the drivers alert enough to make the trip safely? What would happen at the airport? What is this, another episode of Ganomey? Of course we would make it. We drove back to Seattle, observing all traffic laws along the way, checked in the car, checked our baggage, got our boarding passes, made it through the security checkpoint (luckily customs had not warned airport security about the phantom back seat rider who came through earlier that day), and rolled into the gate with about 5 minutes to spare. We got onto the plane and soon we were airborne, winging our way back to St. Louis. It was a nice flight, we had plenty of Bob's good food to eat on the trip, and 3 1/2 hours later we landed in St. Louis. Of course it took nearly as long to get our luggage as the flight took, but hey, it was one of my Supreme Session trips.
We will have a video of the plane taking off, but due to the storm 2 weeks ago in St. Louis, I still have limited Internet connectivity (Hopefully they will be able to fix everything on Wednesday when the Cable Company finally comes out). I will post it as soon as my broadband connection is up and running.again. Anyway, it was a wonderful Session and we all had a fantastic time. Congratulation to all involved in making this a successful session. Kudos go to the Supreme Team of Supreme Guardian Louise Windbiel, Associate Supreme Guardian Ken Smiley, Miss International Job's Daughter Chelsey Galbraith and Supreme Bethel Honored Queen Meghan Garibay for making this not only a session, but a year to remember. Congratulation to a very fine Missouri Delegation, and to Miss Missouri Maggie Delaney for her performance in the Miss International Pageant. Congratulations to all of the girls who entered the various competitions and to those who received awards. Congratulations to our new Supreme Bethel girls. Finally, thanks to all of you for reading this diary and sending your notes of encouragement. I truly appreciate each and every one of them. I hope that I have conveyed just a bit of what it was like to be in Vancouver, British Columbia for this Supreme Session. The Good Lord willing, we will all do it again next year in Merrillville, Indiana. Whether that's your actual home, or just your Supreme Session Home for the week, like the song says, we'll be Back Home in Indiana. Talk to you later. |
||||||||
To return to the Session Diary Table of Contents, click
