Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Surviving Posts from the Old Forum

While SPAM damaged and lost most of the accumulated messages from brothers in the old Forum, some remain. These are included here.
John Cagle

posted by John Cagle at 11:15 AM

1 Comments:

Blogger John Cagle said...

Pismo Thanks
Posted by: John Cagle on 05/09/06 10:00:09 PDT

Brothers
The chairs all are empty, the last guest has gone....
Our Pismo retreat was wonderful.
Brother Rick Turton, once again, arranged things to perfection. This year he surprised us with Pi Kappa Tau classic t-shirts, modeled exactly after one surviving in John Ellsworth's closet after all these years. The Friday evening kick-off had a great taco & tamale bar, not to mention what Fowlie used to call "nutritive refreshments." Saturday's banquet had superb food and a chocolate decadence dessert, not to mention an excellent cocktail hour before. Rick more than achieved his goal of providing a relax atmosphere for people to talk, gather, take off on various adventures in the area.... We are all grateful for his hard work that made everything possible.
For those avid readers of the Pi Kap Forum, Conrad Melton's Lawn Bowls day was also extraordinary. No wonder he is the national champion. We had somewhere about 30 brothers learning this sport and doing our best. Many of us may well have not graduated from college had this been a required course. But beyond the agony of defeat, there was a lot of joy in this adventure, so thanks to Connie for setting this up for us.
Brothers came from far & wide--Oregon, Washington, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Michigan, even Massachusetts.... Our advisor Joe Buchwald came, even though he is now retired and didn't have to. We meandered here & there, to golf courses, to Morro Bay for a classic car show, up & down the beaches.... Conversations were many. We shared our love of our families and brothers, memories of events past, large and small, a few poignant moments as when we recalled brothers who have passed away.... Friday night we talked with Aladdin Zarrinpour in Iran.... I am not sure I convinced anyone to vote for Hillary, but at least at this retreat, no one got hurt in the discussions.
At the banquet, Curt Ebbesmeyer presented the Krieger Award to Bob Kari. We rose to applaud and so recognize a brother's love for his fraternity.
Many pictures were taken and we'll get them posted in the Archives soon.
In the college days we used to say, "What we are to be, we are now becoming." How much the fraternity shaped our journey and still embraces us all.
Bless brothers all, we humbly pray, though far on land and sea....
Phi Alpha,
John Cagle
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Re: Pismo Thanks
Posted by: Steve Abram on 05/09/06 10:35:37 PDT

Well stated Brother John. I too am grateful to Rick for doing so much, so well, and doing it so humbly. Most people have no idea what it takes to something like that. I was also touched deeply by my Pledge Brother, Bob Kari receiving the Krieger Award. Part of the deep meaning of the award, to me, is what Krieger signified, an extraordiary person battling something he had no right to have to fight. Bob has been fighting that fight for so many years, but it has not touched his spirit nor his joy of life. We can all learn a lesson.

Mother
F'66
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Pismo 06: Ten Observations
Posted by: Stu Olster on 05/11/06 08:51:35 PDT

Dear Fellow Pi Kaps:

The recent experience at Pismo has percolated enough so that I am comfortable making a few observations.

First: I observed that all of the guys seem much more at ease with one another irrespective of age and whether or not we were contemporaries in college. This is an extension of a positive trend that has continued and deepened with each Retreat.

Second: Some of the mainstays were unavoidably absent. To Sam, Vance, Bob Axel, Bob Fowlie, George Weghorst, Mark Von Hoetzendorff, Mike Costanzo and others: I know you guys would have made it if you could have. To them and to others who fell into this category, you were missed, and your absence prevented the gathering, good as it was, from being the best it could have been. To those who could have come, but chose instead to do other things: come back and join us next time, and resolve any issues that may have kept you away this time. Rick Turton toasted those of you who were not there, whether by reason of death, unavoidable conflict or choice.

Third: Curt's selection of Bob Kari to receive the Krieger Award was extremely popular and was vociferously acknowledged. Nobody more exemplifies courage and love for our Fraternity than Bob, and by establishing those criteria, Curt narrowed his list of potentials to one. Hearty congratulations to you, Bob, on this honor!!

Fourth: This Retreat was the occasion for a small, little-noticed gathering--ceremony if you will--arranged for the specific purpose of educating the palate of one Ralph F. Muzzillo, Jr. to the wonders of single malt scotch. Ralph was last seen feverishly jotting down the brand name of the beverage (The Dalmore), so it's safe to conclude that he liked it, as did most of the other participants.

Fifth: We are clearly all at the age when spouses, friends and parents can become ill, or worse. Several of the guys had to leave early or pass on the event because of illness or death among family or friends. Don't wait until it's too late!! Take every opportunity to attend these Retreats. They won't go on forever.

Sixth: No retrospective on our Retreats would be complete without acknowledging the quiet competence and thoroughness of Rick Turton. Before the first Pismo Retreat in 1998, somebody remarked that Rick will do a great job arranging the event, since he is both detail-oriented and conscientious. That description of Rick has held true for each of our six trips to Pismo. Rick's work honors the memory of our quintessential Social Chairman, Rick Krieger. Thank you, again, Rick!

Seventh: Les Racowsky returned. Les is almost a Pi Kap, and is a Pi Kap in spirit. After transfering schools, he became an SAE, and he continues to do good work for that Fraternity. Les and I were able to have a nice chat and close a circle or two we opened at the last Retreat. I hope Les will return for each future Retreat.

Eighth: Gerry Musgrave, who graduated in 1964 and who had not been seen in over 42 years, came from his home in Michigan and participated. Gerry is retired from a successful career in academics and consulting in the field of Economics. He is an author and scholar, and was marvelous company. Gerry and I enjoyed a round of golf together, and I believe he has potential. I urge Gerry to work hard at his game and give me a run for my money next time. Glad you were there, Gerry.

Ninth: Regarding calendar conflicts: Conflicts will certainly arise, and we all understand that. At the outset of our Retreats, Sam Wenguer proposed that they be held on the first weekends in May and November in alternating years. This enables us to avoid all but the most emergent and unavoidable conflicts. Our next Retreat is the first weekend in November 2007. Please schedule your other activities around those dates.

Tenth: It was good seeing all of you again on the right side of the grass.
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Seattle Visit
Posted by: John Cagle on 07/08/06 15:12:49 PDT
Eve and I went to Seattle and had a wonderful visit with Curt & Susie Ebbesmeyer and Rick & Kay Grimes. Today in Fresno is over 100 degrees, so you will know why we appreciated the 70s temperatures in Seattle. We all think we ought to bring our spouses/significantothers to Pismo next time. We are sure they could find fun adventures to do too.
This idea went over so well that I was tempted to suggest alternatively that we could instead set up an exchange with a sorority alumni chapter, but thought better of it. Wine sometimes stimulates the mind in unproductive directions....
Curt took us down to a restaurant on the water and to the locks between Lake Washington and Puget Sound (if I got that right). It was a beautiful day. At Rick's house he showed us his vegetable garden--amazing!--I thought that stuff only came from grocery stores.
Seattle is a pretty town to visit. On the way to the airport we drove around and managed to find Pike's Fish Market, as well as the freeway traffic jam we'd been lookin’ for….

11:21 AM  

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