Year End Review

Brian Vant-Hull



This is running a little late for the January issue, but you see, well, the story goes like this. On Saturday night I was sitting in a house in Baltimore looking at a bemused Ellis as every few minutes a guy would poke his head in the room and shout up the stairwell something like "Okay, two minutes! Make sure you get in some good sound-bites about the Enron Scandal!" and then breathlessly disappear again (If you're somewhat puzzled at this point, think how WE felt).

Suddenly it occured to me that I was supposed to write the year-end review, and I made noises to the effect that I would get on it the very next day, being as my blood was up from all the feverous writing activity going on around us. Ellis was happy to hear it.

Then we went out and fired off some fireworks in the snow, and got monologued by some drunk in a bar who ended up wanting us to punch him before dancing with the bar-maids, and I woke up the next morning around noon and just couldn't get myself to do much. It's now the next day, and I'm sure Ellis has already finished the newsletter, and I could only find 5 of last year's newsletters and two of the HG magazines on account of having made 15 late night trips to the dumpster before moving out of my house 5 months ago (people don't seem to appreciate strangers using their dumpster, and I've gotta tell you it's a rather forlorn feeling to be standing on the hood of your car at 3 in the morning trying to muscle an extremely heavy crapped-out TV over the wall when you notice a custodian in the 3rd floor window leaning on his broom watching you trying to decide to call security or not. The sweat rolls, I tell you). But I digress.

I finally got around to writing, so here's the story. I apologize for the many gaps, innacurracies, and mispelings.

January - We learned how to repack our parachutes, and Dennis Pagan did a glider tuning seminar. Heartfelt thanks to Dennis and Claire, and to Fred and Rae without whose special friendship it may not have happened.

February - I dunno. I didn't cat-house sit for Matt and Karen this month, but let's say I did.

March - Uhh...house-sat for Sparky?

April - House-sat for the Gregors in downtown D.C. (Hey, writing this is easy if you stumble on the right trick).

May - High Rock lawsuit decided in our favor. Revelling on the streets commences. Region 9 contest commences (or was it in March? Whatever).

June - Fly-in at Lake Ridgely, and the some of the biggest laughs I've ever had in my life. Volleyball in the mud.

July - based on a hot tip from a couple of neighbors, the White-House invites me to house-sit during the 4th of July long weekend. The butler in the wash-room creeps me out; and I spend a lonesome night drinking champagne in front of the TV, wishing I was at Hyner.

August - High Rock fly-in. The legend of "Streamer Boy" is born, destined to resurface around campfires each Halloween to frighten small children. Joe Brauch is awarded his H-3: the end of an era.

September - Terrorism strikes home. A rescheduled Pulpit Fly-in celebrates the lifting of the ban on General Aviation. Did the Region 9 contest end around now? Lots of people received their laurels in the HG mag, but I can't find the issue. I won't venture a guess.

October - I'm called in to house sit at the Naval Observatory to cover the peculiar absence of a certain Vice-President. Despite my best efforts nobody is willing to tell me how long I'll be here. I pass the time recounting the legend of Streamer Boy to security. They don't smile. I regret bringing up the sensitive "High Rock" issue.

November - The discussion over merging the clubs flares up again. In grand committee fashion, a compromise is reached whereby CHGA renames itself CHGPA to bring in the paragliders, and MHGA stops publishing a separate newsletter.

December - Christmas party at Marney's. More kids scampering around than ever before makes this an especially festive occasion. Joe's "See and Avoid" article appears in HG magazine, destined to become a classic. Emma Jane goes into surgery, and our hopes and thoughts go with her.