Planning holidays to North America...

[kailhofer]

maybe in Wausau in Wisconsin

I can give you a maybe, depending on actual dates. We have some things going on already, but I could be free. Depends on dates. I'm far more in favor of Wausau than Chicago, but then you'd have to be exposed to Wausau. It may hurt your globe-trotting, cosmopolitan eyes to see a place so plain.

We do have some majestic places in our beloved state, but I would not consider Wausau one of them.

[kailhofer]

Unholy places?!? dem sounds like fightin' words Rick.

I just assumed he was talking about Chicago. No argument with that.

[Lester Curtis]

I'm thinking about it . . . that's an awfully long haul for me, though, well over 600 miles -- a good twelve hours behind the wheel, plus breaks (unless I catch a good tailwind ). I haven't done anything like that in quite a while.

Still, I don't doubt it would be a fun time.

I'm thinking about it.

[Lester Curtis]

I could do Columbus; no sweat. I used to live there, too, though it's been a while.

[Lester Curtis]

Some alternatives: Madison, Wisconsin, or Cleveland, Ohio?

As much as I'd like to say, "Come to Cleveland!" for my own sake (I live less than a half-hour from downtown) -- I have to warn you, it's a scummy, miserable, pest-ridden hell-hole.

Okay -- maybe I exaggerate -- there are worse places . . . but why else would everyone be running away from it as fast as they can?

Of course, it may be possible for a transient visitor to overlook its shortcomings -- you don't have to live there, after all, and there may even be a relatively fun, safe place to hang out. Don't ask me where that is, though; I avoid the place.

Aw, what the hell. Come to Cleveland; it's only half as bad as Lorain or Elyria!

[Lester Curtis]

I could do Indianapolis.

[Robert_Moriyama]

I can definately meet ya'll in Indianapolis on the 12th of october for supper and drinks. I'll be coming in by Greyhound bus early in the day - so I can look around, so could we meet up someplace close to there - downtown - because I won't have a car. There's a White Castle right across the street that sells beer (Just Playing!!)...but it does sell beer. Cool.

I dunno. What Americans call "beer" Europeans would consider to be chilled brown tapwater. (Hell, Canadian "light" beer has as much alcohol as American regular beer.) But Sergio might enjoy trying a heapin' helpin' of White Castle sliders, so he can see what Harold and Kumar* were craving so badly.

(*It probably helps to be extremely cannabislized.)

[Lester Curtis]

But Sergio might enjoy trying a heapin' helpin' of White Castle sliders, so he can see what Harold and Kumar were craving so badly.

. . . and now I've gotta wonder what the Council on Foreign Relations would think of that . . . on the other hand, it could provide him with material for another story (maybe titled "Practical Food Jokes," "My Worst Vacation Ever," "My Gastric-distressed Flight Home" -- or simply, "The Worst Thing I've Ever Eaten") . . .

-- just kidding, folks. Really, Sergio, you should try at least one Whitey, just to see what a steam sandwich tastes like. They really aren't fatal (not immediately, at least). Don't pay any attention to those Health Department bulletins; the carcinogen levels are well within guidelines, and no one has yet proven a case of lead poisoning.

I do look forward to seeing you folks again; hope I can meet some new faces this time.

p.s.: Seriously, though -- White Castle always has really good, fresh coffee -- and some really interesting patrons at late hours.

[Robert_Moriyama]

For Robert_Moriyama:

But Sergio might enjoy trying a heapin' helpin' of White Castle sliders, so he can see what Harold and Kumar were craving so badly.

Actually, I never tried even the smallest drugs( simply I didn't find them appealing enough, probably, or maybe I had just run out of money by doing some shopping somewhere or buying books, scale models, dvds and so on...eh.eh ), nor even tried some of them but without really "inspiring" as a famous political figure of the recent past once said in North America, making all the world laugh at him... jesting apart, I mean...a good, old liqueur like French Benedectine or Scottish Drambuie is just enough to enter a magical realm and so make me forget everything...eh,eh

For Bottomdweller and Lester Curtis:

I'm just waiting for the confirmation of the booking...eh,eh...some news ahead soon, so I hope...eh,eh

Apparently Sergio is culturally deprived and has not seen "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle"! A 'slider' is a hamburger, complete with bun, but with a diameter of only about 5 or 6 centimeters. I've never had them, but apparently it is customary to just about swallow them whole (they 'slide' down your throat, what with being about 75% grease). One serving of sliders consists of what, five or six?

[Lester Curtis]

What do you think, Lester?Is the day and the time ok also for you?

Yes, I think so. Meeting late would actually be easier for me; I wouldn't need to worry so much about getting an early start on the road. You say you'll be in Indy for three days, though, and if I snag a decent room rate, I might decide to stay another day, since I've just recruited a friend to look after my cat in my absence.

I know nothing about Indy though; I should get some research in the works. Helpful hints are welcome.

[Lester Curtis]

Sergio, do you know yet where you'll be staying in Indianapolis (what hotel)? I have to start thinking about room reservations.

[Lester Curtis]

For Lester Curtis:

tomorrow I'll send you a PM with the details...

By the way I'm collecting the sweets I'll take from Italy for all of you, giving them as a gift at the meeting, as the last year....some of them anyway are not from Italy, but come from Switzerland anyway... and so they'll be tastier for sure...eh,eh

Oh, boy! Foreign candy! (It really is outstanding -- the stuff sold in stores here is miserable in comparison.)

[Robert_Moriyama]

For Lester Curtis:

tomorrow I'll send you a PM with the details...

By the way I'm collecting the sweets I'll take from Italy for all of you, giving them as a gift at the meeting, as the last year....some of them anyway are not from Italy, but come from Switzerland anyway... and so they'll be tastier for sure...eh,eh

Oh, boy! Foreign candy! (It really is outstanding -- the stuff sold in stores here is miserable in comparison.)

On the other hand, some "chocolate" from the U.K. can't be sold as such in Canada -- the cocoa content isn't high enough. (They just call it "candy".)

[Lester Curtis]

For me, the best sweets with cocoa are the famous liqueur-filled Austrian chocolate balls( named after Mozart...)...in fact, I've put them into a funny Sci-Fi short- story of mine, already edited, but not yet published...maybe in the future...eh,eh

For Lester Curtis:

PM sent with the details...eh,eh

I worked with a guy who visited friends in Germany and brought back something like that -- a person could get drunk off of those. I don't recall a name of the candy, but it might be the same thing. Definitely not something you'd give the children, unless you wanted to knock them out!

[Lester Curtis]

Preparations underway . . . this time I'll actually use my camera instead of leaving it in the room.

[Lester Curtis]

A delightful meeting, for certain, and the weather was definitely more like summer than autumn.

By the way, Sergio did not eat the slider (at least not while I was around) -- still had it with him when he went back to his hotel. I told him to hang on to it, since they have no expiration date.

Too bad this board software will only accept a 256Kb attachment, or you'd see snapshots.

[kailhofer]

Hero and I will try to treat Sergio as well as you "Easterners" did when he arrives in our neck of the north woods. (Yes, Hero's coming, too!)

Should be fun.


Nate

[Robert_Moriyama]

So next he gets to experience the American health care system. I imagine a past-its-'best before'-second slider bonds directly with the lining of an artery. I hope he has room on his credit card(s)...

(Even in Canada, as a non-resident, he would have to pony up for the usual exorbitant charges. (Homer Simpson was mistaken (there's a shock) when he stepped into traffic on one of his visits north of the border and got hit by a truck -- health care up here isn't free for visitors. In fact, in Ontario, we are back to paying premiums for it (still cheaper than most private medical insurance) after a period when it was all covered out of general revenues.)

[kailhofer]

Myself, Sergio, and Hero in Wausau, at the end of our evening:



A very nice time was had by all. There was much discussion of fiction, writing, economics, and life in general.

[Lester Curtis]

I resized the pics I got from Indy . . .

[Lester Curtis]

And . . . Sergio, looking like he's been at it long and hard . . . I should have taken more pictures; I could likely have got a better one without trying.

[Lester Curtis]

Hoping that all of you liked the sweets and chocolate...

Oh, yes, indeed . . . superlative stuff, and thanks again. I've got to think of something to reciprocate with next time (or maybe sooner).

[Megawatts]

I wish I could have joined in, but have too many problems at home. My wife is going to get
a Knee Revision at the Cleveland Clinic. She can't walk. She did have a knee replacement here in Johnstown, pa. but the damned knee they put in is defective! And the Damned company that manufactures the knee Knew it!! That company didn't do any trials with the knee, just dumped it on the public----that was their trials!

I don't want to mention the companies name because they are blaming everything under the sun as to why their knee isn't working. LIke, the doctor put it in wrong, the patient didn't
do the exercises right, or the patient had problems that were not told to the doctor, or,
and this one really gets me, it works just fine----- in other countries! I mentioned this just for the good of everyone at Aphelion.

If you E-mail me, I'll tell you the name of the manufacturers. But I don't want to mention that company in public!

[Lester Curtis]

Megawatts, it's too bad they wouldn't let you use your wife's bad knee to slap-shot some company executive in the groin (repeating as needed). Or a whole roomful of them. That could be the most satisfying experience your wife ever had with that knee. I think I'd pay to see that.

Never mind us here, man, go take care of your mate. Family comes first.

[Megawatts]

Sergio,

That is a good idea. We should coordinate next years get-together. Maybe my wife's knee will be Okay. If not, well, when we have time, we have a tool to use! And that tool should not be wasted!!