VSRR III Ruth on the Road Race Post Mortem (1610)
August 1, 2007
The Race is over! Last night
at 2200 ZULU, Donna was proclaimed the triumphant winner – and all of
Donna
paced restlessly, her crown slipping over one eye as she answered Dan’s
question about taking the day off to feel better. “Are you kidding, we are in
crisis here.... a few folks are on vacation, another one quit, another one
MIA......Actually feeling much better, but the medicine gets to me.... always a
trade off. Talked to my mom this morning and told her we won... she couldn't
believe it, but claims the entire rug camp she is at will be informed!” [Course, my first thought was, ‘What is a rug
camp,’ but I waited for someone else to ask.] Dan,
while pushing levers and pressing loud buzzers said, “Crisis mode here too -
nobody could see data - I love it when that happens - permissions issue in
Active Directory - temporarily resolved - got to get back to it” . . . [He
seems to be in his element when there’s a crisis -- major problems to be solved….that’s his hog
heaven!!] It brought a laugh from Donna,
saying, “…nothing like a month ending with no data
available! Dan asked Donna “How’re you feeling this morning champ? and Dale answered, “Her head is hurting ….. sleeping with a
crown gives you a headache!”
Dan
posted the last day of the race, titling it -- "WOW What a race --- Donna
Wins!" More cheers from the racers
as they congratulate each other on being such fine specimens of humankind. Barney wandered around the island paradise
and said, “I am at the lounge , but I can not find any
links, clues, or hidden puzzles. What gives.“ . . .When
Pattik quoted her family’s childhood advice, “I was always taught that if
you're going to do something, then do it well” . . .Dale laughed and said, “NPS’s
version of that is ‘I was always taught that if you're going to do something,
then get paid for it.” . . . Dale kept urging Dan to go fishing “Did you see
the size of the one that just jumped?” . . . but Dan’s crossed-eyes said it all
when he replied, “Only if I can take a nap while you fish!” . . . Suepa laughed
hysterically over Penny’s description of her garden when she said with a
perfectly straight face, “We have a slight problem here - pregnant rocks. They
sprout overnight. Randy has never seen so many rocks. They just keep
multiplying.” . . . Suepa could only
say, “Rock birth control! Now THAT is interesting.” . . . Esme acknowledged Penny for doing most of her
work while Esme was indisposed, and dittoed Penny’s glowing remarks on the
race. Esme confessed that, “The first thing I did when I got to this page was
"select all." [An inside joke, folks. An example of Dan putting us
through our daily secret stash paces!] . . . Maddie explained why she’s been
missing – “All the partying got to me...went home sick Tuesday … only worked a
half-a day yesterday…my doc says bronchitis... Thank goodness the race is
over!!! ...but I would do it again...too much fun to pass up!” . . .Kay had the best time…”I always learn things
during this race…had no idea there were so many "world's largest"
things kicking around… wish that Dan and Tracy and EVERYONE else could join us
in Las Vegas in October. “ . . . Helen looked around the place approvingly....”
Thanks for the memories… The island looks great. Where's the dive shop?” . . . Rosann
thanked her helper elves saying, “Whew!! It’s OVER!! I'm happy that I made my
goal....I just wanted to finish in the Top 10 & I DID!!! YEAH!!! I had a GREAT TIME!!!! . . . WCDonna said,
I especially enjoyed watching the score board at the end while the tallies were
being posted. I could just see poor Dan, frantically posting scores as fast as
they came in. I'm very happy with my 13th position.” . . . {Forget the ‘poor
Dan’ stuff …He was having a ball!!] Suepa
offered a round of applause “for a nice clean race. I didn't see one sliced
tire on the whole trip.” . . .
Laughing
and talking about the thirty one days of racing brought back recent memories
they all shared. Early in the race everyone tussled over Dale’s eyeglasses in
order to cut and paste tiny puzzles. Racers were nearly in revolt over Dan’s
puzzles and he had to fix it! Squinting
was rampant with hanging chads a poor second for causing blindness. Allyn sizzled, “Forget that -- unless you
have a tiny mouse with tiny paws doing your cutting and pasting.” Day two was saved when Dan and Mike discovered
a new technique for assembling puzzles. While Holli was glad the problem was
solved she said, “I do think the Judge went soft!! We must think of another way
to aggravate the racers.”
Then
there was the day when Holli longed for bologna sandwiches but avoided them because
of her diet. Mike said soothingly, “BUT...it's only virtual calories. You can't
gain weight from virtual calories.”
…and
remember all of the acronyms Dan kept
busy creating … every time a new entity came up there was a new acronym … such
as HOOTS, for Hollidan Office Of Terrific Stuff” … and PPT for Puzzle Putter Togetherer. Mike was honored as Mike the OPT (Omniscient
Puzzle Tester)….. Another was WHAT? (Worldly Hollidan
Asynchronous Translations)” . . .
The
Fourth of July … celebrated with flags, picnics, parades and marching bands,
and in different cities around the country. . . And remember the time we were
in
Then
there was the day when Dan couldn’t be found … way past ZULU time…no race … finally
a garbled message …yes? ...he’s in
…..
and there was the laundry … “seems most of the racers
are piling up stacks and stacks of dirty laundry on it! Lots of little notes
with individual instructions, hand wash, do not fold, air dry - then there's
this one big one, more of a manual for Dale – ‘Everything You Ever Wanted to
Know About Laundry.’ Hey Vera, want to know a secret?
-- I think these are all for you!” . . . Vera replied, “You bet they
are....should have answered after the emergency room run! Oh well....I am ready
now! But Dan, is there water soft where we will be or
do I need softener too?” . . . Dale interrupted, “Vera- You don't wash clothes
in ICE (Hard Water) The kind of water I use is wet, and If you put your hand in
it real gentle it's soft, But if you jump in from high up then it's hard. See I
told you she was new at this and needed help. Hard or Soft
water HA!”. . .” Fresh or salt water?” asked Helen. . . .”On a guess --
Brackish! ”Dan replied! . . . Dale nearly fainted … “Boy, we need a class on
washing -- You don't wash clothes in salt water!” . . . Vera looked up
innocently, “Can I use the dry Ice??? Might be interesting results! I would
have to dry before use!”
Someone
wondered what happened to the extension cord to the JudgeMobile. Then there
were the Starbucks Junkies …Fancy FU-FU Coffee, Dan called it. Someone had a
collection of twizzlers .., and remember all the hang-ups on pierced ears and
other body parts – tattoos and WCWC getting one on the ankle. What was that, a
rose? … SuzyQ figured, “No tattoo, not even a pierced ear. I don’t need another
hole in my head.’
…and
the day Donna backed Mike into a corner, saying “You do NOT mix drinks in my
coffee pot......we have pitchers, blenders, and a lot of other things you could
use.....but NOT my coffee pot. Period.” . . . Then later, Dale boiled lobsters
in it….Remember Dan’s party and the lettuce Dale washed in the pool … and then
let the lobsters loose … and one took off with Dan’s score slips . . .
And
there was the time Pattik and Holli talked about the weight they lost, and Dan
called out, “Are you one of those disappearing people? Ah yes, such a fun time
… The room gradually became quiet as racers reflected on the past month when
they were so close and shared so much.
Each had a smile … remembering those funny moments. Do you really think
we could ever do this again…more smiles … their thoughts reflected in the quiet
of the beautiful island paradise that was just for them … with the blessings of
Hollidan.