Flying back home from ORD and being in a somewhat philosophical mood after a glass of wine, here are my thoughts and observations about the Chicago Do and some other recent FT gatherings.
- I would characterize most of the Do participants as either buzzing bees or wall flowers. Bees are like good politicians ( if there is such a thing ): they constantly are flying from flower to flower, being loved by everyboby but yet belonging to no one. Shy wall flowers on the other hand stay in their little corners and wait for the bees to come to them.
I love both types, but time and time again I find that it's among the flowers that one finds the most genuine and warm persons.
What group would you say you belong to ?
- There is not much change since high school days, meaning that the best place to get "The Scoop" is in a ladies restroom. Girls ( now ladies ) tend to congregate in a restroom and exchange the "dirt", i.e. who was with whom at the last gathering, who has a shady past, who did what to whom, who has the best bod... and other important and useful staff. I don't know what are you boys discussing in your restroom but if you ever see ladies disappearing in big numbers, that means that the discussion is reaching a crescendo in the ladies room. No amount of miles will make me disclose the secrets of such discussions, however 2-3 double class upgrades might do the trick. Whould you like to know if your name was mentioned in the privacy of Leona's restroom ?
- For being a FT event, there was surprisingly little talk about miles and points. Most of conversations centered on getting to know each other better as just people. IMHO, there were a lot of good friendships made that way.
- It's always been interesting to get an opinion of non-FTers about our group. I mean people that are spouses/partners/friends of the Do participants.
I am pleased to report that most of them do NOT think of us as nuts ( well, maybe a little bit ). They love us enough to forgive us for this little "personality defect".
I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all these "better halves" for their support and for coming to Chicago. You guys ( and girls ) are wonderful!
- It is amazing how many of us are pet lovers. I always thought that an individual who loves his/her animals could not possibly be a bad person.
It is almost like an instant connection when you discover another FTer who left his/her four-legged creature behind to come to the Do and misses them terribly!
- Getting up on Sunday morning to catch my plane, I was counting blessings that Do's only last a weekend. Imagine if we had it for a week or so! We'll all die from lack of sleep and excessive food and alcohol consumption.
- It was great that most of us stayed at the same hotel during the Do. Whenever I showed up at the lobby, there was always a group of people getting ready to go somewhere. I can't thank the organizers enough for their flexibility during the event. Without any prior reservations or arrangements, I was accepted by every group and got a chance to participate in many events on a moment notice. ( I know, I know, we should be more prepared and organized before the event, but thanks to the organizers anyway for their ability to "bend the rules" for some of us, the disorganized ones ).
- For me, the highlight of the Chicago Do was the Saturday night at the Big Bar ( at the Hyatt ). It is amazing how many funny and kind people there are in our FT community! I still smile when I remember the "turn of events" and the "recovery efforts" followed our little "epizode". Mark, you are a sweetheart! One of the greatest things about you is the ability to laugh at yourself. We love you! ( And it is easy for me to say as I was in the BACK row during the "fireworks" )

In any case, those are some of my deep thoughts about the Chicago Do. It goes deeper from here. Do you have any thoughts of your own?

Smooth, a wonderful, heartfelt post. I'm pretty shy but felt comfortable at my first ever "do" actually pressing the flesh. My non-FT spouse was even surprised.
I wished we could have had one feature at a large gathering like Leonas: the ability to go around the room and do quick intros (name, city and a few words about our flying). That way no matter were we "bee" or "flower" we would have known who was there. I know there were many I missed and I regret that. Also realize that the setting was not the best to do a group intro. Maybe next time. It was a great event.

To me, that's the hardest thing to explain to non-FTers about meeting other FTers. It's also the most fun for me about the gatherings. You mean we had a restroom?? IIRC, we just talked about your body in front of you...

Seriously, thank you to everybody that was able to make it, and a huge thank you to AnnaS and Comicwoman for continuing to let me pretend to be a co-organizer after real life forced me to limit my contributions.

You are naughty boys and therefore deserve some spanking. Now, back to your room!

The longer the better ... the original PiP (not any of the cheap knock-offs ) if I recall started Thursday (with a meet at the UA CRC in LAX moving onto the PiP Express where ~30 of us were on the same flight) and lasted until at least Sunday (Monday?) and many were there longer ... needless to say, there was excessive food and alcohol consumption on an ongoing basis at the PiP too ... for all the days.

as a wallflower of sorts , your thoughts seem right on target...except I'm not always waiting for someone to come over, I'm sometimes "taking a breather."

there's a question on the myers=briggs introvert/extrovert scale , something like "do you go to parties early and feel less energized as the night goes on,. or come late and feel more energized." I must confess I am of the former persuasion... giving me a 100% on the introvert scale...but as I get older I at least become more comfortable in crowds so I've become what I call a socially adept introvert.....which I find in many of my FT friends as well....

Myself, I am for sure in the 'wallflower' category. I have a very hard time in large groups and meeting new people.

Not missing the urinal...that and "sword-fighting"

Smooth -

I see no translation is necessary for your writing ability

Definitely agree with your points - and I have a couple of pets myself.

Oh, with the title of "Chicago Do b" I thought there was some illegal stuff going on!

I was wondering myself where the "b" showed up from in the title. I swear I did not put it there ! Oh well, must be gremlins or the KGB .

As a charter member of the wallflowers' club, thanks smooth for the gracious post. I did enjoy my conversations with several colleagues in the club as we lurked in the corners and in the dimly lit spaces

And, yeah, I admit to worrying about leaving Makana the cat (again)...returned home to find her with several anxiety-sparked bald patches on her fur, and a couple of protest hairballs thrown up around the carpet in pique...