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The farewell party

TRG group photo

Last week's catered lunch in my office cluster wasn't the real farewell party—that was postponed till this Wednesday so my friend Debbie could make it. I'm not very comfortable with big parties, so this one was just for the former members of my old Technology Research Group—the last vestiges of which were reorg'd out of existence just this past week. TRG goes back fifteen or twenty years at my company, and most of my friends had worked in the group for at least a decade, so this lunch was not only a goodbye to me, but also the end of an era at my company.

We met at the Palace of Asia, one of my favorite local Indian restaurants. There were seven of us present in person...plus Holly on a Stick (not seen in this photo).

You're probably wondering about that last item. Well, I'm afraid a bit of a digression is going to be needed here, so bear with me. A couple of years ago a number of women who owned Lazy Daze motorhomes—the same brand as Gertie—decided to hold "ladies only" RVing get-togethers a few times a year. Calling themselves the "LaDeze of Lazy Daze," these self-proclaimed "uppity women" met to swap stories, trade RVing tips and generally have an uproarious good time.

Most of the LaDeze are members of the Lazy Daze group that I moderate, and they're a great bunch. Some are good friends of mine, and it was one of these—the irrepressible Sarah Blackwood—who noticed that whenever improvements to rigs were being talked about, you'd hear comments like "I added wire baskets like Andy's" or "Did you see the pantry closet on Andy's site?" Sarah Blackwood Sarah told me afterward that she thought,"Gee, it's just as if Andy's here with us." Of course I couldn't be there in person—remember, LaDeze is an "all-girl" organization! But Sarah came up with a typically offbeat workaround: she had Kinko's print out a photo of me and mount it on foamcore board, then stuck it on a stick. Next time the LaDeze got together, they brought along "Andy on a Stick" as a guest!

When Sarah told me about this, I thought it was hilarious. Of course I felt honored...but at the same time, her goofy gag so perfectly punctured my dignity that there was no chance of my getting a swelled head over it. My friend and former officemate, Holly Knott, thought it was a riot too...so when she was unable to attend my retirement lunch (because she now lives six hours' drive away), she asked me to bring her along as "Holly on a Stick."

And that's what I did: I printed out Holly's portrait, mounted it on a stick and propped it on a chair next to mine in the restaurant. (Another former officemate, Jeff Jenkins, sat on my other side.) Everybody got a big kick out of seeing her there, and treated her as one of the party: "Glad you could make it, Holly! How was the drive down?" "Care for some mango chutney, Holly?" If you're getting the idea that my coworkers are a pretty free-spirited bunch, you're right! That's what made TRG such a great group in which to work.

Holly and Janet

Holly had asked for Chicken Tikka Masala, but it wasn't on the lunch menu that day...so our friend Janet Stumper "fed" her some Chicken Kashmir instead. I promised Holly afterward that the next time I visit, I'll treat her and her husband Paul to dinner at an Indian restaurant in her area, where she can have all the Chicken Tikka Masala she wants.

After we'd all stuffed ourselves to the gills on delicious Indian food, my friend and former boss Doug presented me with a wonderful farewell card that Janet had made. It showed Gertie with members of my old group hanging out of every window and hatch, ready for a riproaring TRG road trip. Inside the card, everybody had written clever and eloquent good wishes—something I've never been good at. And there was a Camping World gift certificate, which I know I'll put to good use!

Janet's farewell card

I had wondered before the lunch whether I'd get all choked up or burst into tears at the prospect of leaving all these friends. Well, I didn't. I tried to say something about what a great group of people they were to work with (and they were!) and what good friends, but I'm afraid I didn't do a very eloquent job. I hoped they knew how much their friendship over the years had meant to me.

We said goodbye in the restaurant parking lot, with promises to keep in touch; I handed out Gertie business cards to make sure they all had my website and email addresses. Then they headed back to their meetings and their deadlines...while I drove lazily home in the brilliant afternoon sunshine, stopping for groceries, thinking about how lucky I was that I'd never have to attend a project meeting again.

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