Tag: friends

The Phantom of Genevieve’s

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on The Phantom of Genevieve’s
Entertainment, Miscellaneous, Restaurants
Phantom of the Opera Program
Photo by Carin Perretta

Continuing the impossibly busy weekend…

Today we had friends drop by for a visit. We were happy to have Steve and Linda Serkiz come by for coffee. I hadn’t seen them in years. I was at Furman with both of them, and Steve was in one of Laura’s first classes that she taught there. Steve is now down at the Savannah River Site as a research scientist, doing some very cool things with carbon nano tubes and other nano technology. I may have to wrangle a visit so that I can get a closer look at Ellenton and some of the other SRS ghost town sites.

In the evening I was supposed to be two places at once. I was SUPPOSED to be singing the National Anthem at the Greenville Drive game with the Greenville Chorale. However, the opportunity to attend Phantom of the Opera at the Peace Center came up, and we opted for that instead.

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A Super Moon Weekend

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on A Super Moon Weekend
Miscellaneous

Reedy Falls Panorama

It’s been a busy week, and I haven’t had much time for blogging. I’ve got a few projects underway, and I hope to write about those shortly. In the meantime, here’s a quick weekend update…

Friday night:

One of Laura’s friends from grad school at UC Riverside has a goal – to visit every state in the United States. Carolyn had two left on her list, Idaho and South Carolina. Her friend from Germany, Christian, has accompanied her on this quest, so she met him in Charleston, toured there for a day, then headed to Greenville for a visit with Laura.

We picked up Carolyn and Christian and headed down to River Place. We knew that there was a TEDx event at the Peace Center, and that evening there was supposed to be something called the Greenville Xperience in the amphitheater, so we wanted to get parked early. We wandered around the Falls Park area, walking over the Liberty Bridge and enjoying a warm spring evening, as did half of Greenville, it seems.

Christian, Carolyn, and Laura

At one point I spotted to kayakers launching above the falls, and I knew what was about to happen. I took off at a run with my camera, but was not in time to see the first boat go over the falls. I did, however, catch the second one.

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Tall Tales and Group Camaraderie

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Miscellaneous

I thoroughly enjoyed the paddling trip with the Greenville Canoe/Kayak Meetup. However, it just wasn’t the same as paddling with some of my informal group of friends, or even with Lowcountry Unfiltered. Don’t get me wrong. This was a great group of people, and I loved meeting them. When we hit the river, it was … Read More “Tall Tales and Group Camaraderie” »

Paddling Partners

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Paddling

The paddling group

I was pleasantly surprised at how many people went on our last paddling excursion on the Enoree and Broad Rivers. In addition to our regular Lowcountry Unfiltered group, we had seven others from the Upstate and Midlands. There are several others from fairly close by that would have gone if they hadn’t had prior conflicts. That got me wondering whether or not we should start an Upstate version of Lowcountry Unfiltered. I don’t think I’m ready for that, yet, but my inquiries yielded some interesting things.

My paddling associations have always been informal.  It’s always been just whoever was available on any particular paddling day.  I’ve done more paddling with my friends Bob and Alan than anyone else, but there are others that join us with some consistency.

nullThe Lowcountry Unfiltered group is the closest thing to a formal organization I’ve ever joined for paddling.  However, the thing that appeals to me most about it is its very informal nature.  Apart from having a website, logo, and a set Saturday of the month for outings, it’s a very loosely-defined group.  If it weren’t for the fact that some of the trips are a bit far away for me, and the fact that I’m not free every second Saturday, I’d join them on just about every trip.

While toying with the idea of an Upstate group, I decided to check the web to see what others might be out there.  These range from the informal to the anal retentive, based on who’s running the group and how many paddlers are involved.  Here’s are some observations I’ve made based solely on their websites…

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Class of ’83 25th Reunion

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Miscellaneous

The Paladin

It’s hard to believe the years have passed so quickly.  This weekend was Homecoming at Furman, and my 25th Reunion. There seems to be a core group of my classmates that attend these reunions.  This wasn’t really the group I hung out with while at Furman, and my friends have been spread out over several years, so we have tended to do our own thing at various Homecoming reunions.

Since this was a biggie, though, Laura and I decided to do the entire thing, and had tickets for a cookout Friday night, breakfast Saturday morning, a luncheon, then a reunion dinner in the evening.  My friend Dwight was coming up Friday to spend the night with us and join in the activities.  In addition to our 25th reunion, this year marks 50 years that Furman has been located on its present campus.  There was much to celebrate, and lots of events planned.

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