Tailgate 2009: Ruminations and Grumblings

This little 2-year-old camper was at her first Tailgate and amused the crowd quite well. I, on the other hand, did not. The Grumpy Old Man I have become was at my worst at the first Tailgate of the season. Traffic and crowds aren't my things, but several other factors conspired to "improve" my misery.

• The RV to my immediate right decided to take 3 feet of my space which meant my huge 16 foot trailer would not fit correctly in its space, ticking off the guy to my immediate left.
• When trying to turn on the generator I tripped over the hand brake of the trailer and fell into the next guys grill, knocking it over and causing great noise and tumult in the process.
• The original guy to my right insisted on running his generator at 110 dB 4 inches from my tent room, causing me to not sleep at all Friday night. At 3 AM I finally got the RV cops into action and made him turn it off. They took a long time in doing it because they were all fast asleep!
• The Fireworks after the Pep Rally caused one of my dogs to befoul my trailer. Luckily it was on Barb's side!
  

There were several good things about the whole affair, though.

• Grilled sticky buns from The Diner in my portable microwave with Creamery ice cream on top. Including Death by Chocolate as recommended by the Radzwich's.
• Our generator performed flawlessly despite zero maintenance in 3 years.
• A friend from Day Care days found Anne and they played all day.
• I didn't have to go to the game and instead went for a run through campus, keeping my streak alive and updating my campus knowledge, (the Classroom Building has been renamed the Joab Thomas Building).
• And you wondered what any of this has to do with PSU Track? I ran into Kevin Dare's grandfather at the Tailgate, reminding me to remind all of you about their coming Golf Tourney Fundraiser. They are also having a raffle, so get in touch with them. I will again send $50 their way from our entire group.