Selfie stick.... the lost generation. Me me me...
Shrimp and grits... love!!!!!!!!
Since when did pink and red start going together?
Why, why, why?!!!!!
Well! I was excited over this dessert till I found out it was squid.
Mayor Ballard and his wife, Winnie.
Mike and I were sitting at a table trying to decide if we should mosey on when the Mayor came up and asked if the chair by us was taken.
Mike whispers, "Do you want to go?"
Me: "shhh quiet, no."
So, what did I learn about the Mayor and his wife?
He and his wife seemed genuinely happy together. They both acted and treated each other very sweet. It was fun to watch.
They were both friendly and seemed down to earth.
At one point, Winnie spotted Chuck Brewer, who is running for Mayor (Mayor Ballard is not running again), and called him over to introduce him to Mike. Poor Chuck didn't realize Mike is not that important, so he talked to Mike a long time. : - )
Gourmet marshmallow
And the most entertaining thing of the evening happened before the gates even opened. The lady above turned out to be the Executive Vice President for the Indianapolis Zoo.
Mike and I were in line waiting for the gates to open (I always make sure I get there on time: - )). They opened the gate at exactly 5:30 pm, and not one second before--trust me!!
It was very hot, and all the excited guests stood outside the gates in their expensive clothes. Zoobilation is the largest black-tie fundraiser in Indiana, and I'm sure many of the people who were waiting in line with us are very generous donors to the zoo (unlike us--but hey, I still have 10 kids at home!).
Meanwhile, several zoo employees were standing just inside the fence waiting to unlock the gates, including one girl who took her job way too seriously. At about 5:26 pm, the Executive Vice President apparently noticed that many of the donors to her zoo were waiting in line for no apparent reason. She may have overheard Mike say something to me about how silly it was for us to have to wait until exactly 5:30. Whatever the reason, she walked quietly up to the gate and said to this very serious employee, "it is OK to go ahead and open the gate." Well, the girl was having none of that and replied, "No, it is not 5:30 yet." The Executive Vice President still stayed soft spoken and said, "It is OK, because I'm the Executive Vice President of the Zoo." Unwavering, the gatekeeper shook her head no and responded, "Well, Joe said 5:30." This went back and forth and back and forth. All the while the Executive Vice President stayed very cool while she tried to get her employee to open the gate. Finally, the Executive Vice President ended the conversation with, "Just so you know, I outrank Joe." Apparently not. The gates finally opened--at exactly 5:30 pm.
Local TV news reporter Derrik Thomas. About 13 years ago, Derrik did a story on Lael. But that is a post for another day. Suffice it to say, he is a very sweet man.
Nicey Treats. My go-to dessert. I'm not kidding, these popsicles are delicious!!
The Executive Vice President of the Zoo wasn't the only one having to deal with difficult people who won't follow orders. We got this text from Bret right before we walked in. Ugh!
