Beer, Orphanage and Eeyore

Gary Parker with a bottle of Brass Ass Brown Ale

We had another successful lunch on Thursday at All Star Lanes in Silverdale. At least 20 alumni of the CK Class of '62 showed up this time and as always, there were a couple of new faces sprinkled in with the regulars, as we have come to think of ourselves. Gerry Simonson and her husband came and so did Roger Cole, who recently lost his wife. It was great to see that he wanted to be with us. If we keep adding classmates at 2 or 3 a month, by the time we hit that Golden Anniversary of our high school graduation we will have gathered so many that we will have to rent a big hall to squeeze us all in. Hopefully, coming to these lunches will take away any apprehension people might feel about attending the full blown reunion. We've seen each other in our skivvies, with our gray hair and wrinkles and weight gain. There shouldn't be any fear left. That's what I'm hoping anyway.

I talked to Gary Parker a good bit this time. He had very kindly brought along some of his beer from the Iron Horse Brewery, that he and his son own in Ellensberg. I was the lucky recipient of two bottles and muy husband and I tried the Loco Imperial Red ale last night and it was a very interesting beer. I don't usually pick up on the subleties of beer, but this one had a citrus and sweet flowery taste to it. Gary had explained a little about beer recipes and hops and barleys to me but now I want to know where this flavor came from. Next time. If you want to try Gary's beers you have two choices. You can go up to Central Market in Poulsbo and find his Irish Death beer or you can visit the brewery at 1000 Prospect St. in Ellensberg or you can read about them at his website at www.ironhorsebrewery.com. Reading about them is not nearly as good as drinking them. I really want to try the Cozy Sweater one of these days. Gary calls himself the "not so silent partner" and it's really fun to talk to him about beer. You can tell he loves it.

The "orphanage" part of the title to this blog refers to the orphanage in Romania that Rupert Walworth and his Romanian wife are building. Rupert explained that his wife was already putting money away for this orphanage when he met her--he'd hired her to clean his house and later found out she was sending a lot of her money back to her native country for the orphanage. He said they were both "faith-based" people and started dating. One thing led to another and now they go to Romania at least once a year, continuing to work on the orphanage.

And then there's the Eeyore reference. We all know Eeyore don't we? The slow-talking, somewhat depressed donkey friend of Winnie the Pooh? When I spotted Roger Cole, the first thing I noticed about him, after his sweet smile that is unchanged from high school days, was the Eeyores embroidered on his coat and baseball cap. I asked him why he was sprinkled with Eeyores and he replied that his kids have always thought he sounded like Eeyore--he said he's always been a slow talker--and so they've loaded him up with Eeyores. Eeyore has always been my favorite of the Pooh characters--"Oh, bother".

I didn't get a chance to speak with Gerry Simonson--that will have to wait for next time, too. Those lunches, though they often last for 3 hours, are never long enough to talk to everyone, or even to hug everyone. So keep coming back guys, so I can find out about you. And be sure to ask Barbara Jarolim about her trips to China. We'll try to get Gary to bring some more of his great beer, too.