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Show I -SjYVm by Teri Gomes Happy birthday, Jess CINCINNATI Trust us when we say no other group made the kind of impression in Cincinnati that we did. The Park City group that traveled to Ohio for the All-America All-America Cities presentation was an entertaining menagerie that gave that conference, that hotel oh, hell, we actually gave the whole town a taste of that Western charm. Rest assured there is nary a bellboy, a waitress or a cab driver left who does not have a U.S. Ski Team pin in his or her lapel now. When people are tense, they react in a variety of ways. Our group giggled. A lot. Anywhere. By day, we were mild but pleasant-mannered folks who built and worked on our booth, endlessly rehearsed our speech and gave sample questions to one another we thought the judges might ask. We attended briefings, met fellow delegates and sat at dinners and lunches next to judges and managed to behave in a most respectable manner. But, let's face it. The tension and pressure was intense. in-tense. Our competition is cities like Cleveland, Ohio; Trenton, N.J.; and Spartanburg, S.C. Big cities with big problems like urban renewal, high crime and industrial pollution. We are the smallest town in this competition by a difference dif-ference of merely 12,000 people. We were a little intimidated. in-timidated. We didn't find out until Saturday night the judges felt ours was the best-written application submitted. submit-ted. - It doesn't mean we'll win, understand. It means that Bill Ligety, Pat Montgomery and, most especially, David Hampshire, did a fabulous job of showing how our town has overcome possible adversity to produce positive involvement. To condense what happened on those nights that we did have unscheduled time is risky. Often, when you try to retell a story, it loses something in translation. But maybe I can give you just a flavor of those evenings. NIGHT ONE : We green tourists asked the bell captain for a suggestion for a good restaurant. He sizes up the group and sends us to a restaurant about a block away. It is well into the first course before we realize we have probably managed to stumble upon Cincinnati's only gay bar and grill. NIGHT TWO: At what is initially a crowded Japanese restaurant, we eventually manage to clear out the room and one by one, the chefs walk past our table and stare. One is heard to mutter, "Looks like zoo." I don't know why he thought that ... maybe because after a little libation, we were talking in very animated tones. And we were celebrating Jess Reid's birthday. For those of you who are good friends of Jess and know 3 his actual birthday is in June, you can imagine how sur prised he was to get the pineapple with the burning candle can-dle stuck in it. Yes, we do have photos . After this memorable meal, we moved to a '50s dance spot a tile-floored, juke-boxed, neon-lighted swell joint called Caddy's, so named because of the '56 Cadillac convertible stuck in the bar area. We danced our brains out. And before we knew it, we . were forming two long lines and strolling, two by two, up the dance floor. We even dedicated great '50s songs to the great group from Park City, Utah. Politics aside, Al Horrigan and Arlene Loble sure can dance. And Jim and Carol Santy cut a real mean rug. In fact, the entire delegation can move. NIGHT THREE: After a big, stuffy formal dinner as part of the conference, we slipped out to take a horse-and-buggy ride to-you guessed it-Caddy's. While on said ride, I (who cannot carry a tune) tried to lead a singalong. I discovered the only tune we all knew was, "Do-wa-diddy-diddy-dum-diddy-dq." By this timeVthreSTexahs from the conference decided decid-ed we were a fun'bunch and asked if they could join us. Natch. ,f ?, g When it came time to leave, Dr. Robert Winn walked outside and spotted a terrific stretch limo. Thinking it was a rental, he jumped into the back seat, at which point a socialite-type woman stylishly attired and dripping drip-ping with diamonds said, "What are you doing?" Quick-witted Winnie said, "Excuse me, what is the license-plate number of this car?" When the woman responded, he said, "Whoops! Wrong limo!" and jumped out. ' NIGHT FOUR: We were still on an adrenalin high after finally giving our presentation and surviving the judges' questions. We decided to eat at the hotel in the opulent art deco-style dining room. Our bubbly group of 14 approached the hostess singing, "Do-wa-diddy-diddy-dum-diddy-do. jjj . For some Jt$rige reason, she seated us in the furthest corner of the otim away from all the other diners. Once again, Jess leid was surprised to discover it was still his birthda.jijii We really think-We have a good chance of winning this award. But if we don't, I don't think it will change anyone's feeling of pride at getting this far. In traveling here and participating in the conference where most of the people were somber and conservative in dress and manner, it struck a vein with me that Park City folks are a rare breed. They work hard, they play hard and they really care for each other. And what could be more all-American than that? |