Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts
By Alyce Wilson
May 7, 2007 - Semiformal Fun
Friday night was the annual semiformal dinner at my dad's medical convention. This year, it took place again at the Valley Forge Radisson, but the staging of it was a little different.
For the last couple years, the cocktail hour was in a foyer/lobby area outside the main dining room. This time it was held in the Ice Nightclub that's part of the hotel.
This was both good and bad. The good aspect was the atmosphere was much improved. You had very festive surroundings, including a disco ball and dramatic lighting. There were recessed seating areas separated by gauze curtains. Some of the upholstery was torn, so we joked it was like being at Studio 64 after a rough night.
The bad thing about the nightclub was that it was very dark and didn't lend itself well to mingling. People tended to go off in little corners with their friends and family rather than striking up conversations.
We had a good time. My dad's med school buddy, The Life of the Party, his daughter, The Artisan, and his wife, joined us, along with another married couple, both of them doctors, who met at one of these conventions about 15 years ago.
The cocktail hour was actually more like a cocktail half-hour. Since The Gryphon and I had arrived about 15 minutes late, we didn't get much time to enjoy the atmosphere. We sampled some fruit and cheese, had one drink, and The Artisan and I took some cool photos.
Overall view of the room
The Gryphon relaxes on a sofa
I enjoy a drink on a chaise
Dad and the Life of the Party
We moved then to what they now call the Waterford Ballroom but used to be Lily Langtrey's. They've redesigned the room completely in sort of a mod look, and I'm not certain whether they've moved the stage or not. They definitely redid all the decor, however, and even how the room is laid out.
Before the dinner started, I had everyone at our table get together for a group picture.
(from
left) The Artisan, Dad, wife of Life of the Party,
Life of the Party, the married doctors (husband seated),
the Bariatric Doctor, The Gryphon (seated)
In addition to Dad, The Gryphon and me, The Life of the Party's family and the married doctors, we were joined by a Bariatric Doctor whom we didn't know. He graduated from the same med school as the rest of them in about 1980, and he was happy to socialize with a group of strangers, cracking jokes with the rest of us and occasionally wending off into politics before somebody reeled him in.
Eventually, the alumna I call The Instigator arrived. I call her that because of the way she enjoys to playfully stir up trouble, suggesting that, for example, people do silly things with the centerpiece every year. She sat next to my Dad, and they had a good time together, talking and dancing.
Dad and the Instigator
They changed the order of things a little, which meant that we got to eat earlier, which was very nice. Aside from the opening greeting, the traditional performance by the Polish American String Band and the invocation, they reserved all of the speeches for after the dinner.
This year, since the lighting was different, I even got a halfway decent picture of the string band's performance.
\
The Polish American String Band
An older couple dances to the music
The Life of the Party's wife dances with a mummer
The dinner consisted of an appetizer of Lobster Bisque, a Caesar Salad, an intermezzo of Champagne Sorbet, an entree of Grilled Filet with Twice Baked Potato, Asparagus, and Dessert of Tiramisu.
Of course, I ran into trouble because I don't eat red meat and therefore couldn't eat the Grilled Filet. I tracked down a waiter at the beginning of the meal, and he told me they could get me either a vegetarian meal or salmon. I requested salmon, but it didn't show up until the dessert course was being served. I was so hungry by the time my meal came, I ate more of it than I would have otherwise. The salmon was very tender, very tasty.
Next year maybe we'll request a substitution ahead of time.
After the speechifying, I danced the night away with the Life of the Party and his family, along with the married doctors. A former president of the medical association kept dancing with everyone. You can identify the past president from the gold medallions they wear on green ribbons around their necks.
Once, during a slow song, he grabbed me to dance, which was a little odd. I'm not used to somebody just grabbing me instead of asking for a dance. The Gryphon came up and cut in. My hero!
The Past President danced a lot of fast dances with The Artisan, who had fun with it. There was also a guy dancing in a wheelchair, moving his chair back and forth and dancing with his arms. He was a better dancer than some of the other people out there!
Of course, The Artisan, The Life of the Party and I got very silly, which is what I usually do. It dates back to junior high school dances, where me and my friends would make up dances that had us laughing our heads off, as the rest of the room shuffled back and forth. The musical act was once more the Franklin and Allison Orchestra.
Along with me, The Artisan took a lot of photos, which we promised to exchange. I hope she sends me hers, many of which were much better than mine.
Here are some more of mine:
The Gryphon in profile
Dad having fun with the Instigator
The Instigator and The Artisan having fun with centerpieces
The Gryphon channels Carmen Miranda
Afterwards, we all headed up to Dad's room to drop off the centerpieces
and then head to a party the Past President had invited them to. The Gryphon
and I, though, opted for heading home. After all, we had our doggie, Una,
waiting at home, crossing her legs, so to speak.
Overall, despite a few snags, it was a very nice evening.
More Musings from my Dad's visit:
Moral:
Salmon takes longer to cook, apparently, than you might think.
Copyright
2006 by Alyce Wilson
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