The Third Annual Flamingo Fiasco  -- August 13, 2004 (Friday the 13th)

This Flamingo Gala is rated 5 little pairs of pink flamingos out of 5 on the Flamingo Gala Flaming-o-meter.

Once again we tossed discretion and decorum into the dumpster, and invited the flock over for another marginal evening of cheap entertainment.

Mama Helen and her Gentleman friend Frank were visiting from California, and, as luck would have it, were in town for the event and were heartly welcomed as first-time offenders.

Sort-of-new neighbors Ed and Lori, along with their daughters Loren and Suzanne, were also in attendance as first-time offenders.  In fact, Suzanne was kind enough to present the following as they arrived:

^{All in all, they did a remarkable job for beginners, even out-performing some of the repeat offenders.  Ed's flamingo tattoo will likely remain unequaled indefinitely.  Perhaps professional help is in order.}  

Other first time offenders included Donna and her son Lucas who came all the way from Bellingham; Laurie, who was able to join her hubby Rick this year, and who in the past has done such a good job providing Flamingo cakes even while unable to attend; Sue's nephew Nob who came all the way from Thailand.

This also marked the first time that minors were in attendance.  There were no serious problems, but early in the evening they headed next door to watch the Olympics on TV, obviously suffering from a misdirected sense of priorities. 

Click here for the Official Invitation, which was later amended by the following disclaimer:

^{This year's event is herewith officially designated as the Third Annual Flamingo Fiasco. We ended up down in San Diego from Monday through Thursday on business, and arrived home late Thursday night. It's scheduled for Friday the 13th. We are completely unprepared to host an event of this magnitude, which will be competing, as fortune would have it, head-to-head with the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics in Greece. We can't find any pink food coloring. And the roofing guys will be starting our re-roof job next Monday, and may start dropping off roofing material, dumpsters, etc, etc, in the front yard on Friday. Clearly, all the makings of a Fiasco of the highest order.}

^{But prevail we must, and we shall press on regardless.}

The Flamingo staging area - the night before.

Once again, Frank was volunteered to handle the grill.

And once again, our good set of saw horses was pressed into service - nothing but the best for our guests.

The Pink Rice was particularly unpopular.

The 3 minors in attendance were already showing signs of boredom even at this early stage.

This mean-looking Biker-Flamingo-Guy showed up uninvited, but we let him stay cuz he was so scary looking.