Stories of the GATHERING April 27,28,29, 2007
From: Dallas J. Ballmer (04-30-07)

My accounting begins with the arrival in Lake Charles and going on the recommendation of Calvin Ferrell to have dinner at Lauberge duLac which ended up out on the patio of the Jack Daniels Bar and Grill.  We shared dinner and drinks with 22 of our classmates and some unwanted visitors that almost carried us off later in the evening.  They played in our ears and nibbled on our necks...yep, they even bit some of us which made some very uncomfortable.  I think they were locals but some probably flew in for the action.  Not exactly the kind that made our significant other jealous but the type that drew blood most of the time...mosquitoes!

The food was good, the drinks were soothing and conversation was entertaining.  We enjoyed a nice evening out on the town in a very beautiful place.  Lauberge gave us a warm welcome and it is possible to get something organized there for a future reunion.  It is worth exploring and we have made a couple of contacts to help us work something out.  One of our own is married to a staff member of Pinnacle and said we should be able to arrange something.  There is a classmate that has a daughter on the staff as well.

In any case, we enjoyed the evening very much.  I had a couple glasses of big red and a fat juicy filet mignon...it was nice indeed.

The next day we all showed up for a round of golf at Gray Plantation (Graywood).  We warmed up at the driving range, collected our carts and tooled down the path of a gorgeous 18 holes of manicured property.  Don Soileau and his son were the best strikers by far and paired up with Bill and Lynell Gipson while Gordon McCool drove me around and Gary Slaven kept us company.  Gary and Gordon were pretty good as well but not quite in the same class as I was...this was my second time to ever play but I was determined to make it around the course.  I only lost about eight balls with most of them splashing the hazards.  I was very lucky to have such a wonderful group to play my first second game ever with.  Don Soileau and company was very tolerant of me and as I started the round with a couple of consecutive roll-off-the-tee 30 ft drives...the third or fourth hole was where I actually hit a fair drive.  I did shoot about four of the holes one over par (bogie) and several at two over par...most of the rest were eight strikes on the par fives...I was happy to actually do that well and had a great time.  I was cramping in my feet, legs and stomach till Sunday and am still stiff today (Monday).  It is a good kind of "uncomfortable" and not really more than a soreness you would get from the annual baseball game or other infrequently performed sport...not too bad.

That evening was the main event at Cooler's Ice House.  I drove up (10 minutes late) and saw there was only a few that had beat me there.  Shortly, there was a steady arrival and it was so nice to see everyone.  I really can't describe how it felt to watch and feel the excitement we all felt just being around each other.  It was so electric and special for me.  The rest of the class that made it was just as excited it seemed.  We all mingled and visited with smiles on our faces and in our hearts.  The description of how we all felt is not easy to put in words.  The kind words from everyone made my effort worth it all.  I was swelling inside while everyone let me know that my efforts were appreciated.  The real appreciation was showing in the faces and actions of the class as they visited and danced.  Then we closed the Coolers page and moved to KDs (the old Pitt Grill I believe).  We got coffee, breakfast and burgers to attempt to satisfy our hunger.  It worked for most of us but I think it was about 3 am when I got to the room.  The next morning we all left to go back to our homes. We talked about many things and one of them was to begin asking all the LaGrange alumni to join together for our reunions and gatherings.  It was also discussed to have something every year, even if it is small like this one.  We had about 40 of our class to make it out to Coolers and 22 Friday evening at Lauberge.  There were seven of us that played golf and it all was good.  I would like to thank everyone that came out for making it as good as it was.