Aloha Party!

I had such FUN this evening!!! I can't even remember when I've had such a good time. I had such a good time; I had to come home and lie down for awhile, I wore myself out!

Our Apartment Complex had an Aloha Party; there were leis, BBQ ribs & all the trimmings, a DJ, and island decoration around the pool, and eventually, about 150 people. It's been years since the management hosted such an event.

I went on my scooter, not nearly as maneuverable as a wheelchair (especially in a food line), but it got me there and back! I saw folks I hadn't seen in months (or years!). We managed to talk and get 'caught up' despite the loud music and the pool full of kids.

At one point a group of women, young & old, neighbors all, perhaps 20 or so, spontaneously got together and did some 'line dancing' (probably because none of the men would dance). They were good, too! Almost looked like they'd gotten together and rehearsed. The 'rest' of us encouraged & applauded them.

But the high point of the party was when the ONE middle-aged, assistant manager, the woman who is mean to EVERYONE, the woman who is disliked by most, got thrown in the deep end of the pool, clothes, shoes, watch, and all!!!

It was inadvertent, she just happened to be walking by when a young man was tossing his swimsuit clad girl friend into the pool. This assistant manager got between them and the water, she went in instead of the girlfriend. Anyway, the crowd went wild with screams and applause of approval!

Till someone realized that she hadn't surfaced!!! Two people jumped in and found her at the bottom of the pool. She'd sunk like a stone! Turns out she didn't know how to swim! She was fine; hadn't even swallowed or inhaled any water, but it was obvious she was 'shaken' and scared. Also, she had to know how 'happy' everyone was to see her get 'dunked'. Wonder if it'll change her attitude any??? Wonder if she'll learn to swim? Wonder if she learned to stay away from pool side???

All this at a 'family', non-alcoholic, late afternoon party! Definitely a Southern California type of event; the weather was picture perfect, the pool water warm (though I didn't go in), and there were palm trees to look at.

Besides eating, chair dancing, and talking too much, I got the chance to give out DOZENS of my business cards to new neighbors and old acquaintances that had lost my phone and/or unit number. (This place is HUGE, 35 buildings on 7 acres, for a total of 500 apartments.)

I didn't even get 'hassled' about smoking, as so often is the case at social events these days! As it turned out, the group of folks I was sitting with were mostly smokers! At one point, I specifically looked around the pool area for smokers; there were a bunch of 'em. Certainly more than the 20% of the population that the government claims! At least at THIS party!

I only stayed a couple of hours; just got too weak and tired (all that 'chair' dancing didn't help!), and the party was still in full swing when I left. But it was a wonderful couple of hours! I went home with a full belly, and a full heart...