Twenty plus years ago, when we lived like impoverished church mice in Boulder, I never suspected I'd be hanging out at fancy political fundraisers with the movers and shakers of Boulder County. Yet there I was tonight, at a $$-per-plate dinner and silent auction, with names I recognized, even if I didn't know their faces before tonight. All those years attending charity auctions with the spouses clubs and awards banquets with the squadrons served me well. I had plenty of dress-up clothes to choose from, and I came prepared with cash to spend for the cause. I also made sure I ate a big lunch late in the day, knowing that I'd be SOL for restricted-diet-safe options. As it was, I'm fairly certain that the wine sauce on the chicken will make me sick for a week (more). I didn't know a soul going in, but Mr SP/X was there with me, our one last public hurrah before he leaves, and he recognized several folks, both candidates and activists. He helped me break the ice with enough people that I had a good time. But seriously, whoever ran the silent auction needed some guidance. They had a stated value of each item, a starting bid amount at about half of that worth, and the ability for people to "buy it now" at exactly the listed value. What is wrong with Democrats? Do they not know how to gouge people? This is what fundraisers are for! Paying $120 for a $85 gift certificate for a massage, or $300 for a basket of $70 worth of wine. It's a fundraiser, kids. People come there with their wallets half-open on purpose.
The event was held on the CU campus, on the terrace of the UMC and inside in the Glenn Miller ballroom. Ah, so many key events of my life have happened in those few thousand square feet of earth. Not for nothing, it was two floors above the event where Mr SP/X and I met for the very first time, and two months later set out for our first date. It was there I saw Don McLean perform, and there the first time I met members of the band Marillion, who would become my lifelong obsession. I attended dozens of FACs there ("Friday Afternoon Club" for those of you who didn't attend a college where institutionalized beer drinking was a thing). And it was there a few years ago that I watched my daughter accept her poli sci degree. Good memories there.
The silent auction was in a tent on the terrace, and at one point I'd had to run inside the building to use the facilities. On my way back outside, I saw someone walking behind me out of the corner of my eye. So naturally, I paused and held the door open for the people following me. I made eye contact with the woman, and realized it was the keynote speaker, Sen Amy Klobuchar. She politely thanked me, and I smiled and said you're welcome, and passed up my opportunity to have any meaningful conversation with someone I admire greatly. Crap. I panicked. But I still had fun watching her and all the other local celebrities mingle and chit-chat. Her speech was terrific and funny (she did have stories to tell about Al Franken, after all, and I think his comedy writing has rubbed off on her a little). It ended up being a good night.
We didn't bid on anything in the auction, although I did get a bit tickled that one of the items up for bid was a Tibetan healing bowl session. Yeah, this is Boulder County, all right. And as you might guess, it made its "value" and the bidding was closed on it. We played both of the games, a Heads or Tails game where the prize was a weekend at a Winter Park townhouse. Didn't win. I bought a cork in the wine bottle raffle where the prize was a bunch of wine including a $100 bottle. Didn't win that either, but at least everyone who entered received a bottle of wine for their efforts. The organizers of the event weren't allowed to bring any sort of outside alcohol onto the property, so we were told to go out on the street and find the car that had "Wine Car" written on it. We giggled and asked if it was next to the van that said "Free Candy." It wasn't, but it was still creepy getting wine out of the back of a car in the dark. Good times.
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