2007 That was the Year that WAS

Billy loves New Years Eve because he gets to stay up late and watch Dick Clark. He also found this on the interenet and wanted to share it with his friends.
This will be my last post for 2007.....but rest assured there will be a few more in 2008. Thanks to all my friends for making this the most watched blog in Amana. Billy appreciates your support and looks forward to meeting you in person someday.

Boxing Day

December 26th is Boxing Day. Its primarily a British Holiday. Its the day you give your servants a box in gratitude for their services through out the year. Well I am not British, nor do I have any servants, so the day is celebrated differently.

Here is what Wikipedia says:

Origins

Boxing Day is a traditional celebration dating back to the Middle Ages, of which the primary practice is the giving of gifts to employees, the poor, or to people in a lower social class. The name has

numerous folk etymologies^[3].

Christmas box

A Christmas box is, in English tradition, a clay box used in artisan shops. Apprentices, masters, visitors, customers, and others would put donations of money into the box, like a piggy bank, and then, after Christmas, the box would be shattered and all the contents shared among the workers of the shop. Thus, masters and customers could donate bonuses to the workers without anything direct, and the employees could av

erage their wages. The habit of breaking the Christmas box lent its name to Boxing Day. The term "Christmas box" now refers generally to a gift

or pay bonus given to workers.^[4]

The Oxford English Dictionary attributes it to the Christmas box; the verb box meaning: "To give a Christmas-box (colloq.); hence the term boxing-day." Outside the Commonwealth, the holiday is sometimes called "St. Stephen's Day".

• It was the day when people would give a present or Christmas box to those who had worke d for them throughout the year.
• In England many years ago, it was common practice for the servants to carry boxes to their employers when they arrived for their day's work on the day after Christmas. Their employers would then put coins in the boxes as special end-of-year gifts. This can be compared with the modern day concept of Christmas

  
  

  bonuses. The servants carried boxes for the coins, hence the name Boxing Day.

And you thought this blog was just full of tripe. Hell you learned something from it for a change.

Happy Hanukkah !

Billy's dad Otto Von Crippe reminds me that he is Jewish and was a little bit offended by the recent Christmas Greeting and asked for equal time. Priscilla got in the act, too.

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Billy's Christmas Greeting

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Wednesday's Second Party

I was just recovering from my three martini lunch at big Jacks party, when I received a call from Jimbo, (not his real name) that the impromptu Bob C party was in progress at the Dublin City Pub.

I had just extended the leg rest on my recliner and was about to view a version of Deal or No Deal and was settling in for the night. But he mentioned that Abby, a vixen server from the later Tycoon was there and I ought to make an appearance. The mystery lady you see at the bottom of this blog was at a Siren Club Christmas party commiserating with a former girlfriend ....... ...mine not hers ... and I thought I could always catch Deal or No Deal on reruns, so off I went.

In attendance were, Tasha, Abby and Jesse along with the usual suspects. The undercover cops were there and "Big" made an infrequent appearance. Our host Bob C was making sure the music never stopped and keeping the cocktail servers busy.

There was singing. There was dancing. There was eating And, there was drinking......Perfect!

The After Party

The party at the Moose was delightful....but some don't know when enough is enough....like almost everyone in attendance. So someone said we ought to go to O'Malleys.

Since there was drinking involved at the first party, we all caravaned over to O Malley Pub in stealth fashion. We all went really fast with the lights out. That way it is harder for the CRPD to notice.

O'Malley's is a lot like the Moose party except the ceilings are lower, its smokier and you have to pay for the drinks.

It appears one of the ladies was wishing she had worn a cleavage dress as she was spotted modifyingg her dress to conform with the others.

Big Jacks Party

Every year Big Jack hosts a Christmas party at the Elks club. Its always the Wednesday before Christmas and it starts at noon. I have been on the invited guest list for some time. I think its the two cars I sold to Jack that endears him to me. Or maybe its the fact that I am his insurance agent and I protect him so well. For whatever reason I am honored.

I have seen the guest list change over the years. When I first came to this party, the likes of Demmy Battin, Westy Ralston, Don Wehr, Dean Smith and Leo Wilson were always at the holiday table. They don't come anymore. Probably because they are buried in a Roland Wilbert Vault. That was Jacks business until he turned it over to his son. I spect its a bittersweet for him.

Now the guest list is varied some. Jack has moved to the Gulag and some of his fellow residents are included in the mix....I know Bubbu is one for sure.

Phil is the server de jour. Phil (Short for Phyllis) goes back to the days of the Flame Room/ Micado and before that "Me and Lees Lounge" in the Lindale Shopping center before it became an enclosed mall....but thats a whole different story. She just comes out of retirement for this event. I don't need to give her my order because she knows what I want.

Carl the Barrister is there...so is the Puzzler, Billy's GodFather....There is Max the former Potentate, Francis L., Billy's Iron Lung mechanic, and of course Bubba, Nick and Donnie Boy...all insurance underwriters with more initials behind their name than me.

This diverse group includes Joe B, the electric parts peddler, Levi aka Mr. Utility, Kenny the HushPuppy man, Doctor H, Harry the tooth fairy.......the list goes on.....

I used to be the youngest one on the invited guest list. Now I'm the second youngest....Jacks grandson, Scott was in attendance.

Why is this such a great luncheon? Other than the great straight up Martinis....its because big Jack picks up the tab....to paraphrase Westy, "Jacks got a heart as big as a slop bucket."

Bloggers note: Its too bad the majority of the people in this blog will not be able to see this because they don't have a computer. Will someone please print this and send it to them in the mail.

Cleavage Night

Once a year Randy throws a party at Christmastime for some of his best customers and some of his favorite customers. A lot of times they are one in the same. Anyway the Who's Who of Moosedum attends. It's as predictable as Detroit's Devils night or Beggar's night for the kids at Halloween and is sort of a cross between the two.....I call it Cleavage Night. Two of Randy's favorite things.

Billy's God parents were invited this year and Carol called me to ask what was suitable attire for the affair. Without missing a breath, I advised her to find a pushup bra and wear some top with a Vee neck or otherwise plunging neckline.... of course she showed up with a turtle neck sweater over another sweater. Must be the school marm in her...but why did she ask?

The Moose Christmas party is the equivalent of Oscar night in LA. Same fancy cars, fancy gowns...only no red carpet or commentary by Melissa Rivers. We drove up in a Mercedes S600 but there was no valet and this carpet was a sheet of ice. The food buffet was put together by Phil of the Diner on First and it rivaled any buffet you would find at any of the upper crust country clubs that are dominant in Cedar Rapids. I took hundreds of pictures and sadly did not get a shot of the buffet. I was too busy shooting pics of the party theme.

Absent patrons of note were Cheryl, Tracie and Diana...all venerable cleavage people. Their absence was sorely missed.

Maybe they were drinking Tom & Jerrys at Elmcrust.