A Colorado Rendezvous

[John 3rd]

Hello All.

It has taken me a while to make this Post but am excited to say that there was a fabled Colorado Rendezvous of two long-time AE players who have been brought together and become friends due to this STUPID game! Michael (NY59Giants) and I became aquainted over ten years ago during my epic match with MISTER DAN ROPER (Canoerebel). I was doing my damnedest to run my Japanese economy off the rails and he stepped up to help. After a number of emails, we moved to phone calls, and now--ten+ years later--we finally got together.

An attempt was made over a year ago but a health scare put the koboosh on that. This time the Gods of Gaming aligned and Michael made the flight from Tennessee to DIA and on to LaSalle, CO. WE spent four days together and Michael got a full immersion into my family. He has spoken to Paula and my eldest, John, many times but it is quite different to be TOGETHER!

We spent much time talking, getting to know each other, doing serious game work, and got out of town to show him some REAL mountains. WE went up to Estes Park, enjoyed the late-spring cool, and had a great time. I think it safe to say that all had a good time.

As Michael got ready to fly home we spoke about my family coming east. WE hope to come out to Tennessee, spend time enjoying that location, and then, maybe, meet the Southern Paddler and get a tour of Chickamauga.

As said many times readers--get to know your 'opponents!' The game has given me several life-long friends.

Here are two pictures of us and then my 'delightful' teenagers!

[John 3rd]

This is Michael (right) and I (Left). Pretty raggety pair of old FAR*S!

[Anachro]

Don't see no photos! Japanese doing their best to maintain opsec even in real life it seems! [8D]

[John 3rd]

I see the photos....

Lack of Allied SIGHT is well known!

[John 3rd]

The files were too big. Had to bring down the Executive Director of the Cochran Family to fix. Here is John (front) and Christopher (rear)...

[BillBrown]

I see they inherited your eyesight. [8D]

[oldman45]

What a motley looking crew. It's great seeing that a game can bring people together.

[Canoerebel]

It's weird to see faces after you've heard a person's voice for years or read their posts for years. I always though Michael was actually Madonna, and that John III resembled Mr. Bean.



Seriously, it's great that you two got together. Really neat. And it sounds like the time together added to your friendship, instead of you discovering that Michael smacks his food and he learns that you pick lint out of your belly button at the dinner table.

[:D]

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: BillBrown

I see they inherited you eyesight. [8D]

My eldest is blind as a bat.

I am pretty sure that Christopher is not mine. He did not get glass until almost 12 years-old. It is that or a genetic mutation.

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

It's weird to see faces after you've heard a person's voice for years or read their posts for years. I always though Michael was actually Madonna, and that John III resembled Mr. Bean.



Seriously, it's great that you two got together. Really neat. And it sounds like the time together added to your friendship, instead of you discovering that Michael smacks his food and he learns that you pick lint out of your belly button at the dinner table.

[:D]

I will neither confirm nor deny any such possibilities and/or slanderous accusations!

Actually...it was quite strange to meet someone you have spent 100s if not 1000s of hours on the phone with. Pretty crazy!

If you are comparing me to Al Bean of Apollo 12 then that may be OK. If it is Jim Bean....well....totally different story. No other Bean is possible. [:D]

[ushakov]

Excellent sartorial choice on the part of young Christopher, no comment on the gentlemen in front of him [;)].

[John 3rd]

Those pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago. It was STILL pretty brisk that day.

Chris is a massive model RR fan and I like anything having to do with trains. WE spent parts of three days chasing UP 4014 and 844 going to Utah and coming back. Michael was with us when we caught those two massive steamers coming home to Cheyenne. He took some EXCELLENT video of them going by us.

[btd64]

Looks like nice country near you....GP

[John 3rd]

That is the Big Thompson Canyon between Loveland and Estes. It is about a 30 minute drive from LaSalle. Pretty country.

[zuluhour]

That's it! I'm staying out of the woods. (snicker snicker)

[Canoerebel]

There was an awful flashflood in Big Thompson Canyon around summertime (1976?). Killed a lot of folks camping. We'd recently been there during a family vacation.

[John 3rd]

That flood nearly repeated itself in 2012 when we had the massive flooding along the NE portion of the state. With snow pack here still at over 500%, there is a real chance we'll have some more excitement of that type pretty soon.

Dan: You changed your picture! What's up with that??

PS---Where is my TURN???
[&o]

[Canoerebel]

I thought you owed me a turn? I sent it last week, but you went on vacation, then your computer crashed, then you worked on your caboose, then you killed and cooked a marmot, then you were called into work for the duration of International and Interstellar Subway Sandwich Year, and then Paula asked you to remove all the sheet rock in your house to find a beetle bug. [:'(]

I changed my avatar a few months back when a forumite (I don't recall who, but he wasn't a regular I think) sorta got nasty due to it's Confederate heritage. I figured it was better to avoid being a stumbling block, if possible.

[John 3rd]

WHAT? How did I miss that? My opinion on that subject is not printable here. To honor you and your heritage I shall fly my Stars-and-Bars today and in so doing I'll honor mine as well!

That Beetle Bug was a monster and nearly ate one of our five cats. Gotta be careful about that sort of thing!

[Canoerebel]

Some of it was my fault. We had a pretty heated discussion in here about global warming a few months back (no pun intended), and my thoughts were decidedly in the minority on that topic. It got pretty warm but nobody that was involved is anything other than well-meaning, sincere gents who happen to see things differently.

P.S. I bet sea level at Tarawa hasn't increased one iota since that discussion. [:)]