46 classmates and family gathered in Aspen Colorado for a week of socializing, skiing, snowshoeing and, of course, shopping from February 5 to 11. Snow impacted on several of the flights to Aspen forcing many of the groups to resort to taking buses, vans, and cars for the Denver to Aspen leg. Compliments to Bob Magruder who seized control of the DC-group problem and found the last available bus in Denver to get the group to Aspen. The bus driver drove the large vehicle like a Porsche in a grand prix.
During the Welcome Party Bob led a tribute to Bob Michela. After making a few remarks by Magruder and Bob Michela's former roommates, Magruder opened the floor to any one else who wanted to make comments. Heart-felt memories flowed from the group. Bob Michela was fondly and well remembered.
Skiing was great on Monday. A snow storm dropped a couple of feet of snow over night, to the delight (and horror) of skiers.
So far, except in case of a few cases of altitude sickness, all are well. Hopefully we will all survive the Margarita Party scheduled for tonight.
Ajax, the Highlands, Buttermilk, Snowmass – no, these are not battlefields of WWIII, but are the ski slopes that challenged the Robert Michela Ski Group last week. All of the group skiers survived, although a few required some field-level medical assistance, On Snowmass Audrey Puckett served as a bowling pin when one of her condo-mates delivered a perfect strike and sent her flying through the air. Audrey quickly recovered and was skiing the next day. Several members suffered from altitude sickness but all seem ok now.
Most challenging was the evening Margarita Party. It took place in a pool hall where high-octane Margaritas were served (and were free, increasing the danger.) What started out as a sedate group showing their lack of skill as pool players, quickly descended downward into dancing between the tables and other boisterous activities. As the pool-hall party wound down, a number of our classmates, spouses and friends moved to a local bar where they encountered a bunch of 20-something year olds. At first the kids smirked at their elders but then were awed by our group's dance moves and joined in. Bob Magruder was seen with two babes dancing with him at the same time and neither was Angie!
Cliff Beasley's Wine Party was a huge success, although he did not include my favorite box of wine on his list. After 5 or so glasses of wine, several of our class and friends began to show their Yoga skills with moves like the Bridge and the Wheel. Several of the moves looked like the warm-up moves we used to do for wrestling. (Note to Bob M. we need to include a GUMBY award for the most flexible classmate with Marge being a top contender. Maybe Sue Morton will finally jump into the competition. She is obviously a sleeper candidate.)
So, all good things must come to an end. At the Farewell Ceremony on Friday, Awards were given and stories were swapped. Bob Hillyer brought in his bass guitar and led the group through a medley of songs from the 50s and 60s. A couple of videos of previous gatherings were shown and are posted here on the Class Web Site.
In sum, skiing was great, the group that range from my 11-year-old granddaughter Rachel to a bunch of old guys strengthened their ties, the Gant Hotel in Aspen provided excellent service, hot-tubbing, swimming, and hiking was awesome. It was a five-star trip.
Thank you Trip Captain Bob Magruder and all who supported him.
Dick Puckett
Attached by link are 3 videos featuring the Bob Michela Ski Group. The videos were prepared by John Traylor, Dick Puckett and Andy Dykes. Both skiers and non skiers will find the videos fascinating, they show your classmates in action.
Videos, by their nature, uses fairly large files, so take your time downloading them. They are found at:
www.west-point.org/class/usma1964/ski10.wmv
www.west-point.org/class/usma1964/ski20.wmv
www.west-point.org/class/usma1964/ski30.wmv