Blue skies and 60 degrees welcomed 10 eaters and 2 special guests for the February 7th Romeo Brunch on the patio of the General Store. Jerry Ostermann is in Scottsdale till April 1st with a couple of flights back to Elmhurst in between. He doesn’t act like a retired man, but one focused on promoting his delicious candy treats. Kevin Tripp meandered onto the pavered patio, as you would expect being from Wyoming. His family is doing very well and his golf game more better. Of course he has picked up the new TaylorMade driver and that along with some recent lessons has him walking further down the fairway to hit his second shot. Life is good. Brent Keil made the trek from southeast Gilbert and is looking all the better for his new home. He and Kevin were remembering the Ole Days (good and not so good) and talking about merchandising in the 80’s in Wyoming. Instead of after Christmas sales, Kevin pushed sales by offering reloading in his photo department....he was a man of his times for sure. They were talking about the new plan CVS has promoted for increased health services versus merchandise selling. Seems that the formula for retail pharmacy is migrating with service taking a second seat to lower store operating expenses for CVS and Walgreens. Bill Harbecke finally made an appearance and he indicated that he has not been feeling up to par with some flu issues( quarantine?) and arthritic and hip problems. Certainly sounded familiar to most of us. Frank Stock took a break from driving Wall Street to spend time with friends......then look what happened to the market. He is hanging his hat on the fact that he told everyone to buy Tesla stock when it recently was under $200..of course it hit $920 on Tuesday. Stan Petersen, recently retired from Chief Ranger at Quintero Golf Course, is taking trial runs with Deone in their recently purchased 23 foot RV. Deone’s birthday is Sunday and I am sure he has some tremendous gift for her..............On February 29th, Chris, Deone’s son is getting married in Kauai...what fun. Julie Ann’s brother in law Wes, has been in town for the last two weeks and he has been building a paver patio at her home.....being from South Dakota he doesn’t think this weather is that cool. Ron Grove indicates that he has been getting some nibbles on he and Liz’s home. Great news...now the hook needs to be set. Pat Johnston took a break from his tennis game to join ole friends. Nothing officially planned specifically for a family trip this year, but details are forthcoming. They go with all family members to some great locations every two years. Arlyn White is in the midst of his winter vacation, enjoying visiting family and golf. The Ocotillo Golf Course took him to task last week. For those of you not familiar, this course has water on at least 12 holes.......I used to think he was more wise than to make this type of choice. We were joined by Sandy and Dick Davis as they were near by after running some errands. They both looked great and it was great to catch up for a bit. Very little political discussion....what can you say about chaos...whats the ole saying..”it is like herding cats”. Everyone has a great weekend. Gerry