Gala

One of our newest traditions is to attend the hospital's Cancer Gala each year. It's a fund-raiser held every September at the Lake Tippecanoe Country Club. I refer to it as "Prom Night" as it is usually the only black-tie affair we attend each year. Even Steve enjoys donning his tux . . . and I adore how he looks in it!!!

The most important part of the tradition, however, is that we ALWAYS arrive at the Gala by boat. I'm sure that some people just think they have sun stroke, but others give us a toast of approval as we cruise by. Even the fishermen are briefly distracted.

The pre-Gala cruise is definitely a highlight of the evening, yet very few believe us when we tell them how we arrived, so here is the photo to prove it.

We talked our friends, Buzz and Jane Kauffman, into joining us for the pre-Gala cruise a couple of years ago . . . and they have not missed it since.

In years past, we've also had some wonderful post-Gala cruising . . . sometimes with a boat full of friends and other times just with the full moon. One year we skiied five guys in tuxes after the Gala!!! (That was before Steve bought a tux.)

Last year's Gala was memorable for a very different reason. One of the auction items was a new pontoon. We had actually been thinking of upgrading our "vintage" pontoon for something a bit more spacious, comfortable and "Shadow friendly" i.e. it had to have tan carpet to conceal our Golden Retriever/Lab's hair. The pontoon had ALL the features we were looking for. It also seemed like the perfect time to make our donation to the Cancer Care Fund as my grandmother was dying from colon cancer.

She never got to take a ride on the "Marge Barge" and died only a few weeks later on September 18th, but we all remember her fondly on every cruise we take.