There are several reasons why I feel that River's Bend is the best location for our reunion. Outside of its location in Parkville, it's the only location I have found that met 100% of my requirements. Okay, I admit I did stop looking after I found this location. And after the easy drive to Parkville to check it out, I no longer had concerns about that either. The first thing in our favor is we will have the restaurant to ourselves on a Saturday night. Personally, I was shocked that a restaurant would close it's doors to the public on a Saturday night for a private party but never look a gift horse in the mouth. The fee to acquire the restaurant was reasonable with no additional food/drink requirement. We do not have to worry about catering in or eating light hors d'oeuvres or appetizers. $10 of the money per person you pay for registration will be given back to you in a voucher to order from the menu where the majority of items are under $10 including the Saturday special of a prime rib sandwich. I'm sure this is limited so get there early if you want one. There is a fully stocked bar and they are offering us $1 beers (Choo Choo Brew by Flying Monkey brewed locally). It will seat 175 and will hold 300. There is a stage for a band. Mark Valentine has offered to put together a band that will play from a set list created by our class so be sure to submit your song requests with your registration. 3 floors including roof access with it's own bar. The second floor is a mezzanine overlooking the band and dance floor. There is no time limit except closing time at 1:30. The Argosy casino is just down the road if some of us want to continue to party afterwards. There is ample parking across the street at the farmer's market. With pool table in house and a mini golf course next door, it is also possible to add pool and mini golf tournaments if there is enough interest. No other place can come close to giving us all this for even close to this price. We can even look into bus transportation if there is enough interest.

I am equally excited about our Friday plans. Since they are not firm at this time, I will only say it will be a fun night as well.

To get the ball rolling, we are offering an early bird registration of $30 per person until April 30. Only $40 after that. That should get us a good fund early to work with. Click here for registration information. Check back often as we announce Friday and possibly Sunday and other activities.

For the out of towners who might like to extend their visit or for those who live locally, Crosby Stills and Nash will be performing at Starlight Theater on August 9th. Tickets will go on sale on April 6th at 9am. Want to avoid the ticket ripoff charge? Get your tickets in person at the Starlight box office. If enough decide to go, we can arrange for a place and time to gather.

We are just starting so if you want to assist, let us know. We have many things to be planned and any assistance would be appreciated.

Greg Clevenger

Thanks to Karen (Geissel) Chadwick's son in law, Vince, we are going to party in martini corner on Friday night, Aug 10.

Vince was kind enough to offer us a totally casual evening at The Monaco from 6:30 to 11pm, normally 10, to ourselves. But wait, there's more. He is throwing in an unlimited appetizer buffet (sliders, chicken tenders, fries, and spinach dip) from 7-9pm. Yeah, there's a catch but it's not important and we hope enough of you will come that we can sidestep it. You say you want more? You're getting pickey, aren't you? Okay, how about we will be able to control the music: content and volume. More? Ummmmmmmmmmmmm. Okay, ladies, brush up on your dance moves, there's not one but 2 dance poles. Yeah, I know. I'm stretching it here. I had to mention it because of this next statement. Sorry guys, the club has a strict, ladies only policy on the poles. I know. I'm disappointed, too.

"Sounds expensive." you may say. Not at all, my friends. For now, with the exception of your drink purchases, this will be a free event. Even if we have to change it later, the cover won't be much and will still remain free for those who are registered for Saturday night.

"Where is it?" you may be wise to ask. 334 E 31st ST, Kansas City, Mo. Where? Yeah, I did that, too. North west corner of 31st and Oak. Kinda sorta know? One block west of Cowtown Ballroom. Got it now?

At 11pm, they let in the hounds and we lose control of the music...and everything else. I'm sure it will get loud and crazy quickly. Not your thing? You are in Martini Corner. There are at least a half dozen other venues right there. Or call it a night and get rested for Saturday night at River's Bend.

Please thank Karen and Vince for this one. Nice to be able to pass along those good genes, huh Karen.

So, let's review what we have so far.

Friday night, Aug 10, THE MONACO in Martini Corner, 334 E 31st St, Kansas City, Mo, casual, private from 6:30-11pm, unlimited appetizer buffet 7-9pm, we provide the music, no charge.

Groovy so far? (Sorry, it slipped.)

Saturday night, Aug 11, RIVER'S BEND RESTAURANT, 2 Main St, Parkville, Mo, casual, the whole restaurant will be private from 6pm-1:30am, $1 draft special all night, NO APPETIZERS!, we provide the music, and a very affordable $40 per person.

Instead of collecting $10 per head for appetizers (again!), I worked it out with Issac to collect the same money but allow us to use that money to order from the menu. A $10 Kitchen voucher will be given to you when you arrive which can be applied to your menu purchase. $10 will cover the majority of the menu items including the Saturday special of a prime rib sandwich. Trust me. It will be worth it. Check out the menu. It will be worth it just to not have to eat appetizers. Your kitchen voucher can not be applied to drink purchases. Kitchen closes at 10pm but you will still be able to get ... are you ready? ... light appetizers.

We will be having live music but we aren't hiring a band. Mark Valentine will be putting together a band to play from a set list we provide. Yes, you are invited to sit in. If you have an axe to grind, er, can grind an axe, feel free to bring it and bring it on. want to sing backup or just take over lead vocals? There will be mics and plenty of sing along opportunities.

Does it sound like fun yet?

That leaves us with only Sunday to complete the reunion trifecta. Yes, we are trying to come up with something. Your ideas are always welcome. I like lunch at Don Chilito's or brunch in the jazz district but I'm open for other suggestions.

I emailed my contact at the River's Bend last week to try to set up an appointment to pay the deposit and close the deal for the reunion and received no response. This last Wednesday, I received a voice mail from the general manager who JUST saw our request to rent the restaurant on the 11th and wanted to talk to me. No problem, right? We're in the book for the 11th. I called on Thursday morning. The person I worked out the deal with was no longer with them and hadn't been for months. Oh no! Are we about to lose our space 10 days before our reunion? At the conclusion of our conversation, even with our lower than expected headcount, I had worked out pretty much the same deal with one exception, if it slows down after midnight, they now have the right to pull the plug. The $1 draws are still on. $5 pitchers. Wow, this was a close one. Needless to say, I rushed down and made the deposit in cash before they could change their minds.

ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO. T MINUS 5 DAYS AND COUNTING.

If you want to believe the weather people, they are talking 92ish for a high on Friday and 90ish for Saturday and Sunday so it should be a nice weekend.

I am in the process of trying to acquire the contact list for the class of 72. Since many of us had friends in the class below us, I was planning to invite them to join us on Friday night. That is still the plan if I can get the list.

We had to make an adjustment in the entertainment budget but I don't believe we are trading down. Instead of acquiring a pick up band that would play from a set list of our choosing, we will be entertained from 8 to midnight by a local classic rock band named Flashback. They sound familiar. They just opened for Chicago and the Doobie Brothers last month at Starlight. They are turning down a casino gig paying more money to play for us. They are our age and would rather have the opportunity to play the music they like for an appreciative crowd of their peers than play a more conservative musical selection for a crowd that would basically ignore them. They have been supplied with our requests and we will just have to wait to see how many they can pull off. We are still invited to sit in so bring your instruments.

While we are on the topic of music, the canned music soundtrack for Friday and for Saturday between flashbacks (yeah, I did it) will be a combination of the music we requested and one cut from each of the 92 albums released between 1968 and 1971 that made the Rolling Stone best 500 albums of all times list. We went through high school at a peak in music history. No other 4 year period had that many. It's rather an eclectic set so we will likely hear things we may have never heard before but maybe we should have. Are you ready to be exposed to Captain Beefheart?

Due to lack of enough participants to make it interesting, the pool and/or mini golf tournaments have been nixed. I will still create a pool tournament sign up sheet for Saturday night and those interested can sign up then. If we get enough, tourney on.

I guarantee you will not be bored Saturday night. If you are, we will have to check your pulse. First, we will have stimulating conversations with our fellow classmates and guests(okay, that's a stretch), maybe a pick up pool tournament, certainly an interesting canned music soundtrack, definitely rocking out to Flashback, and if all that fails, turn your attention to the video screens. I am putting together a 6 hour dvd of some of the funniest comedy film shorts of the silent era that will run all night. Keaton, Chaplin, Lloyd, Laurel & Hardy, Fatty Arbuckle, and more. I might throw in some road runner cartoons if I need to fill.

For those who want to get away from the music once Flashback has started. There are 2 quiet areas you can slip into for casual conversation: The banquet room in the front of the restaurant and the roof top. There is a bar on the roof but it will be bottles and wells only. It is not set up for drafts. Speaking of drafts, due to the number of attendees, the drafts will be served in 10oz plastic cups. Don't eyeball the glass mugs and think you are being cheated. They may look bigger but it is all an illusion. They only hold 10ozs. The thick glass makes it look like you are getting more. It's a bar trick.

If you plan to slip out and go next door for ice cream (like I will some time during the night), you have to eat it outside. No, you can not take it to the roof.

Speaking of the roof, if anyone still smokes, smoking will be out front or on the roof. Maybe we should have a designated ice cream area away from the smoke.

There was not enough interest in getting a bus for Saturday night so those who were interested will be given the contact info for the other interested parties and you can make arrangements with each other if you are interested in car pooling.

As for Sunday, I'm still trying to get permission so I won't reveal hand yet. I can say it will start with a gathering at Don Chilito's and end with a visit to the Mark Gaul memorial bench by the stadium at SMN. It's the middle that's not confirmed yet. Even without it, we can still make it fun.

That's it. It's a party. It's gonna happen. Those who have prepaid to attend have been posted at smn71.com. If you haven't paid yet, there is still time. If your friends aren't there call them. We will take walk in's. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone next weekend. The next email should come out by Tuesday with all the gory...er...glory details.

Can it get much better than this? Friday, the weather people are talking of a high of John Lynn...i mean 83 and Saturday of 85. Oh, I get it. You thought I was going to announce something. Okay, I will. After clearing up some miss communications (and a little added pressure from the school board), I was able to obtain the permission I was seeking. (I knew I could do it if I could just find THE right person to talk to.)

Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!!! It all starts at 2pm at Don Chilitos at 7017 Johnson Drive in Mission just east of Metcalf on the other side of the bridge from SMN. Good god, why there? It's probably the only restaurant in Mission that is still there from when we went to school...and Ruthie's Keyhole is now a private club. You are invited to come and eat, drink, or just be merry. Fear not. We will only be there until 3pm. What's that I hear? “ring ring goes the bell.” At 3pm, we are going back to school. I have gotten permission to enter those hallowed... no, that's not right... those sacred... no, that ain't it either... that school we were forced to go to for three years. We've been given permission to aimless walk the halls at SMN just like we did in high school...without a clue where we were going. We have a rare opportunity to visit SMN and see what's new and what's old besides us. Is that state 5a football trophy still on display? We'll find out next Sunday. At the conclusion of our tour, we will head over to the district stadium for a final gathering at the Mark Gaul memorial bench.

That's it. Whew. Here's how it stacks up.

Friday night, Aug 10, THE MONACO in Martini Corner, 334 E 31st St, Kansas City, Mo, casual, private from 6:30-11pm, unlimited appetizer buffet 7-9pm, we provide the music, no charge.

Saturday night, Aug 11, RIVER'S BEND RESTAURANT, 2 Main St, Parkville, Mo, casual, the whole restaurant will be private from 6pm-close, $1 draft special all night, NO APPETIZERS!, real food, music by Flashback 8-midnight (musicians, bring your instruments), and a very affordable $40 per person.

Sunday afternoon, Aug 12, DON CHILITOS, 7017 Johnson Drive, Mission, KS, 2-3pm, casual, SMN, 3pm-till we're done, free.

See you this weekend.