Polka
Over at Rayne's she was talking about polka music perhaps being a siren song for refrigerator monstrosities. It reminded me of one year that Annie$ had her "Bad Art Auction" to benefit the food bank (I think it was the food bank...). She'd had it before -- getting people to bring strange and weird things they'd made, found, or bought, advertising the event as taking place "behind the dumpster at Buck's Fifth Avenue." The polka year it was held at the restaurant-that-had-been-the-Rainbow -- and Kathy and I were the Vannas. We danced around showing the auction items off -- but get this. We had to wear enormous fake plastic tie-on naked boobs and behinds! ( * Y * ) and ( ! ) Very large. We were both (at that time and she still is) very physical and funny -- willing to do anything for a laugh. Con brought a stack of elderly polka records -- which were snapped up by DB. DB was a very nice man who had started a coffee-roasting company, and he died right after the auction. We were all sad, but considered it likely what Con had said -- that he'd polka-ed himself to death. It just goes to show you that even with the best of intentions one can never be assured of unsurprising outcomes. It's ok, however.

At a much later time -- years later -- at a birthday for J, a child of about 8, SJ and Michael wore the fake enormous naked bottoms to bowl. They brought extras for the clamoring hordes who would wish to join them... I videotaped it, maybe wore a ( ! ) I don't remember... but the children were NOT AMUSED as it was BENEATH THEIR DIGNITY and another example of THE EMBARRASSMENT BROUGHT ON BY OLD PEOPLE.