Flying High in Rantoul, Illinois
December 29-30, 1999



    I wanted to reaccount the events that Pup and I attended with Mary & Mike Padget, BJ Hausser, Jack Roose & sister Carolyn & her hubby Andy, Aileen Blomgren & hubby Bill, Karen Fera and her family, husband Al,and children Deanna,and Alex, and of course our hosts Cathy & Harold "SkyKing" Simpson!

    Pup and I had emailed with BJ for about a month about this gathering. We almost didn't go because of finances, but then decided we needed to go. It's like Mary (CR) said, "There isn't too much that we haven't done in regards to JD!" We had arranged to meet BJ (who has been suffering from a very BAD cold) & room with her during our 2 day stay. We got to the Fan Marker Inn (don't ask, I have NO CLUE why it's called that!) and had to find a drugstore. BJ showed up 5 minutes after we left!

    If you have never met this lady, I'm here to tell you she is one of a kind! Pup & I  had seen her posts on the Gathering Page many, many times and had always wanted to meet her. We had met her briefly in Aspen, but did not have enough time to really get to KNOW her. We highly recommend looking her up!

    As Pup and I returned back to the motel, I went to open the door and she jumps OUT AT ME! I almost died! NOT FUNNY BJ! LOL! We hurried and got our things put away and all piled into my Trooper. We got to the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum a few minutes before anyone else did so we waited in the car. After about 2 minutes we decided to go ahead on in. Ten minutes later, Aileen and Bill joined us inside the museum. And then Dove her family. We went into the gift shop to wait for the others....where they had tables and tables of Beanie Babies! They kinda looked out of place with  it being an aerospace museum.

    Harold and Cathyarrived shortly afterwards.  Jack, along with Chelsea and Carolyn & Andy were a bit late, but that was OK. Mary and Mike hadn't shown up after 10 minutes, so we decided that we had to start the tour without them. They did catch up about a 1/2 hour later.

    This museum is HUGE! It had all sorts of planes, military items from various wars, and it even has Harold's and his dad's old Aerolight Eagle (a sort of glider)! It took some time to go through it all, but well worth it.
 

Inside a missile silo Alex, Deanna & Chelsea Inside a cargo carrier
    We then went to a reindeer farm called The Reindeer Ranch. Because it was dark, we really couldn't see too much outside, but the gift shop looked like it should be in Georgetown, Colorado! We had our first taste of Wassail! Which tasted like apple cider with cinnamon. BJ and Mary said they had the recipes, but for most of us, it was our first taste. We also toured a building outside that looked like a country dinner theater, complete with red and white checkered table cloths and hay bales for seats!

    All too soon, it was time for dinner and if we wanted to change, we had to hurry! BJ, Pup and I got ready in record time! Pup & I dressed kinda, sorta fancy complete with glitter in our hair! It's something I used to do around the holiday concerts of John's. I used to be kidded and had the nickname "Sparkle"! LOL! BJ changed into a very nice sweater and tan jeans .

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Dinner was great! But way too much food! Pup and I can't go anywhere without bringing gifts, and this was no exception! We didn't have a great deal of money, but we did have the resources to make something. Pup had a glass warehouse not too far from her home, she bought some wine glasses and I went to Michael's Nursery & Crafts for some etching cream and stencils. Pup spent all night after she got here, etching the glasses for everyone! They were beautiful (but then, I AM her Mama! LOL)  and I HAVE to brag! We also brought bags of Christmas candy for the children.
    As we passed out the glasses to everyone, I asked that we do a toast to John (and also Pauletti as I told her I would). Miss Dove (aka Karen Fera) also had a few tricks under her wings, she had brought jars with (what else!) Dove chocolates in them! On the jars, it read..The Gift You Are... What a sweetheart! After dinner I asked if anyone wanted to do the toast (I HATE speaking in front of people, believe it or not!). Since I couldn't get anyone to, BJ said she would but then she could hardly talk by then and unless you were part BULLFROG well...., I decided to take the "bull by the horns" and do it myself. I kept it simple and short then I asked if anyone wanted to say what John had meant to them. I was surprised at the response! Harold stood beside the "infamous JD Prayer Pose" poster and told about meeting John at an air show. Jack, Carolyn, Harold's mom and even Alex, Dove and Al's son, spoke about the day John left us and how sad he was. He also spoke about how his mom would play JD all day. In the end I think we all left that room with a little bit more of what John had taught us.

    I guess I should back up a bit...we were to do 2 other things that day...one was a hayride (but because it was warm..it melted the snow and made it too muddy!) The 2nd was having our 1st plane ride with Harold..but the wind was way too gusty..so we had to scrub them...

   Back to the dinner...Jack Roose, aka Rooster53, is a wonderful singer. Some of us got to hear him in Aspen this year and were entertained by his beautiful voice. He also gifted us all by singing a song he wrote in honor of John. It's called The Vision Of An Eagle..and I must say, it is a very moving song... one that I hope gets the recognition that it deserves.

    We sang as much as we could before we were told that they were closing up the restaurant...not at all like the LIMELIGHT! LOL! We had just enough time to play a short game of Denveropoly! We also had tried to learn a game Harold had brought called Pit.
 
 

I have 2! I had them first! SOLD!

    BJ, Pup and I headed back to our room but agreed to meet up with the others for breakfast. Pup was so tired she fell asleep, or so we thought! But BJ (although her voice was nearly gone by then) and I talked way into the wee hours.  We talked about John, our lives, our hopes and dreams. I know I can speak for Pup, but we were so glad to be able to share that time with her.

    That morning we all awoke around 5:30...but we didn't want to wake up each other! LOL! Finally one of us got up to use the "little girl's room", and then we knew that each of us was awake. I had to feel sorry for BJ, she was coughing and she had to drive hours back to Ohio. But the trooper she is, she made it beautifully!

    After breakfast Harold announced that we had a plane to go up in! BJ said that she was NOT going up in one, but soon changed her mind. Dove, her 2 children, Alex and Deanna, and BJ all took turns going up. They loved it! Time ran out and Pup & I didn't get to go, but that was alright, there's always next time!

    Dove and her family had to head out, so Cathy and Harold went with them to see them off while BJ, Pup and I headed back out to the Reindeer Ranch. Although BJ was sick, she still wanted to take pictures of the place and we all wanted to see things in the daylight. Cathy and Harold gave us directions and we went over them SEVERAL times..well, someone forgot to mention ONE DETAIL..there were TWO underpasses, not ONE! LOL! After getting turned around, we finally stopped and asked directions and soon found it.

    We talked to Mark, the owner about JD, Georgetown, wolves and all the things (or what seemed to be ALL) JD stood for.

    The time came for us to head back to the motel, where BJ left her car. We hugged and told each other what a wonderful time we had and hoped to do it again real soon!
 



 

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