Another shot, and a Springfield meeting

Okay, since the response thread died, I thought I’d start a new one. Is anyone still interested in a St. Louis meeting? Aura did a hell of a lot of leg work for us to not see each other at all, and it’d be a shame to let it all go to waste. Growler’s seemed a fine place to throw back some suds, and we might be able to hustle some locals on a game of NTN. If we do it, what say we stick to the same place, just pick a time and date-perhaps a little later in the evening, if that’s okay. And name tags might not such a bad idear.

The second point I wanted to broach was the opportunity of a Springfield meeting, as a midway point for those in Chicago and St. Louis (or anywhere else close enough to make it). Rastahomie has already expressed interest, since he’s got family 'round these parts. I think this could be done as a stand-alone meeting, or as an alternative to St. Louis, if everyone wants to change venues.

Springfield’s obviously much smaller than the other two places, so it’s not going to be a big city, dazzling experience. Just thought it might be easier to get more people if they didn’t have to drive as far to get there.

And if no one wants to, no biggie. Rasta and I’ll just grab a beer and horseshoe the next time he’s in town.


Nothing like a bad decision
Says who you are.
-Gin Blossoms, “Perfectly Still”

That’s the Springfield in the state that the Simpsons live in, of course…


Launcher may train without warning.

As a disinterested party and a former Peorian you might consider Peoria – it’s more halfway than Springfield. Plus, IIRC, it has the greatest number of bowling alleys per capita than any other U.S. city, which should appeal to the Midwest crowd! Bwah hah hah! Maybe you can even catch a tractor pull!

“If ignorance were corn flakes, you’d be General Mills.”
Cecil Adams
The Straight Dope

Yeah, real fair, pluto.

Har de har.


Nothing like a bad decision
Says who you are.
-Gin Blossoms, “Perfectly Still”

As a midwesterner, I would suggest Bloomington-Normal instead. With a healthy college population and a distinctively white-collar employment set, we’ve got more bars and eateries than you can shake a stick at. Hotels up the wazoo, as well, and an airport to boot.

And, of course, I live there and would be able to make it. :slight_smile:

Oh, and about the horseshoe - do you get those at Steak 'n Shake?

The ones in Springfield are franchised, and I used to work at a company-owned store in Bloomington. We’d get requests for horseshoes (apparently a burger, with bun, covered in cheese fries) and none of us knew what they were talking about. :slight_smile:

Anywhere further north or east than Springfield, IL is going to add more miles to a 175-mile trip for me, so I say either StL or Springfield, leaning heavily toward Springfield.

Another benefit to Springfield would be that we could combine a St. Louis & Chicago meeting into one, and have a really good turnout.

A horseshoe is a dish consisting of a piece of toasted bread, upon which you put your choice of meats. Your best establishments will offer you several options; at a minimum you should have a choice of: a beef patty, a chicken breast, some turkey breast, some roast beef, or a ham steak. Some of the more elaborate places may offer you such foolishness as shrimp, fish, or even steak. Anyhoo, on top of the meat & bread you add fries, and then you pour melted cheese all over it. Heaven. Of course, you could get all fancy about it and add A-1 Sauce, Caribbean Jerk seasoning, or Lord-knows-what-else, but I prefer to keep it simple and basic, as Springfield is a simple and basic kind of city.

So Flypsyde, I’ll see you at D’Arcy’s one way or the other.

But not until after Xmas.

The combination of the two cities was one of the reasons I suggested Springfield (horseshoes being the other). We’re not getting much response, though, rasta, so it may very well just be the two of us.

So get in touch with me after New Year’s, when ever it will be convenient for you to get up here. And we’ll discuss when/how we can organize this thing for a bigger group.


“You know, you’ve got the
brain of a 4-year-old, and I
bet he was glad to get rid of it.”