The Hourglass
January 7, 2003
A Publication of the Connecticut Grey Rugby Football Club
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JAMMERS MATCH THIS SATURDAY
Once again we take to the hard court for the annual clash of the two "Connecticut Rugby Football Clubs" -- the Grey and the Jammers. For the uninitiated, the game is quad rugby. For a primer, check out www.quadrugby.com on the web. We will meet this Saturday, January 11, at New Horizons Village in Unionville. We'll hit the parquet at 10:00 a.m. sharp (not rugby time -- the court is booked up all day). To get to New Horizons Village, take Route 4 into Unionville. When you get to the Farmington Savings Bank, turn left at the lights. Go over the Farmington River bridge to the second light (about 3/4 mi). On the right, you'll see an old gas station. Take a left at that intersection and go to the second stop sign. Take a left and go to the first stop sign. Take a left on Bliss Road to New Horizons Village.
We'll compete once again for the coveted "Wheel." And based on the 2002 result, we might actually escape without embarrassing ourselves too badly. Wear regular gym clothes (including sneakers) and bring your Grey game jersey. Plan on sticking around for presentations and a beer or two. Contact Ed Carr to let him know if you will be making the game.
ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET
The annual banquet in celebration of the 2002 playing season will again be held at the Waverly Tavern on Maple Avenue in Cheshire, Super Bowl Eve, Saturday, January 25. We'll start the cocktail reception a little earlier this year -- 6:00 o'clock -- and start dinner service at 7:30. That will leave us more time for dancing after the awards presentations.
Tickets will be $50 per person, payable at the door. We will again offer free beer, wine, and cocktails during the cocktail reception and with dinner service. Expect the usual sumptuous buffet spread and the always entertaining "alternate awards."
If you haven't responded to the previous requests to cast your ballot for 2002 awards, please do so NOW. Votes will be tabulated soon so that we can order the awards.
Let Tom Flynn know by Sunday the 12th if you and your significant other will be attending.
FEBRUARY 2004 BARBADOS TOUR
The numbers are looking good. We've already received commitments from enough players to commit to the tour. If you haven't responded yet, please let Gary Tamburri know. The Executive Committee has decreed that applications must be received by the night of the annual awards banquet to guarantee a place on the tour. After that, we will take a look at the makeup of the side and possibly begin a selective recruiting drive among "friends of the Grey" to assure a balanced side. We'd like to take 25 players for our two matches. We'll play as many 20-minute periods as we need in order to guarantee everyone at least 80 minutes of rugby on tour. (That doesn't mean we won't take players who are only looking for 20 minutes on the wing.)
Ian "The Rooster" Roberts is back from a recent trip to the islands and tells us that the opposition and the resorts are already gearing up for our arrival. If you still haven't decided and want to review the details of the tour, go to www.cgrfc.org/barbados.htm. What we need from everyone who plans to go is a deposit of $250 per person by the 25th. Just to keep everyone on their toes, $100 of that will be non-refundable. If you have any questions that the web site doesn't adequately answer, give tour chairman Winnie Jorgensen a call at 860-645-7353 (h) or 860-533-8489 (w).
SPECIAL OLYMPICS
The Grey will be assisting in the winter Special Olympics, to be held on Saturday and Sunday, the 1st and 2nd of March. Many of you helped out last year and it was very, very rewarding and also a lot of fun. So let's help out again this year.
Some of you who registered last year are receiving your volunteer form directly in the mail. You can go ahead and fill it out. Write in CT GREY RFC in the space where it asks what organization you represent. Also check off the box for the 100 meter dash as that is the event we will try to work as a club. Send in the form and you're all set, but let Tony Johnson know what day(s) you have signed up for so he knows who is going and how many to expect on each day. If you didn't help out last year but don't want to miss out on all the fun this year, call Tony at 860-665-6048 and he will complete an application form and submit it for you.
Don't wait until the last minute as this is really a very rewarding and fun time, and it really takes very little effort -- a few hours each day. (You can work either Saturday or Sunday or both.)
33rd ANNUAL MARDI GRAS RUGBY TOURNAMENT
For the hardcore rugby whores amongst you, there's the 33rd Annual Mardi Gras Rugby Tournament that same weekend (March 1-2) in Baton Rouge. There's a special Old Boys division featuring a one day tournament on Saturday. Check out www.larugbyfoundation.com/mardi.htm for all the details.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
A huge thanks to Jan and Tony Johnson for hosting this year's AGM. President Johnson kept the business meeting mercifully short and Jan made sure we waddled out well fed. The membership returned the 2002 Executive to office en bloc. Nothing like an undefeated fall season, a full fixture card, and great special events to keep the masses satisfied.
NO PUN INTENDED...
1. Two vultures board an airplane, each carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at them and says, "I'm sorry, gentlemen, only one carrion allowed per passenger."
2. Two boll weevils grew up in South Carolina. One went to Hollywood and became a famous actor. The other stayed behind in the cotton fields and never amounted to much. The second one, naturally, became known as the lesser of two weevils.
3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, but when they lit a fire in the craft, it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it, too.
4. A three-legged dog walks into a saloon in the Old West. He slides up to the bar and announces, "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw."
5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? He wanted to transcend dental medication.
6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. "But why?" they asked, as they moved off. "Because," he said, "I can't stand chess nuts boasting in an open foyer."
7. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named "Ahmal." The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him "Juan." Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."
8. These friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to persuade them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent florist friars.
9. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him .... what? A super callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
10. And finally, there was a man who sent ten different puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. Unfortunately, no pun in ten did!
