Slipstream - March 2001

Happy Hour at Soho Food & Jazz
by Dennis Chamberlain
The Happy Hour Crew:
Dennis Chamberlain (co-chair), Tinker Edwards (chair)
and Ben Witry (co-chair)
Don’t Worry – Be Happy
I was nervous about our January happy hour. My wife
and I enjoy Soho in Addison, but it had taken some work to
sell Tinker Edwards on this particular restaurant because she
was concerned that it might be too small. Once Tinker, Ben
Witry and I were committed, I began to worry that we might
have too many people. And then, with the weather forecast
calling for as much as two inches of snow later in the evening,
I was beginning to wonder whether anyone would show up. It
was the old “feast or famine” dilemma. About a half hour into
the evening, Tinker leaned over to me and said that I should
be happy with the turnout – she had counted 45 people. And
Soho was bulging a little, but it wasn’t bursting.
Then I began to worry about the noise level. Soho shuts
in its patio during inclement weather, increasing the decibel
level. A small three-piece band was playing that night, led by
my old friend Larry Barnett, who used to back me up on guitar
when I was unable to make performances of my old band,
Cover to Cover. I wondered how we would ever hear ourselves
once the band started. It was loud even without the band, but
no one seemed to mind. I strained to hear every word of a
wonderful story that John Hrad was telling me about my DE
instructor at TWS a few weeks earlier.
I had a chance to meet most of the new members, and I
visited with many of the old members. I was fortunate
enough to visit with Eric Robbins, whose 996 arrived on May
18, the same day as my Boxster S. I had briefly met him at
TWS in November, but I could barely recognize him at the
time, under all of his flameproof clothing.
My wife Brenda and I had an excellent dinner table,
including new members Velmae and Don Crosbie and
Lorraine and Richard Krug, and my good friend Mark Gluck.
In the background, the band was playing “Hotel California”, an
ambitious endeavor for a three-piece band, but somehow, they
pulled it off.
During the tiramisu phase of the dinner, it dawned on me.
I would need to be a Porsche owner for the remainder of my
life. Otherwise, I couldn’t always be a PCA member, and that
means I wouldn’t be able to stay in the Maverick Region and I
wouldn’t be able to continue attending happy hours. So when
I’m 90 years old, what will I be driving – a 2039 Boxster RS,
with 400 horsepower? There’s nothing like a happy hour to
dismiss all your worries!
Martin and Debby Custer
Valmae Crosbie and Lorraine Krug
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