The Summer 2005 WDFH
Staff Solidarity Party

— Friday, July 1 —

Story by Christine Potter
Photos by Treavor Hastings

THE REALLY ASTONISHING THING was the weather.  I had been tracking it all week: storms, storms, storms.  Route 9 had virtually washed out in a rainstorm of Biblical proportion just two days before.  On the day of the WDFH Staff Solidarity Picnic and Night Swimming Event, there were still all sorts of Severe Thunderstorm Warnings up.  In fact, there were Really, Really Severe Thunderstorm Warnings and even We Really Mean It — Incredibly Deadly Thunderstorm Heading Straight For Your House Warnings.

And yet, an hour before the party, Tom Jones and I tuned in to The Weather Channel, and watched the storms head off to the north of us and to the south of us.

"Saint Anthony protec'," said Tom.   It should be noted that Tom is not Italian.  Or religious.  But it didn't matter.  About five drops of rain fell on the very beginning of the celebration, just as Station Manager Marc Sophos arrived on the scene with Doug Koch, his significant other, Nick Sarames, a good friend and a former WDFH staffer returned to party, and a big bottle of Captain Morgan.  Shortly after that, the stars came out, along with many fireflies.  My husband, Ken, brought out the famed Indiana Fried Chicken he'd been cooking all afternoon.   I refilled the white sangria pitcher — again, and just a couple of times more...

A fine haze of macaroni and cheese, cole slaw, and Treavor Hasting's fiery cucumber salad settled over the back deck, the dining room and the kitchen as the WDFH staff surpassed all expectations in Consuming Mass Quantities.  Usually, silence ensues when a really appreciated dinner is being served — but the folks partaking of this meal were radio broadcasters.  Spirited conversation continued, punctuated by the odd gasp as someone who hadn't been warned took a big mouthful of Treavor's cucumbers.

Dave, Dimitri, John, Vinny

As folks finished balancing gulps of sangria with mouth-stinging Barbados hot-sauced cukes, several brave souls wandered into our living room.  My husband is a church organist, and he keeps a small pipe organ there for practice.  Actually, we have two pipe organs.  The other one is in the dining room.  Don't ask.  As Doreen Rizopoulos tried to remember how to play The Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin (who knew she'd been at the keyboard for a number of Big Fat Greek Weddings?), Marc looked on enviously.  Soon, he was on the bench, impressing everyone with a fine rendition of "Alice's Restaurant" by Arlo Guthrie.  And the hits just kept on coming.

Missy Fogarty, her partner, Jennifer, and Tom Donohue were among the first in the pool, kicking off a long period of what Tom later termed "The Aquatic Life."   The Aquatic Life seemed to involve sipping a refreshing beverage while bobbing on a noodle and letting the pool's current carry you in a slow circle.  Doreen made good on her threat to give free poolside Meringue Lessons to all DFH'ers.  John Dyer, wearing a snorkel and a fetching skirt very much in keeping with this season's Gypsy Look, was an especially apt student. Josephine Arce, Caryn Gilbert, Vinny Cohan, and Dave Foster looked on with a combination of respect and awe.

Who said there'd be dancing?  John and Doreen by the pool.  (We think Doreen was the instigator...)

I served the brownies, ice cream, fudge sauce and whipped cream I had made for dessert.  There was less hanky-panky with the whipped cream squirter than there might have been — somewhat less hanky-panky, anyway.  The WDFH staff was not raised in a barn, after all.  Treavor's pal Nicky misbehaved a little, but he's not officially staff.  And he seemed to really be enjoying the whipped cream.  Might have been the cucumber salad....

Missy sang and played guitar.  Caryn sang, too, her husband Dimitri looking on admiringly.  Treavor played guitar and made a very peculiar face.   Tom Jones, having solved most of the world's problems in a long conversation with Nick, the former staffer, attempted to remember the words to "Solidarity Forever," and failed to do so.  John Dyer took off Doreen's meringue CD and put on an odd collection of Rat-Pack-sounding hits of the Sixties and Seventies, challenging the assembled DJ's and broadcasters to identify them.

Somehow, it got to be 2 AM.   And 3 AM.  Eventually, Tom Donohue got out of the pool, as did we all.   Everyone got home OK — wet-haired, full-bellied, and tired, station solidarity achieved.

Aside from the handful of green grapes that have settled at the bottom of the swimming pool and the towels awaiting a trip through the washer, all is calm; all is bright.  Well — there are the scorched places in the grass where Jones was lighting firecrackers, but there are only a couple of them.   Gives the place character, I think. And there's a mysterious pair of shoes.  I think they are Tom Donohue's, but I'm not sure.  They look very comfortable.

WDFHers at the party (plus friends and significant others)

Josephine Arce
Vinny Cohan
Tom Donohue and pals Lance and Joe
John Dyer
Missy Fogarty and wife Jennifer
Dave Foster
Caryn Gilbert and husband Dimitri
Treavor Hastings and pal Nick Predescu
Tom Jones
Chris Potter and husband Ken
Doreen Rizopoulos
Marc Sophos, partner Doug Koch, and best friend Nick Sarames

Thanks to hosts Chris and Ken Potter... what a fantastic night!  (When are we doing this again???)