Annual chamber banquet was tonight. A fancy, dressed up affair, populated by most the business folks of our community.

Weren't planning on going. Been to the last five, but the wife was working each time. Kind of took the fun out of most of it. But now she's a volunteer, like most the rest. And a friend had two tickets they couldn't use.

Prime rib.

We went.

Wife picked out my clothes (not a lot of selection for fancy), and I of course wore the bolo tie I made from a lance point I found in the Bighorns 28 years ago. Had to wear a winter coat because of the snow, wind, and sub-freezing temperatures.

So I forgot to wear the sport jacket. Just a clean, non-chambray shirt and tie, in a room where most are in business suits. Wasn't the only one that casual, but felt stupid that I couldn't even remember the jacket.

But I don't wear this stuff, you know?

Guest speaker was our former Governor, and also former Ambassador to Ireland. Quite enjoyable.

I would like to steal some of the jokes I heard tonight, especially his Irish one, but I won't.

Would like to retell his entire story about the speech he gave to the Annual Greystone Rugby Club dinner (in Ireland, of course), but I could not do it justice.

Suffice it to say, the ruggers caroused until well after midnight before getting him to the podium. So he crumpled up his prepared speech, threw it over his shoulder, and ad libbed, telling them stories about American politics, mostly about our well-known former Senator. (Got a standing ovation).

As he told us this, he crumpled up the piece of paper by our podium and threw it over his shoulder as a prop.

It was our emcee's notes for the rest of the banquet. So he had to ad lib.

That is all.