I plumb forgot to give notice that the big event at McGurk's is happening again this year. (For ye of temperate souls, it's also known as John D. McGurk's Irish Pub & Garden, and it's located at 1200 Russell Blvd.) The date: April 14, which is on a Sunday; the time: 4-7 P.M. This is the event for raising money to send the medical team to The Honduras. All money raised goes for direct health care; the participating medical personnel (including my wife--Dr. Abbe Sudvarg) all pay their own way for getting there and back. Just so there's no confusion this year, let me say up front: admission price isn't cheap. It's $25 per person. But let me also say that actually it is cheap because the event lasts from 4-7 P.M. and there is an open bar along with free food. (Did anybody see the funny-looking guy at the bar last year bitching about how Irish whiskey doesn't measure up to good single-malt Scotch?) There also is a "silent auction" which involves putting up various goods for sale: they start at an opening bid, and then you write down what you're willing to pay for it. Somebody else can write in a bid above yours in price. You then can lock that person in the bathroom and go put in the final bid so you're the one who gets the item at closing time. There will be many goods which will appeal to various instantiations of our species, ranging from restaurant gift-certificates to paintings to hand-made jewelry. But per the sublime inclinations of GAS members, there also will be much in the way of audio goodies, ranging from new high-end wire to used RCA ends to factory-sealed audiophile-grade vinyl from Music Direct and Acoustic Sounds. I plan to clean up on purchases, assuming I can do this before somebody hauls me out to my car in a wheelbarrow. It's a fun event, with lots of audio bargains, lots of good whiskey (well ... make that "passable" whiskey), but the best part is just having an opportunity to connect with other GAS members. So I hope to see all of you there. (I'd love it if Tim Simpson would come up from Florida, astride his motorcycle, come crashing through the door, and park that bike there beside the bar with the motor still running.) One last observation, which pertains to the first sentence I wrote regarding this notice: Isn't it amazing how those old country expressions, such as "plumb forgot," are just peachy keen?
