Bluetopia and The Honor Flight

This past weekend was just filled with great events!

It started with Friday night at April Bluetopia, Chicago's monthly blues dance.  I normally have a really great time at these dances.  After all, it is blues dancing in Chicago!  The difference this time is that Team Pam member (and my boyfriend) Dan Pfeifer had his first official gig DJing at this event.  He had done so once before, but the first time was very different because it was a DJ battle in which no one knew who the DJ was.  He did great then, but it was a close call against his competitor, and didn't quite make it to the next round.  

"The Radio Kid," DJ Dan Pfeifer
Keir Briscoe/Keir Briscoe Photography

This time, though, he was respectfully asked to DJ a slot by Keir Briscoe who shares in the DJ, advertising, teaching and PR responsibilities while also doing a little bit of his own photography work there.  I think everyone was feeling a good vibe in the room.  Not only was there some great music, but I met and danced with a lot of different people, which is something that I've been trying to be more conscious of when I go out dancing.  Keir was even nice enough to give a shout out to Miss Heartland Swing during his announcements!  It's always great to be so generously welcomed and acknowledged for being there.  It's always funny seeing the look on some of the beginner dancers faces I dance with who find out who I am!  I'd rather not have them feel intimidated the first time we dance.  Overall, Bluetopia was a blast and I'm so very proud of Dan for having this opportunity and doing such a great job!  We stayed for a while after Dan's set, but couldn't stay until the end because I knew I'd have to do some speedy pincurling early Saturday morning in preparation for the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight later that day.

Molly Maka (left) with Miss Heartland Swing
Gregory P. Layden/Flying Monkey Studios

I'd say we got back to Milwaukee at approximately 1:45 a.m. and got some sleep before attempting the pincurls, in hope that my hair would be dry in enough time.  I woke up at 9 a.m. to start the process and had it finally curled and set to dry by 10 a.m.  The day of an Honor Flight is extremely involved in making certain everything — hair, dress, shoes, and makeup — all comes together to create the perfect 1940's look in honor of the veterans!  Normally it's my friend, my 1940's cohort and Team Pam member Molly Maka that joins me on flight day to dress and impress the veterans at the General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee as we greet them back home from their long day's trip of recognition to Washington D.C.  This time, though, Molly was a guardian to one of the veterans on the flight!  I was so excited for her, as I know it's something that she's always wanted to do!

Meanwhile, I instead had Molly's sister, Bridget Nesbitt, filling in and helping me at the airport to walk around, greet, and meet the families waiting for the big arrival!  The flight ended up being almost three hours late due to brake problems when leaving Washington, but it was well worth the wait.  We did what we could to keep the energy going in the room and were very pleased to do it!  I'm very grateful for Bridget stepping up and doing a great job with me!  Looks like Bridget will have a second opportunity to do this again with me on June 2nd, as Molly will be in Normandy for her fifth wedding anniversary.  Congrats Molly and Chris!