....in Highland, Illinois a couple of weeks ago. (ok, more like a month ago. And the Dark and Stormy part actually happened the next day. Sorry, I'm a Slug...) :^)

I was sitting by the fire, talking to (who? I can't remember. Fire Nazi? Good chance.) Thursday night of MITM. It was 9 or 10 o'clock, after dark, anyway. Off in the distance I heard thunder. Or was it? hm. Could be a BUNCHA bikes. Yep. Buncha bikes.

Since I'm WAY too cool to go running over and be in the welcoming committee, I figured I'd leave that to the crowd forming around the hoodlums, whoever they were. Me, I'm gonna sit right here by the fire and be aloof. (Be aloof. The world needs more loofs....) :^) I'm thinkin' that it's either the Holligans (boy, was I wrong about *that*!) or the PNWNS crowd....word comes back to the fire that it was the Slugs..... (ooooh, I'm thinkin'....the Slugs. Haven't met any of them yet.)

After a while a few of them gather around one of the picnic tables, talking about the loooong trip to Highland. I'm watching, and decide I'm going to do a spy gig and check these guys out. (a real Mata Hari, I am...) I'll hang out, listen, join in the conversation, see who is who, not tell them who I am, stuff like that. Yep, that's me, real cool.

So I go sit down. There's a guy on the other side of the table talking. (hm, I think. Reminds me of someone I used to date. Is this a good thing? Not necessarily. Dangerous type. Wiry, strong, lots of ink, lots of miles. A real Bad Boy....maybe this was a bad idea.) And then.....suddenly.....someone.....calls.....him......Snarl.

SNARL???? No shit??!! I said (all pretense of coolness gone in seconds) "YOU'RE Snarl???? I'm Dana..." (Yeah, *real* aloof, that's me!) I tried to shake his hand, but that just wasn't good enough for him. He ran around the table, hugged me, introduced me to MaGGie and some of the other Slugs...then he says "Darlin', you need a Slug number..." (It's at this point that I realize I'm covered in slime. How the hell did *that* happen????And I don't have any dimes. Rats.)

ooooooookay, I guess I do at that. Need a Slug number, I mean. Snarl takes me to meet Dennis, and tells Dennis I need a number. Dennis says "Is that so??? hm. I need to think about this a while. OK, you're #23." I'm thinkin' jeez, you guys are SO easy when Dennis says "Waitaminnit. Did you ride here? Like you didn't get here in no Winnebago or anything, did ya? " Now, it's after dark, like I said, so he obviously couldn't see the ridiculous color of sunburned my nose was. So I said no, I rode, and offered to introduce him to Roxie. Dennis said no, that wasn't necessary, and welcome to the Brotherhood of the Slug. I'd have hugged him but I was all slimy. Come to think of it, he was too.......

So, I may be the last Slug to post my story, but I was the FIRST person at MITM to get slimed. What a privelege.....

:^)

You guys really are the best....

Dana