Kingsland Lions' Club oyster roast.

The event was well done, for the most part. It was supposed to run from 6:00 to 8:00. I got there about 5:30 to get a good, wheelchair friendly spot. Jim and Ginna Stein and state senate candidate Terry Carter were arriving at the very same time. I was very disappointed to find that in spite of my request, the Lions had made no effort to make it possible to me to get my wheelchair over the curb. About three weeks ago, the day the add came out in the T&G, I called the number listed for info. It turns out that was the number for Hippo Storage. There, I spoke to Lion Jim somebody, who I presume owns Hippo. I told him of the very difficult time I had attending the first time and how he and his fellow Lions could solve the problem with about two sacks of Sakrete and thirty minutes of labor. He immediately asked if I had bought my ticket yet. I said no, that I had planned on paying cash when I arrived. He said that they would really prefer that I buy the ticket ahead of time. Okay, two days later, I dropped by the original Hippo location. I asked for Jim, but he was at the other location. I bought the ticket and asked the lady I bought it from - probably his wife - to tell him the guy in the wheelchair had indeed come in and bought his ticket. A week or so later, there was a piece in the T&G about the formation of a St. Marys Lions Club. It noted that the Lions look out for blind folks in particular and disabled folks in general. Well, you could have sure fooled me. Anyway, this year, unlike my first year, the ground was dry. I was able to go out into the street, ride way down to the railroad tracks, come across the grass , and avoid the curb. The first time, it was wet and I got stuck. The oysters were large, clean, succulent singles for the most part, and cooked just exactly the right amount of time. By the way, Alex, they are alive when they put them over the fire. I'll bet if you and your PETA pals listened very closely, you could hear them scream! They had the best hush puppies I've ever eaten - and that is saying something. The desserts were probably all good. My brownie was. However, the crab bisque and Brunswick stew were both gawd-awful. All seven of us at my table tried it and all seven of us threw it away. The bisque was water thin and tasted like it was made from dishwater and vinegar that a crab had swam through quickly. The Brunswick stew had enough vinegar to gag a maggot. Vinegar in Brunswick stew ??? Let someone else do those next year. It was well worth the $25.00, even if at least one Lion really doesn't give a damn whether it's wheel chair accessible or not. Oh, and by the way, I had very civil conversation with everyone at my table, including Deb Hase who stopped by just as I was leaving. Her husband Ken was up on stage playing a mean guitar and singing with a group. I had no idea. Epilogue: It's now Sunday morning. I was up at 0400 HRS this morning belching the distinctly nasty taste of that awful attempt at crab bisque and searching for the Pepto Bismol.