Last Saturday we held a Darkfriends' Social near Washington DC, the
fourth gathering of what is apparently becoming quite an institution.
Seeing that no one else has posted a summary, I'll do so here, though
I must confess that my memories are fogged by 4 days of driving with
a collective 15 hours of sleep.  But my whirlwind tour of seven Middle-
Atlantic states is another matter entirely.

We met at the Rio Grande Cafe in Arlington VA.  Just for kicks, I gave
my name as Robert Jordan when I put the group on the waiting list.  That
helped because some people actually asked for 'the Robert Jordan group'.
When the hostess called over the loudspeaker, "Robert Jordan, please meet
your group at the front desk," I almost fell off my barstool laughing.
Uno either missed it or was totally unamused.  As Cynner already
mentioned, we waited quite a while for our table, despite the fact that
I put our group on the list more than 45 minutes before we wanted seats.
Cynner spoke to the hostesses -- I vaguely recall some braid-tugging
and the words, "make you regret the day your father first smiled at your
mother" -- and we eventually sat down, eleven of us in all.  Twelve
if you count piglet's spirit from T'A'R.

Dinner discussion revolved around many topics, and as big as our group
was, we were usually discussing three at once.  I don't remember much
of what we talked about, so perhaps some of the other darkfriends who
were there can help me fill in this part.  One highlight was our
discovery of a chalkboard and chalk in the men's bathroom -- what a
great alternative to graffiti!  Before we left, the board was adorned
with such gems as "Robert Jordan Darkfriend Social", "MPS = Mad Purple
Stegasaurus", "Roy 'n' Lanfear", and "I <heart> Hawk".  There were a
few others; maybe Uno and Sir MPS (both of whom had a lot of chalk on
their hands that night) can mention a few.

The lively discussion, started after we left the restaurant and took up
residence at a table in the garden outside.  Hawk's friend, Judith, was
quite a character.  She expressed interest in the role of Corianin Nedeal,
saying she wanted to be a Dreamer, but was a bit hesitant about accepting
the part of someone suspected of being a Darkfriend.  Given Judith's
behavior, though, I'd say the most appropriate role for her is Graendal.

Oddball quotes remembered from the evening:

	"What the hell does a heron look like?" -unknown
	"It's a tradeoff... men can piss on walls."  -Chad
	"She's got my pants!" - Mike M., now recovering from sexual abuse
	"If I'm good with my hands, does it matter if I can cook?"
		-Judith/Graendal
	"So, Bill, when's the next social?"  -about six different people
	"Ugh."  -Bill

Additions/corrections/comments welcomed.

-- 
Bill Garrett                    Nobody, on their deathbed, ever said,
garrett@cs.unc.edu              "I wish I'd spent more time at the office"