Muu Muu Coup!

So we had our live auction last night. As the fundraising chair, I was able to serve as the auctioneer (a great honor) and had the talents of Anna to serve as the Vanna White of the mission. She strutted her stuff for the traditional items, while I played the channelled Howie Mandell and asked for bids. Anyway, we were able to raise more than $2000 for GOS, but there is much more. I will need to share the pictures, but I will try to tell the story.

One of our teammates (Big Michael as we are calling him) has this habit of wearing a wonderful Muu Muu. It is bright orange and he is quite tall. It makes for a striking combination! Even pictures do not do it justice.

Anyway, his birthday was the other night (he owes me the poem he wrote to post on here!) and he wore this dress. It was one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time as towered over the room in this bright orange dress. He looked about two feet taller that the ladies waiting tables.

He decided to auction off the opportunity to make someone wear the Muu Muu at clinic for a day. Well a mission coup (the Muu Muu Coup) was quickly organized and much money was raised to make Janet, our mission leader, wear the dress. Ahhhhh, but it is not that simple. We are a devious bunch and Michael is quite funny. He and several others (Sheila led the charge) and hatched plan to hide the intent until late in the bidding.

So after the ¨ususal¨ items were acutioned, Michael began to tell a story, I can´t even begin to tell the story the way he told it, but needless to say, it involved buying the 1956 Western Regional Dance Champion´s dress on consignment, wearing to to an LA bar dearing Gay Pride Week(?... I was laughing to hard to be able to catch that part) and entering a bar where he was accosted by a raging Queen that said ¨Nice Dress, where´d ya get it!¨

Michael responded immediately, ¨I will have you know that there is only one Western Regional Dance champion of 1956, and I am wearing her dress,¨ or something to that effect, I told you I couldn´t relay the story. Imagine playing the telephone game, but with 30 drunk, tired maniacs that are laughing until they cry.

Well, needless to say (though I will), the bidding began with Michael taking over the auction. After all, who could follow that story? After several bids came through the bidding was over $400. A surprise came when an annonymous bidder called in a bid of over $500! Well, a shocked crowd was unable to respond before the bidding ended. The ¨anonymous¨ bidder chose to have Janet wear the Muu Muu and she was, of course deeply honored and excited.


A quick thing lass from Hawaii, Dana, proposed that we raise funds to provide the honor to a second individual. A rousing applause was heard as everyone agreed. Everyone except Eric Anderson, who may have had a sneaking suspicion that he would be the one selected to wear the Muu Muu. After a quick vote, he was correct and did indeed for all you back at home, wear the Muu Muu. It showed off his legs smashingly as our British contingent, Becky, would say.

Well, that is all I have for now... I will leave you to wait for pictures of Eric, Janet and Michael in the Muu Muu.

Thanks for reading!