Challenge Night

September 9, 2005 | 826 Blog Post

Our first volunteer appreciation event, “Challenge Night,” was a huge
success. If you don’t count the fact that only one volunteer showed up,
that is. This is the missive we sent out:

Speaking of forthcoming details, remember how we told you to keep
Thursday night open? The 8th, seven o’clock? Well, wouldn’t you know, we
have decided upon a venue for our madness. This Thursday at Leopold
Bros., we invite volunteers to join us for board games, cards, pool, and
coin-flipping. If you can beat me (John) at pinball, you just might be
rewarded with something delicious. I know Amy doesn’t want to get pub
schlarr in her hair, but I hear she can stand on her head for a long, long
time. It might be worth challenging her. And you know what’s a good way
to get to know strangers? Staring contests.

It’s flip night on Thursdays at Leopold Bros., so there is a fifty percent
chance that each tasty beverage will be very affordable. That and the
company of Amy and I are reason enough to show up, right?

We challenge YOU to:

  • show up wearing boots
  • bring a flower for Amy (No weeds, no goldenrod—she’s allergic.)
  • quote Star Wars as much as you can
  • bring an object you found on your way to Leopold Bros.
  • empty your bank account and bring it to us
  • impress us with the art of origami
  • wear a blue shirt
  • make your jaw click
  • have some sort of hat on your head (This is a challenge, yes, but a practical one. See “pub schlarr” above.)
  • lick your elbow
  • sing a song by the band Canada
  • recite a fancy poem from memory
  • cross only one of your eyes
  • wear mismatched socks
  • come with a pocketful of challenges for us

Sounds fun, right? Well, it was. That’s why it was successful. Amy beat
John at pinball twice, but received only one delicious thing. She also
beat him at pool, but that feels like a lie because he scratched, and she
wasn’t really playing all that well. He ultimately redeemed himself by
schooling her at foosball, winning a staring contest, and beating her at
pinball, incredibly, twice in one game.

Giraffecat “The Challenger” was there. No one brought Amy a flower,
although at one point, we became very excited when, while looking
expectantly out of the window, we saw a woman across the street carrying
flowers. Apparently she was not a volunteer, though.

Our new Intern, Heather the Wonderful, Lovely, and Vivacious, made an
appearance, causing Erin, John, and Amy to weep with joy. (Well, Amy and
Erin wept. John was crying on the inside.) That girl’s got fashion
sense. Big time. She went to art school, and thus knows how to pull off
wearing two different earrings.

Laughs were had, too many to count. Our stomachs are still a little
sore. Hopefully our next volunteer appreciation event will prove even
half as fun.


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