LOOK BACK IN CONFUSION

    It's been about a month since the Stans of AI-XXX returned to their natural habitats in Orlando, LA & Sarasota while AI-HQ returned to its non-AI condition, sans posters, pillow cases, door mats, rings, hats, bag tags, etc.  Thus the AI-Nostalgia Committee thought it an appropriate time to provide a brief review of the proceedings.

    AI-XXX, dubbed The Intimate AI, saw more attrition than any previous AI.  We rued the absences of Kate & Jim, Rich, Tony, Emma & Kevin & Wally (again).  But, we persisted.  

    FOOD: opening night pizzas from The BD & Papa Nick, Friday night fried chicken from Chef Will, marvelous manicotti with meatballs & sausages from The BD on Italian Night, capped off with another Banquet bacchanal featuring roast prime filet with other good stuff.  And...multiple meals of Mac and cheese, peanut butter toast and bowls of Cheerios for AriStan.

     DRINK: 35 bottles of fine wine, a dozen or so Stanhattans and several cases of Spindrift flavored carbonated water

   GOLF:  The 18 holes played over the 4 days was ample demonstration of how golf has lost its place at the center of The AI. Gordon & The TD played 9 each day and were joined by The BD on day 1. More incredible, there were no scorecards, statistics, trophies or belts.  Alas, poor Yorick....

   GAMES:  There were games.  Well, actually one game that lasted 4 days; no, not cricket but something called Phase 10: "a rummy-type card game with an exciting twist!" We imagine someone won

    LIP SYNC:  oops, we did it again. Despite a late lobbying effort from Papa Nick, the show went on and it was, once again, something to behold.  Exactly what remains unclear.  The performances were scintillating.  Highlights included duets from The BD & Sean and Paul & Marilyn and a somersalt from Kaz that miraculously did not result in a trip to the ER.  

    REMINISCING:  We took one more look at the goings on at AI-XXIX with the help of our Official AI Editor, Nick

    Well, that's it for now.  A Save the date for AI-XXXI will be sent out prior to the invitations which will be before the event.  So start practicing your lip sync and be careful when you open your front door....

    

Can It Be?

 Hello Stans,

Can it be that AI-XXX is a mere 4 weeks away??

RSVP

We have passed the halfway point between AI-XXIX and the highly anticipated AI-XXX, making this post only six and a half months later than planned. From AI-HQ, much has happened—little of it worth recounting. There’s been golf, mahjong, cards, dinner parties, dog walking/ball playing, TV, cooking, eating, drinking, and hanging out at AI-HQ Highlands, followed by golf, mahjong, cards, dinner parties, dog walking/ball playing, TV, cooking, eating, drinking, and hanging out at AI-HQ West Glendale.

We are sure that AI-XXIX provided moments that will live forever in AI lore, and had we posted the intended recap immediately afterward, we would be happy to share them. Instead, we turn to the wisdom of the great Jimmy Breslin: “reminiscences are to be enjoyed, not authenticated.”

Who was there? Stalwart Stans Jim, Kate the Elder (KTE), Gordon, Rich, Sean, Nick, Emma, Nora (back after a year’s sabbatical), Edie, and Kate the Younger (KTY), The BD and The TD. The youngest Stan, Ari, made his second appearance. Emma’s beau, Kevin, made his inaugural pilgrimage. Neighbors Paul and Marilyn made their first appearance as invitees, after crashing lip sync the previous year. Wally was MIA.

Some traditions gained traction, many held strong, one is barely holding on. Cards, scribbage, and other games were ascendant, led by game mavens Edie, KTE, and Emma. Lip-sync performances dazzled with unbridled talent fueled by liquid courage. The BD and staff produced unending culinary masterpieces throughout the weekend. Meals stretched long into the night; glasses were rarely empty, vision blurred, conversation opaque. Meanwhile, golf—the erstwhile centerpiece of The AI—continued its relentless slide into irrelevance, accompanied by its historical incompetence.

And now we turn our lonely eyes to AI-XXX. Who woulda thunk it? From four guys in a hot tub to a toddler in a golf cart. From a “golf tournament” to a weekend bacchanal. From MetroWest to Palm Lake to Wildcat Cliffs. From idea to institution. From here to there. From here to eternity. From THE AI to that other AI. The bar we’ve set is high (and always open), the expectations incongruous, the reality warped. The arc of The AI is long, but it bends toward inertia.

OK, on to the point—if there is one. When? Where? And, if so, why?

AI-XXX

JUNE 18-21, 2026

72 OAK POINT, HIGHLANDS, NC