LadyLee Retreats Part IV: Cardsharking!

I had this post ready yesterday, but the Blogger monster ATE it!!!

Alright, I am almost done with my retreat recap. Here's part IV and part V, the final installment, will be up tomorrow!

Now you know how us black folks are...

We can't get together for any long length of time and a deck of cards not magically appear out of thin air!

Now, the cards didn't show up in my cabin, cabin #85... we were over there watching movies, etc.

They were playing cards across the road in cabin #75.

Now, from what I hear, after some of the journaling and sharing exercises that we did on either Friday or Saturday (I can't remember which day), some of the ladies went over to cabin #75 and played spades. They were gone for awhile, and I hear there was some serious sharing and bonding going on...

I didn't get in on that... I think I was watching movies and writing...

Anyway, they said they were going to hook up another Spades card session on Saturday night...

And you know I had to go and take pictures.

Like I said, I wanted to take pictures. I don't know how to play spades...

"LadyLee, you wanna play spades?"

"No. I don't know how to play spades. I play poker, man. Ya'll gotta break out some chips and cash for me. A girl gotta make some money to pay some bills or something."

I was more content to just hang out and observe.

Anyway, before the card game, I'd been burning a few CDs for people, and was making deliveries between cabins IN THE DARK, by myself. I got over my Jason, Mike Myers, and Blair Witch fears... A sista had to get the product out.

But I went to cabin #74 and picked up my fellow retreaters, who'd been playing cards earlier, "Quiet Storm" and "Mia X", and headed over to cabin #75.

When we got there no one was playing. Everyone was waiting on Supa Star, who was hiding somewhere in the upstairs loft.

"Yo, STAR!"

She appeared at the banister. "What?"

"Come on, now Shawty, come on now," I yelled. "Ya'll need to go ahead on and play so I can't take some pics and go back to my cabin."

"Just chill, just hold on," she said.

"Come ON now, man! I don't have all night."

"Just chill girl. I'm trying to handle some business. Just chill."

She disappeared back into the dark recesses of the loft.

*crickets*

Now, Star is a bit crazy and unpredictable. She wouldn't tell us what she was doing. I don't know why I got visions of her sitting at a table chopping up rocks like Cain was doing at the kitchen table in the that movie Menace II Society.

Let's just say I would never go to a bank with Star. She seems to be the type that may try to Set it Off, if you know what I mean.

Anwyay, Star finally came downstairs and they got started...

There was a lot of action, although everyone was a bit low-key at first... a lot of laughter and cheering if someone won a book.

Now the teams were "Us" and "Them"... I am not sure who was who, but it looks as if the "Them" team was winning. (And by the way, I just KNOW that's not the paper from our journals... Shame on them for using that paper for scorekeeping!!)

They'd ran out of wine earlier in the evening at dinner, and the Smirnoff was now flowing, so you know when peeps get liquored up, there are bound to be a few problems.

Perhaps everything was a bit low key because "Mia X" was carrying the 10 pound, 2 foot long black steel policeman's flashlight. She needed that just in case she needed to see you clearly while she knocked you upside the head if she thought you were cheating!

The action heated up when the "Old school Sistas" from my cabin came up for their turn on the card table. There was a bit of debate over some of Star's rules for the games. I thought one of the Oldschool sistas would grab Mia X's flashlight and knock Star upside the head, but the arguments subsided. (I still think Supa STAR is a cheater.)

But something interested happened. I knew there was going to be a battle when I heard one of the sweet quiet Oldschool sistas yell "Don't start no sh**, won't be no sh**!!!"

*Ladylee quietly grabbing laptop and quietly tip-toeing into the living room*

Let's just say the Oldschool sistas opened a huge can of whoop ass on the young bucks.

One of the sweet Old School sistas was having such a joyful time beating the brakes off of Supa STAR and the young buck crew that I had to hook her up with one of Supa STARS slow groove CDs.

That was hilarious to see her jump up and yell and high five her old school partna a few times! Miss J, I didn't know you had it in you, Old girl!!!

Now, Kim, one of the young bucks was saddened by this terrible hand. She made sure I took a picture of it... Of course the Old School sistas shanked Kim and her partna during this round...



Kim had an excuse. You know, when there are a bunch of people out on a trip somewhere, someone is bound to be sick as a dog... That someone was Kim... She was all nasally, full of snot, achy, and racked with pain. She'd even loss her voice. I don't know how she mustered the strength to play cards. I'm sure the ass-whooping dealt out by the oldschool sistas didn't help her feel any better!

But Kim is my age, and she loves that old 80's pop music... you know, the music that came out when music videos FIRST came out?

Yeah, that music! It is a bit cheesy, but we loved it back then.

Kim sat there and sneezed and screeched out in a thin voice what she wanted on her CD...

*LadyLee scooting as far away from her as possible during one of her sneezing and nose blowing fits. Ladylee having visions of running up on Kim and smacking her if she catches Kim's cold!*

Kim and I looked through my 80's music and came up with the cheesiest compilation...

Kim's Cheesy 80's Pop Flashback!

Addicted to Love - Robert Palmer
Don't you Forget about Me - Simple Minds (Breakfast Club)
Careless Whisper - Wham!
Cruel Summer - Bananarama
Let's Dance - David Bowie
Don't You want me baby - Human League
Here comes the rain again - Eurythmics
Everything She wants - Wham!
I ain't Missing you - John Waite
Love is a Battlefield - Pat Benetar
Owner of a Lonely Heart - Yes
Promises, Promises - Naked Eyes
Who's gonna drive you home - The Cars
The Reflex - Duran Duran
Wake Me up Before you go-go - Wham!
Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler
She Blinded Me with Science - Thomas Dolby
By the time we finished the CD (and sang every song waaaay off key), the young bucks had had enough of the pumped up Oldschool Sistas... They were all running for the hills, scattering like roaches! LOL! I escorted the Oldschool Sistas back to our cabin. For some reason the Oldgirls started running, laughing that if anyone got snatched into the woods, it would be me, since I was bringing up the rear...

I didn't find that funny AT ALL!

We got back to cabin #85 around one in the morning. Everyone was sleep. Kee-Kee, my roommate said "Ya'll sound like some loud sailors coming home with all that yelling!"

She went back to sleep, and I got dressed for bed. In the middle of the night, Kee-Kee comandeered the middle of the bed. I slept good, but let's just say I was hanging onto the edge of the bed by my buttcheeks, man! LOL!

So that was my adventurous Saturday... stay tuned for my final thoughts on the retreat...