Old Dog Crew

June 28, 2018



Lulu



Old Dog Crew

One of the great joys of my life is the cadre of friends that I have had for the majority of my lifetime. Despite moving from Indianapolis twenty-seven years ago from Indianapolis, I have had the good fortune of maintaining the vast majority of friendships that I have had dating back to childhood. Frequent trips back to Indiana and the onset of social media have made keeping those friendships going a little easier, but I think the bonds would still be strong no matter what.



Paul and Kristi

Trevor, Michael, Kevin and John



Though we have scattered throughout the country there is a group of my friends that back in the 80s formed a loose knit group of friends that came to be known as the Old Dog Crew or ODC. Throughout the years, we have occasionally gathered together to celebrate our friendship, through marriages, children, death and birth we have maintained a closeness that is rare these days.





Our gatherings over the years have been legendary and while we get together somewhat less frequently these days, each time is a cause for celebration and kinship. While the gatherings have always welcomed girlfriends, then wives and children and now even almost fully grown young adults, the gatherings seem to get better and better and bigger and more inclusive as time has passed.

Beth and Kelly Jane

Arriving back in Key West a couple of days ahead of this year’s ODC gathering in Golden Beach, Florida, Kathy and I had old friends waiting for us who were visiting our island home. My friend Kristi was in town with her new husband Paul celebrating their honeymoon in Key West. While not wanting to intrude on their special celebration, Kathy and I did manage to get them out to enjoy some of Key West’s finest people and events.

Kristi, Tracy, Kevin and Paul



First we took them to the weekly vibrator races at Mary Ellen’s bar. This week the races were a fundraiser for our friend Kelly Jane who had some recent medical expenses that she needed the community’s assistance with and of course the vibrator races were the perfect opportunity to raise some funds for her. A huge crowd of locals were in attendance, betting on their favorite racing vibrator to win the races with all money raised going directly to Kelly Jane.





Also in town at the same time was my good friend and fellow ODC member, Kevin along with his family and his brother and his family. Taking the opportunity of being in Florida anyway to sneak in a quick visit to Key West to get some fishing and vacation time in with their families. It is always fun to have friends from home in town and it was so fun getting to spend some time with Kevin and his family and Kristi and Paul.

Kevin

Tim

Jack and Tony



The ODC gathering was one again held at a lovely, incredible home belonging to the family of our friend Eli in Golden Beach. This marks the third official ODC gathering held there in what is really a perfect location for such a large scale gathering. There were a few ODC members who could not make it for various reasons this year, so there was a room for Kathy and I in the house.

Bailey







There were seventeen of us in total this year, as well as our dog Jack, which thankfully Eli and his wife Mary allowed us to bring. Jack was in heaven with so many people to pay attention to him almost constantly. The house is amazing, located right on the inter-coastal waterway and only a block from the private, beautiful Golden Beach in the Atlantic Ocean.



Bailey, Audrey and Keegan

Tim and Jack

Wes

Included in this year’s gathering were Eli, his wife Mary, their daughters Ruby and Lulu, Kevin and his wife Tracy with their kids Tony and Adrian, Tim, Javier, Wes and his wife Melanie and their kids Bailey, Audrey and Keegan. One of the coolest things for us is to see the kids of our friends as they grow up. Not being around them constantly, it is amazing how much they change when you don’t see them so often.

Eli









They are quickly becoming young adults and it is cool to see how well they all are turning out and how they are so comfortable with each other and so many boring adults around. It is weird to think that we all started hanging out together when we were younger than many of the kids are today. I imagine they will forge their own lifelong friendships with each other as well and that is so great to see, since we are all getting older by the minute.



Kathy and Jack



Javier

Kevin

Kathy and I were only able to spend a couple of days in Golden Beach due to work commitments, but it was a fun and fantastic time filled with good food, drinks, fun and friendship. Most of the ODC are huge soccer fans and it is no coincidence that the gathering this year coincides with the World Cup soccer tournament. There was a lot of time lounging in front of the television watching World Cup matches.







Bailey



Special thanks to Eli and Mary and his family for allowing us once again to use their lovely home for our get together, it was yet another truly special time spent with some of the best people imaginable.

Eli