ViscountEric Returns to SATLOF

This Saturday was my groups annual SATLOF (Saturday After Thanksgiving Leftover Feast).  Stolen from my college roommate Steve's high school friends FATLOF (Friday), it was an excuse to bring leftover leftover, drink trash can punch at varying levels of responsibility, and play some random games.

TWO DECADES LATER, and things have evolved.  Apartments turned into houses, random girls brave enough to deal with our tomfoolery have become wives (some ex-wives), and the presence of children usually tones down the trash can punch, if it appears at all.

And the was before COVID.  

We did try a virtual SATLOF in 2020.  We reheated our own leftovers, provided our own beverages, and commiserated over Skype.  

Last year, Steve and Angie, our hosts for the past 15 years, only had one couple over for SATLOF.  Folks were still not feeling like traveling, or, like me, actually didn't feel good and didn't want to contaminate everyone else.  

This year, we still didn't have the out of state people available, but as I was invited (as usual), the girls and I visited my Mom in Easton, then ventured forth to beautiful, scenic Alburtis, PA for SATLOF.  

We can safely declare SATLOF as slowly recovering, as Steve and Angie went from hosting two to hosting five, when our friend Scott and his son/my godson Connor made an appearance.  

While the ever-growing event had meant cooking a completely new turkey that day, we had just enough for the "true spirit" of SATLOF.  Tupperware containers were broken out and reheated, open-face turkey sandwiches were constructed, half-eaten pies retrieved from the garage friend, and we ate, perused Steve's insane Kickstarter collection... and used gaming table he picked up, and caught up on a ton of news (somehow Steve missed my big news.  It's usually at a least a bullet point in our Monday night gaming group... Steve usually hops on late).  But we all managed to catch up on the trials and tribulations of middle age amongst our extended group of friends.  Mostly minor medical issues, but a few big ones, my news, and a super-secret marriage!

Seeing everybody face-to-face was a a huge relief and an absolute pleasure I don't want to take for granted.  But the best part was actually playing a game on Steve's giant dining room table that seats ten!

Sure it was Oregon Trail the Card Game,  and it was fitting that the first time we played it, we all died on the first turn, but the second game brought out all the positives that we've missed with playing face-to-face with friends.  No offense to my online crew, or the Stout Gnomes at convention, but I've been gaming with Scott since 1988, and Steve since 1998, it's on a different level.  

I know an equal number of people with harsh cases of COVID as I do serious cases of the flu right now., and having experience and even worse case of COVID myself, I don't like taking chances, but for one day, everything was alright, and outside of us not eating celery with the dip tray after the 3-year ran off with it in two hands, I'm confident that next year SATLOF will grow back to almost normal size.  

And maybe, just maybe, we can schedule some face-to-face roleplaying and use Steve's dining room table.