Bea Loozer

As you read this, it’s already December, so you are no doubt looking forward to lots of treats of various sorts. Since I’m writing this in November, I’m anticipating Thanksgiving as well as all the special events and goodies that Christmas offers. That brings to mind our pre-Thanksgiving weigh-in, which begins our holiday contest. We start this contest the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and it ends the Saturday after New Year’s Day. Readers will be amazed at the number of Goalies who gain zero pounds during that period that is so often full of extravagant eating. It’s a challenge we look forward to every year. Sort of.

We had an unusual “therapy” session one Saturday in November. We reminisced about events and changes in Golden Goalies since 2009. We’ve been an ongoing group for over 20 years, but I started writing the column in 2009 and recently compiled almost 10 years of articles in a notebook. I think we would all agree that the best part of this reminiscing was looking at the photos that accompanied the articles. We saw photos of special events (including “keeper” celebrations), members who had slimmed down over the years (too many to mention) and members who are no longer with us but remain in our hearts. One of those, lovingly called “crazy Alice,” finally gave new members a face to associate with stories we still laugh about.

To remember this experience later, we pulled together the whole group in attendance for one giant November photo of Golden Goalies in attendance. Thanks to Jeanne for photo.

And, yes, Bea Loozer is a pen name, like Elia and Dr. Seuss.

Join us for good company, laughs and ideas. You will also find support, motivation and shared wisdom. Weigh-in is Saturday from 7:00 to 7:40 a.m. in Room A-8, near the Cottonwood Library. The meeting starts after weigh-in. Contact Rita at 480-223-8340 for more information.