Tonight we had the much anticipated Mystery Dinner. I've been looking forward to this ever since I found out we were going to have one. This is something that the winter residents put on and Activities doesn't have anything to do with it except sell tickets and the team on duty helps out wherever they can on the night of the dinner.
I didn't want to know anything about this! I knew ahead of time it wasn't a "whodunit" but I didn't want any details to give anything away. I was determined to get as much out of this activity as I could.
The doors were to open at 5:30 p.m. and though I swore I would never be one of those that lines up a half hour ahead of time I was at the beginning of the line. Am I ever glad I went early!
As we walked through the breezeway we were greeted by this sign.
We were greeted by Darlene who was the police officer on duty and who was supposed to keep everyone in line. Her name tag had another name on it as they all the "cast members" were playing characters from days gone by. I can't remember who Darlene is supposed to be today, a week later from when we attended this.
Marlene was either Thelma or Louise, I can't remember which and I'm hoping I'm right about this just to begin with. Very 1920's isn't she?
Here's Dan and Lin. Dan was the emcee for the evening and Lin was just a riot because she had that ditzy blond New York voice down to a T! She was a joy to listen to! As we were standing outside waiting for the doors to open Dan told us all about his new suit he went an bought for the occasion. We have a store in Casa Grande called Savers and he bought the suit for three bucks the shirt and tie for two and the hat was two bucks. Granted the sleeves are a little short but for seven dollars he had his costume. Lin on the other hand went to the second hand store at the church and got her clothes.
Sandy, you know her as our dance instructor, was at the door taking tickets.
All of a sudden there was a commotion near the pool. It seems the rent a cop found someone who was breaking the law. She seemed to take great pleasure in frisking the men.
Aha! Looks like she found some pot in his pocket! (Trust me, its basil, or thyme, or oregano or some other spice!)
Soon she was frisking someone else and found a string to pull on. This dinner patron is obviously hiding something.
She got caught bringing a spoon to the dinner. This has great significance to the story but I can't tell you that part yet. Hang in there. It will make sense soon.
Someone else was caught smuggling in tons of plasticware!
Here's Giovanni taking the offending dinner tools away. Do all of you former Quail Runners recognize who this is? Hang onto that mustache Giovanni!
Did you recognize Jean Borer?
I have to admit, I, too, was packin'. Bob had heard some scuttlebutt about eating with your fingers so we both went prepared. Luckily, we didn't get caught.
We were finally let in and found the Italian Ristorante decorated just as it should be with red and green tablecloths, candles stuck in wine bottles and every appropriately dressed for the 1920's and 30's.
"Bugsy" introduced all the players. I won't go into real names here, I'm just showing off the costumes.
Doesn't Lin just look the part?
On the left is "Babyface Nelson", hence the short pants. Or maybe he really felt like wearing shorts! I took it as Babyface hadn't grown into Big Boy pants yet.
Ahh,,,,here's El Woppo! Leave it to Don.
And here's "Misty" the Cigarette Girl.
Of course she's selling more than cigarettes, cigars and flowers for the ladies. She's selling Viagra and the generic brand NoSagGra!
Here's Patti, she masterminded this whole thing. Now let me tell you, Patti isn't as well as, how do I put this (?) endowed as she appears here.
Maybe this view will show you what I mean.
We sat at table # 14 and Diamond Lil was our waitress.
It was time for the Mystery to begin.
We were each given a piece of paper entitled 2009 Mystery Dinner Clues. (I'm going to try to duplicate it here, bear with me)
The items you will be served are listed on the left side of the sheet. Place numbers on the right side to indicate the order in which you would like them to be served. Be sure to place a number in each space on the right side of the sheet. You will receive a complete dinner! Make sure you have all ten numbers down on your sheet, but each number should appear only once. Remember your sense of humor, have fun and enjoy.
MENU
Course # 1
1. Foreign Yeast ________
2. 3 Tier Steer or Stackables ________
3. Tool ________
4. CVS Special ________
Course # 2
5. Closeness ________
6. Frigid Leaves ________
7. Red, Green & White
"Mussonlini's Delight" ________
Course # 3
8. Silverada _________
9. Roman Emperor _________
10. Scot Specialty (Not Tartan) _________
So that was our "menu". Nobody knew what any of the things were so it was hit or miss all the way around.
We were told not to look at our neighbors paper or to discuss what we thought each thing was. So MOST of us didn't.
Now in a perfect world you would get your silverware, napkin, something to drink and an appetizer for a first course. Some of us "ordered" dessert, a napkin, iced tea and bread. You had to eat your first course before you got your second so some were eating their dessert, in this case, ICE CREAM, with their fingers because they had no silverware! This happened to our friend and neighbor, Janet.
In my case I ordered my bread (Italian breadstick otherwise known as Foreign Yeast) my knife (Tool or saw) my appetizer (3 Tier Steer or Stackables) and my iced tea. (Frigid Leaves) This wasn't too much of a problem for me because I don't eat cheese or salami. I did eat the grape tomato slices and the carrots and of course my Foreign Yeast.
My second course consisted of dessert, ice cream (CVS Special and I don't get the connection) a spoon, (Closeness) and my salad (Roman Emperor). I ate the dessert since I had a spoon.
My third course consisted of the main course, a large boneless chicken breast on bow-tie pasta, topped with diced tomatoes & mushrooms with a side of green beans. This was # 7, Red (tomatoes) green (beans and white (chicken) Mussolini's Delight. I finally got my napkin, Scot Specialty (not Tartan) and my fork (Silverada)
I was too confused with my own meal to take much notice of what order the others at my table got their meal in. I did hear that my friend, Janet, not only had to eat her ice cream with her fingers but her main course too!
This was great fun! And food was delicious!
After the dinner there was a Silent Auction. There were about a dozen items and we won one of them. Bob, unbeknownst to me, bid on a motorcycle ride in the desert with lunch at a local restaurant included. There will be eight of us in total so this should be a good time.
So the long awaited Mystery Dinner has come and gone. I'm glad they did it this year and that I got to experience it. Its a great fundraiser. I can attest to that because the profit was donated to the Activities Fund and it was quite a hefty amount! Thank you Mystery Dinner Staff! Your efforts are very much appreciated!
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