Dec. 30, 2005 Hello: Last night (Thursday evening in my part of the world) a bunch of NYC ABBAMAILers got together with Mikey Lynch, formerly of College Station, Texas, USA and now residing in Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA. Mikey was in town visiting some friends and we thought it would be fun to get together for dinner. We met at Dallas BBQ on 8th and 23rd. Mikey arrived before I did and was waiting inside; I found my usual crew waiting outside -- Ron, George, and Vinny. We hadn't seen Vinny in six months since the July foray to see ABBA The Music and he's dropped about 50 pounds and looks great! I wish work stress would have that effect on me, but it was good to see him. Lars, a familiar face at NYC ABBA events, and Mitali, rounded out the crew and we went in to get a table for 8. Laszlo was supposed to join us but got stuck at work. After general introductions, Mikey and Ron connected on the fact that Mikey is an urban planner and Ron is working on a degree or program in a similar field. After Mikey telling me he needed someplace easy to meet us because he was a poor confused Texas boy, I then found out he'd been all over Europe and Tunisia. "But I don't like to fly and I like driving even less," he said. Vinny regaled us with stories about his beloved trains and I of course had to know who had the Frida box set. Ron had brought the latest issue of the ABBF magazine. The highlight of the conversation was when Ron asked Mikey if he was an Oldie or a Goldie. Mikey looked totally blank, and then I said, "How old are you?" because that would tell us instantly. When Mikey said he was going to be 25, Ron and I laughed and said, "You're a Goldie!" simply because age precluded anything else. Mikey insisted his favorite was The Album, that's what he listened to first and what he loved and he really wasn't into ABBA Gold at all. We explained it was just a way of determining who was there from the beginning or middlish and who discovered them later. Talk then turned to BAO (and please, like Ian said, it is an acronym and should be pronounced Bee-Ay-Oh) and the upcoming performance in Minnesota. Now, even though I sent Mikey a note saying New York is very cold compared to Florida and Texas, he was rather underdressed and while us NYers were reveling in the mild weather (unlike the night Norma was here), the poor boy was freezing. We all offered helpful suggestions on how to stay warm in March in Minneapolis. Dallas BBQ got incredibly noisy so we decided to go somewhere for a drink. We were right near The Big Cup, which was one of Jason Swan's favorite places, but sadly, it has closed. So we went to the gay bar next door, the View, which was very empty for a Thursday night. Ron and Lars had headed home by this time and Mikey bought a round of drinks. We talked for awhile, then George and Mitali headed home and Vinny also found the nearest subway. I walked with Mikey back to his friend's apartment and we talked. We went over our list history, I shared my pathetic tale of the Mamma Mia premiere, and Mikey vowed that he would definitely meet the Florida ABBAMAILers prior to BAO since he lived about an hour away from some of them. It was just a really nice evening with good friends, new friends, and good conversation. Being 25 of course, Mikey met his friends about 10:30 and they got ready to go out and do more of New York.... Ron, our resident photographer, took some pictures to commemorate the evening, and they are posted under the Mikey Lynch link to the left. Thanks to Mikey for taking a chance and coming out to have a good time, and thanks to everyone for making an effort to make the evening special. Happy New Year! Laura