Huzzah to Huszti, Day 2

I drove back down to UCI today to attend the Open House at the Huszti residence.  A few of my friends were already there.  Cliff had brought Cindy today, so I wanted to say hi to her.  Cliff gave me a big hug when he saw me, not realizing that this really made my mid-back feel quite a crunch, since it had been aching a little bit all week.  I winced, but didn't say anything.  At least it wasn't yucky, like my toe.  Cindy and I spoke for a little while, then I got something to eat and sat outside with Caesar and Shannon.  Caesar informed me that Twitter was telling him that the  Rockets were imploding in their Game 7 playoff against the Lakers, so I was happy. 

Pretty much the same people came to the house as attended last night's concert.  It was nice, though, to get a chance to meet the newer alumni, and look at photo albums from long ago.  My favorite was Vicki's, of course, because I was actually on that tour and could remember moments.  They distributed a quiz for those whom had not submitted a letter to Jo.   I decided to complete one anyway, even though Vicki said that my letter made her cry and, along with Roberta's, affected her literary-degree mind with writer's block.  Sorry!  

One of the alumni is now a professional baker, and made this cake and cupcakes, complete with the Tudor Rose design from the Madrigal Dinners.

Rudy texted me about how sorry he was that he couldn't make it to anything this weekend, due to his obligations.  I sent him a couple of pictures, and a couple of messages from our friends so that he would feel better.  I really missed him, though.  I didn't take pictures of people until after some of them had already left, sorry.  Here are the people I talked to most, anyway.

The Villanuevas and Vicki

I had fun reminiscing with folks, and it was especially nice to talk to Melinda and Jo one-on-one.  Being back at Casa Huszti was a blast from the past, and I felt kind of like I was home again.  I half-expected to go upstairs and try on a costume for Mad Din.  Since there won't be any more Madrigal Dinners, the costumes are up in their attic.  I said one thing to Jo about this:  "e-bay".  I wasn't serious, though.  It would break my heart to see all of Melinda and the other seamstresses' hard work be sold on the open market.  Melinda said that they would try to have get-togethers regularly, because it had been far too long, and we don't have the Madrigal Dinners as the excuse to get together anymore.  I hope that we do have a gathering at least once a year.  There are far too many awesome memories to share and too many wonderful people of whom to lose track.

Jo had scheduled a Men in Blaque recording session at the house, but that wasn't going to happen anymore, what with everyone there and key people missing.  Eliza's letter to Jo just happened to be rewritten lyrics to "Modern Major General," and she didn't even know that MiB was going to perform it last night.  They sang the new lyrics to Jo, and they were outstanding.  My favorite line had something to do with Jo teaching in "a master-planned community."  Jo thanked us all for the great weekend, reiterating his thoughts from last night.  One thing he said was that he was fortunate in his life to surround himself with quality people, who give the opportunity for quality experiences.  I suppose that it's the secret to living a fulfilling life.  Yeah, I teared up again, especially when he got emotional.  Aw, Bela. :)

I talked to Jo about when he actually found out we were all going to come to his house today.  He said, "7:30 this morning, when Melinda told me that we had to sweep the patio."  Great job, Melinda!  I'm glad that he was so surprised.  This was a wonderful weekend to cherish forever, much as I already do with the people I've met through UCI choirs, thanks to Joseph Bela Huszti.