Dear Maggie —
I was recently virtually and delightfully pummeled with invitations by Nellie Hoppman to come to the Moms Get-Together this past Tuesday. She is one persistent party planner! I am a new parent and was reluctant to go, seeing that I don’t really know anyone. After some hemming and hawing, I decided to go and wowza! that is one welcoming group! It was hosted by a lovely woman named Cabanne who can really rock a headband, and her home was FAB-U-LOUS! I had so much fun and met at least 20 new moms! From what I understand, they do this every month, and either go do a fun activity or just meet up at a bar and hang out. I am so glad I went! My husband mentioned that there is a Dad’s Night Out happening this Thursday too. I am going to encourage him to go (I hear they hit a different local watering hole each month!) and hope he has as much fun as I did Tuesday. Since I’m trying all sorts of new SMOS things, I decided to write to your column with a question – all of this got me thinking… is there a monthly dead mascot ghostly social club that you are a part of? If so, I’d love to hear all about it!
— New Nellie Fan
Dear New —
That does sound like a rousing good time! I love Nellie too, and while it’s no longer getting hot in herre (sorry, I couldn’t resist!), I am glad you went and met so many new faces. SMOS really is a welcoming place – why do you think I’ve stuck around for so long?! – besides, of course, for the joy I get from all the intelligent haunting (look it up 👻) I get to do day in and day out! I have more info about these groups and their meetups, but I’ll keep you waiting until the end to tell you about that!
It’s funny you ask about a dead mascot group because I just got a Gust (ghost email) from our SCDMA (South City Dead Mascot Association) earlier today about our next meetup. St. Gabe’s feast day is next month, and he wants to plan a night at Rockwell and Ted Drewes. Gabe is the OG of our group; honestly, he’s kind of the OG of Saints in general! We also gather monthly to hang out and catch up – we each take a month to plan the event. Ambrose ALWAYS wants to play bocce (how predictable!), Cecilia loves a night out salsa dancing, and Joan is a real high roller, so we usually head to the Fairmount racetrack when she’s in charge. When it’s my turn, I find different places around town to do a Scotch tasting (what else?). We’ve also been known to play Bunco, but that’s a little tame for our crowd, and underwater basket weaving is a crowd pleaser too – plus it’s a breeze when you don’t have to hold your breath! Anyway, I’m sure you’ve got a good picture of our group now! We love to get together as much as the next ghost!
Alright, enough about me (is there ever enough about me?!) – I’ve kept you waiting with bated breath long enough. The moms and dads groups that get together once a month were formerly organized the old school way, by just compiling a list of emails of people who wanted to join and just adding and taking people off said list as needed. This has proven time consuming and inefficient. (Back in my day, we just beat drums.) So now, they are moving to Flocknote to make it easier to join the email list, as well as a little easier on the organizers to communicate with the group. For the Mom’s Group, go to https://smosstl.flocknote.com/SMOSMomsGroup to receive details – and for Dads Night Out, which is run by Nick Ehlman, you can sign up at https://smosstl.flocknote.com/SMOSDadsNightOut to find out the plans for each last Thursday get-together.
I sure hope you parents keep staying connected in whatever ways work for you guys. You’re right – Nick is on it and Nellie is persistent, but I can guarantee you’ll never regret accepting an invite either of them! And if you’re ever looking for tips for your next meetup, you know who to ask! Just don’t ask for a ride wit me!
— Maggie