Club Dave XVI August 2004

Club Dave is a classic experiment in self-organizing systems. The well-proven formula is: Dave Wahlstedt invites some of his friends from far and near, who may invite their friends, for a long weekend at his family's cabin on a spring-fed lake in northern Wisconsin. Dave supplies crash space for sleeping, boats & stuff for fun on water, and an infectious aura of good will & common sense. His guests figure out where to sleep, how to feed themselves, and how to entertain themselves, etc. My first Club Dave was back in 1997 and I look forward to it each year.

Club Dave is about having fun and hanging out. There is no schedule to follow, and people sort themselves out very well without supervision. Even driving to town to buy gas for the boat can be fun. The night-time campfire is an opportunity to share stories and debate. Arguing and correcting the errors of fellow individualists can be entertaining around a campfire.

This year's attendees came from the Twin cities, Chicagoland, Austin and Manhattan. We consumed copious amounts of bacon 2 meals a day -- surely a Club Dave record. We did some sing along to live guitar. We listened to the lovely, radiant Gretchen Wahlstedt share her experiences about her first pregnancy -- a baby daughter is due in September. Seeing the stars, including the milky way, in the clear air of the north woods in a boat in a middle of a lake, is a chance to re-experience the wonder of childhood while others point out shooting stars and satellites.

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