Tonight we had our rightful place in the Corner Booth, but were bereft of our usual waitress (though tonight’s Ersatz Waitress was actually quite good). And for once, somebody was louder than we were; happy birthday, Stephanie. The turn out tonight was as follows: Alex, Cindy, Dean, Jeff, Don, Ferne, Cathy, Pam (!), John T., and myself — Tomek. Tonight’s conversation began with some residual discussion from tonight’s critiques, and then touched on my new home, recent events, music (including the Highwaymen), writing (well, duh), biking trips (including something about Tango-ing in Montreal), bats and various unwanted critters in yer home, and yes, of course we managed to descend into politics. That, however, brought us to a lengthy discussion on mindsets, mental “pre-programming,” and the willingness to reach for supernatural explanations. A lot of this discussion centered on the medical arts, with generous input from two of our local practitioners, all centering on what Jeff would call the “woo” factor. Conversation tonight required each of us to shout ourselves hoarse — happy birthday, Stephanie — but in the end, a good time was had by all.