I suppose it was raw passionate love that made me do it.  And the strikingly gorgeous monarch butterfly that flitted about way up in the wild blue yonder, seemingly without purpose, set the stage for trouble.  As with all things that eventually must return to Mother Earth, it flitted haphazardly toward an objet d’art.  Maybe my irrationality had nothing to do with Herr Monarch’s majestic entry.  Maybe it was rampant lust… though I imagined I might have gotten beyond that by now.  Maybe a degree of envy?  Perhaps sinful greed?

And, what a place to land!  I swear it did a joy-filled butterfly back-flip, at seeing the reflection of its intensely beautiful black-lined orange patchwork and white-dotted self, in the sexy haunches, compound curves and impossible depth of the blueness that was Tim & Linda’s foxy ride.  The one about which the reviewers have waxed poetic.  The one about which I dreamt, restlessly, that very night.  The one described as BMW’s welcome departure from its mad dash toward M-softness and M-vulnerability.  The one with the screaming M2 badge.  The one with “That Sound”.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

The stage was set.  Months of careful planning culminated in friends arriving one by one…. then in their twos and threes.  Friends with whom we have enjoyed a life of laughter and shared memories, and those with whom we have so much in common, but had never met… all headed for the 2017 version of The Champagne Picnic; a beautiful afternoon in the wide outdoors of Jefferson County.  Tom and Janet Rost, in whose honor we continue to celebrate this historic Badger Bimmers’ event, were there in spirit ensuring that the week-long promised weekend showers culminated in nothing more than just a few moments of barely perceptible misting.

The Chariots were a playful lot indeed!  Cheeky e30 M3 twins stared down by e39 twins and Z4 twins; a lifelong Badger Bimmers upstart e21 320i; seasoned glistening 2002s; 840i, e30 & e46 3s; a resident 328 XDrive with big nasty wheels; a Z3M; a brand spanking new M3; a new fiver; e36 M3; Audi; MB; Ford Fairlane (I promise it wasn’t me that made those burnout marks on The Nice Officer’s HWY 106… I don’t drive anything that can do that!!!); Jeff’s gorgeous Aston Martin, and the People’s Choice, Luis & Anne’s perfect 1800.  Note to self; sneak into their garage sometime to see what other joys are to be found therein!  And of course, there was “That Sound”.

The 50+ friends present brought delicacies sufficient to delight the palates of hoards of gourmets.  Man! We sure did it up right this time!!  We chatted, laughed, shared stories, recipes, easy fixes to vexing chariot problems, but most important, we relaxed on a perfect September afternoon in the peace and quiet of Jefferson County.  We welcomed Jenny from Zimbrick BMW of Madison and delighted in the door prizes they contributed for the event, and raised the customary glass of champagne to celebrate Tom and Janet, and the many who long ago set the wheels in motion so that we can enjoy all that Badger Bimmers offers its family of members.  How good is that?

And, a special treat, just for the event, Martha and Tony Steigerwald, charter members of Badger Bimmers, were gracious enough to lend us a numbered print of one of Tom Rost’s wildlife scenes… a flock of geese over a beautiful Wisconsin setting.  We are so very grateful to them for sharing this with us, if only for an afternoon!

Thank you Badger Bimmer’s Board for your ongoing support.  Thank you Bill N for picking up the bubbly, and to all who brought their favorite delicacies to share.  Thank you Jenny & Zimbrick BMW of Madison. And of course, thank you all for setting aside the time to enjoy one of life’s special moments.  Finally, as before, thank you to My Navigator for humoring me once again, and taking care of all the many details.  I just mow the lawn and write this stuff.

You had to be there to appreciate my M2 moment and live the danger of the related unabated lust…. er…love, which Brother Webster, in his 1828 masterpiece devoted to an understanding of The Queen’s English, defined as, “An affection of the mind excited by beauty …. which communicate(s) pleasure, sensual or intellectual”.  Nuts on “intellectual”, Bro; make mine “Sensual”!!!  We are talking about “That Sound”!!

Maybe I got caught up in the ambiance; the friendships; the beauty of the wide outdoors on a near perfect day; the emotion of the moment.  Or, maybe none of these.  Whatever the reason, I watched Herr Monarch flitting off into the promising sunset, this time purposefully, as I dispatched him in the direction of Germany, with a tiny hastily-written love note in his breast pocket, saying simply, “All I want for Christmas is my new Mdeuce, my new Mdeuce, gee my new Mdeuce.  Gee if I could only have my new Mdeuce……. then I could wish you Merry Christmas”!!!

Ahhhhhh!!!  The wonders of Love.  Or maybe the silliness?

Stay safe!