Hack and HAC

November 9, 2023

(Note, in case you wonder why this has been updated. With Jen’s help we found another pair of HAC meets. I think this is the full set of meetings of the complete group now.)

HACK

Today’s my special day, and I show up at the dentist’s door promptly at eight after having downed a bowl of granola at home and an almond croissant and coffee at Lovejoy Bakers. A smarter man might have hopped in the car and headed over to Stepping Stone Cafe for a last three egg omelet or some mancakes, but that timeline made me anxious at the thought that I might be held up and be late for my appointment.

No point in detailing the extraction, which isn’t nearly as interesting as the ablation procedure. If you’ve ever had an extraction yourself, you know the drill. (A little gag there - they don’t use a drill. Just some standard issue pliers, like you can pick up at Ace Hardware. We could have saved Team Anderson about 2,000€ by picking up a cheapo pair and letting Rachael yank it out at home).

It all went well, though the whole time she’s twisting and tugging on the tooth I’m listening to the unnerving excavation sounds and tensing up waiting for the pain to come, but it never really does because they’ve numbed me well. Afterwards they fill up the crater with bone graft and then follows an extensive period of stitching it into place, with the threads of the sutures periodically tickling my cheeks. I’m in the chair for a little over an hour, and the lion’s share of that time is spent suturing. The extraction itself doesn’t take long at all.

Afterwards I’m given my marching orders, with emphasis on protecting the site so that the grafting material stays in place until I’m back in two weeks for my follow up and suture removal. In the meantime: take my antibiotic, use the mouth rinse without sloshing it around, no interesting foods, no strenuous exercise, no alcohol for a week(!). Fun. If I’d known all this beforehand I might have opted to take my chances with the infection.

HAC

First, some background for those of you who are newcomers here or have forgotten who the HAC group are. The group was founded back in early 2018 by some Portland dissident troublemakers, all of whom had been recently banished from a previous cycling website because the webmaster deemed us to be Hostile Actors and no longer welcome there.

I’ve lost count of how many HAC meetups have occurred since our initial gathering on March 11, 2018 at Bruce’s house, with the group joined by special guest stars Jeff Arnim (the CycleBlaze webmaster, in case you’ve forgotten) and famed bike traveler Willy Weir, accompanied by their significant others, pets and offspring. Here here are a few shots from the past, showing how excellently all of us have held up over time.

March 11, 2018: the birth of the HAC group.

August, 2018. The first HAC reunion, on the day the Grumbys returned from their epic ride of the Lewis and Clark ACA route and a few days before we left for our ride from Dubrovnik to Barcelona (note that the Arnims were in town for this meet-up also).

March 9th, 2020. Just three days before everything started shutting down from Covid Bruce, Andrea and ourselves drove down to Silverton to check on the status of the Brumby’s new home.

May 21, 2021, about a week before we left town for our ride from Minnepolis to Rome, Italy.

At the same gathering, we’re sent off with the first ringing of the ceremonial gong. A new HAC tradition!

November 26, 2021: on the day after Thanksiving we gathered at Bruce’s house for a reunion before we headed south for the winter.

So we meet again. There’s been quite a bit of eChitChat leading up to the meeting, mostly discussing teeth and food. The original concept was some takeout pizza, but with at least half of the group unlikely to be able to eat it that idea slid off the table and was replaced by Bruce’s famous guacamole, some tempting crunchy snacks that I can’t enjoy, and Bruce’s jar of extracted teeth he’s been carrying around for decades because that’s just what he does. (Really, Bruce collects and saves everything. You might ask him about his trophy bowling shoes someday).

The gathering is as always excellent, with much laughter, discussion of current events and future plans, and reminiscing. It’s a club we’re proud to claim membership in, and we feel lucky to be surrounded by such friends again.

I’ll bet you thought I was joking about Bruce’s tooth collection. Nope.

Andrea’s new bike is gorgeous! Belt drive, disk brakes, internal hub! I want one!

This, like all the other photos here except the bike, were taken by one of the Grumbys.

I think you’ll agree that the ceremonial ringing of the great gong was memorable that it’s worth seeing from more than one angle.

Until next time! All hail the glorious HACs!

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	16
Comment on this entry	Comment	8

Bruce LellmanIt's rare for the Hostile Actors Club to meet because we are all vagabond cyclists and are rarely in the same place at the same time. This meeting was exceptional. Love you guys.
Reply to this comment
11 months ago

Jen RahnTo Bruce LellmanI can't imagine a tooth-themed gathering with better decorations.

Those really set the tone for this Time of Hilarity and Merriment!!
Reply to this comment
11 months ago

Andrea BrownScott, I so appreciate your documentation of this rare example of affable friendship. I really like the friends I have where we just pick up where we left off. As an "introvert that likes people" it's super affirming and refreshing. Seeing our group over the years (with baby J in Kristen's arms!!! And Tiva the pupdog!!!) is just delightful.
Reply to this comment
11 months ago

Bruce LellmanTo Jen RahnWell, I thought it was quite a remarkable coincidence that by a Wednesday, when we were to meet, we had all already been to a dentist for something or other, all except Ron. And then, Ron told me that he was behind in getting a cleaning! Well, that was the week to do it, Ron, to make for 100% HAC member dental participation.
Reply to this comment
11 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Andrea BrownTiva! Of course. I couldn’t quite bring it back. He’s a Formosa mountain dog or something like that, I think?

You’re right. I love this group. It makes me feel really grounded when we reunite like this. I’m really glad too to have a record of it like this to fill in the increasingly common mental blanks..
Reply to this comment
11 months ago

Bruce LellmanTo Scott AndersonRight, a Formosa mountain dog. Kat and Willie got her as a rescue dog shipped over from Taiwan. She had grown up in a garbage dump and had all sorts of fears. Kat and Willie have worked really hard at giving Tiva a great life. She still hides when she hears garbage trucks.
Reply to this comment
11 months ago

Ron SuchanekTo Bruce LellmanDental work, eh? I don't know, sounds a little witch-doctory. I always think of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry goes to the dentist, goes under anesthesia, and as he groggily wakes up he thinks he sees the assistant and dentist getting dressed.

https://youtu.be/QOrYKxfPUto?si=8QFgv2_qqJxWL34G

"I was rinsing and spitting like there was no tomorrow!"
Reply to this comment
11 months ago

Bruce LellmanTo Ron SuchanekThat's great. I forgot about that episode.
Reply to this comment
11 months ago