Beta Theta Pi - University of Wisconsin

2 BETA THETA PI O n September 13 and 14, 18 Betas from the late '60s and early '70s gathered in Phoenix, Arizona, to watch the Badger/Bama train wreck and to party like it was 1969! The weekend started at the Buffalo Chips Saloon in appropriately named Cave Creek, Arizona. This cowboy-themed venue offered live bull riding, always a safe and sane activity whenever alcohol is served around old men. Brother Chuck Lucas '72 observed, "Them bulls looks fierce," so the brothers, possibly for the first time ever, wisely passed on the opportunity. Early Saturday morning, we gathered at the spacious home of our friendly host, Sarah (daughter of Rudy Schmidt '70), and her wife, Liz, for a dose of good old-fashioned midwestern hospitality. History will record the game as a blowout, but the brothers managed to salvage the morning by retelling stories we've all heard a thousand times but still roar in laughter at. An early observation of the morning would be that the most frequently heard word was "what?" "I could have paid for my airfare, and both nights at the hotel, if I'd been smart enough to sell the NIL rights to the weekend to a hearing aid company," brother Chris Moarn '71 noted ruefully. The cane franchise would have done well too. At lunchtime, we celebrated losing our starting quarterback, and probably the rest of our season, by grilling bratwurst imported all the way from State Street Brats in Madison. Given the fact that I worked at the old 'Brathaus' for a semester in 1970, I was given the rare honor of cooking for the brothers. There's something about grilling outside in the desert at noon over a flaming grill that really opens your pores! If it wasn't for the honor of the whole thing, I would have just as soon passed the tongs—really. We concluded our weekend with a lovely dinner at The Boulders restaurant in Scottsdale. Over cocktails and dinner, we told so many embarrassing stories about each other that it soon became painfully obvious why we only did these gatherings once a year at most. The good news is that in 10 months the celebrants will have forgotten they were ever in Phoenix, so Al Kaniss '72 and I are already talking about 2025. Yours in _kai_, Rod Taylor, #1448, UW 1972 rst72badger@gmail.com Beta Alumni Bring the Heat to Phoenix Beta Alumni Bring the Heat to Phoenix Brothers gather for a reunion at Sarah's house—daughter of Rudy Schmidt '70. Photo credit: Jim Haas #1503, UW 1975 A R E U N I O N O F T H E ' 6 0 S A N D ' 70 S

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