Troop: The Family Center Holiday Party

 
[Troopers at the armory at Lexington and 26th!  Rob in the background, then left to right it's myself, Kris, Danny, and Steve in the Rex.]

So, after endless complaining that we never get charity troops in the City, this event landed in our laps: a holiday party by a group called The Family Center, which offers services to children who’s lives are acutely affected by parental illness.  (For privacy reasons, I can’t put up pictures of us interacting with people, so here’s a slew of pictures of us geeking out instead.)

 
[Kris in his Vader, threatening Jolly ol' Saint Nick with a lightsaber.]

For families who cannot, because of medical bills, afford to give their children the kind of Christmas they might otherwise offer them, they hold a holiday party, full of food, games, dancing (ever seen a stormtrooper do the electric slide?) and, of course, Santa Claus (we had fun with him.)

 
[Left to right it's Danny, Steve, Rob in front of Santa, then myself and Kris.  One happy, dysfunctional family.]

Adults and kids alike were delighted by our appearance, and we had a lot of fun, too.  (Especially when we found the hummer parked out front, which Rom somehow managed to climb into, but I, for the life of me, could not.  Sitting in a chair is a talent I amaze troopers the world over with, but I’m afraid the special skills end when I have to lift a foot more than two feet in the air.)

[Rob in the Hummer bed and Danny standing by - I'm actually behind Danny, trying to figured out how to get up there, too - a task I failed in.]

Whenever it got too hot, we just slipped outside to enjoy the randomly cold day that New York City was offering us.  It’ll be 30* one day and 60* the next…and this is December in the Northeast, folks.  For some reason, we also decided it’d look cool to take a picture standing in the middle of a busy road like Lexington Avenue, making sure to get the Chrystler building in the background, assuming that out-of-towners will mistake it for the Empire State Building and somehow be impressed.  (Remember that we’re geeks.)

 
[Geeks in plastic on Lexington Avenue with their backs to the soon-to-be oncoming traffic - and you thought geeks were smart!]

In other random geek news, Danny broke out his new Elite TK for this event: it’s awesome and makes me want to do a new TK as well, but it will have to wait ’till next summer…I’ve already got another project or two on my hands for the moment…but all in good time…

[Danny in his new elite TK: "I was trying to pose like I was thinking of how to ask Santa for a new blaster rifle."]