P

erhaps it was the pent-up cabin fever brought on by the fourth snowiest winter on record. Perhaps it was that the concept of monthly club meetings really struck a chord. Perhaps it was the appeal of Papa Razzi’s fine Italian food. Perhaps it was the desire to bond with other Alfisti. Perhaps it was a combination of all these things. Whatever the case, we turned out two dozen strong for the inaugural AONE Monthly All-Member Meeting on March 20th.


 A view of the assembled masses before everyone arrived
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Back in 2003, we had kicked off the club’s year with a kickoff meeting at Papa Razzi Ristorante in Concord, MA, and found the place to be quite accommodating and the cuisine good. So Meetingmaster Kevin Murphy selected the bistro as an appropriate venue for our first monthly meeting. We were given a nice room of our own, and even got them to turn down the music. As people kept arriving, the waiters kept adding length to our table (the photo above was taken before everyone had arrived).


 Kevin Murphy, who also made the arrangements for our gathering, tells of all the fun in store for us at the Watkins Glen vintage race weekend
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Attending the affair were Kevin Murphy, Len Cannizzaro, Roberto Rosa, Tom Freiberger, Doug Sondak, Peter Walker, Fred Widmer, Tom Ducibella, John Basel, Chris Francis, Tom Letourneau, Mike Lawton, John Paradiso, Tom Lesko, George Dolak, Myron Barnett, Steve Thomas, Dan and Linda Nicholes, RJ Horwitz, Lisa Desrosiers, Brian Shorey, Andy Kress, and Dave Pratt. (Sorry if we missed or misspelled anyone.) Folks from Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Hampshire complemented the more local Massachusetts suspects.

After we sat down and placed our orders, we actually conducted a little business. At this time of year, the agenda naturally revolves around the events we’ve got planned for the season. Myron Barnett spoke about the Tutto Italiano car show coming up in May; Tom Letourneau briefed us on the Mount Washington hillclimb in July; Kevin Murphy promoted the Alfa-highlighted Watkins Glen weekend in September; and President Tom Lesko led a discussion of some of the other happenings in the works. Sign-up sheets for the major events were circulated; if you didn’t get a chance to add your name, contact Kevin at kevin@kmurphyslaw.com. Looks like the club is again going to have quite a busy year!


 Sharp-eared Tom Letourneau pauses in mid-sentence when he hears the exhaust note of an Alfa approaching the Papa Razzi parking lot
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Even though we started assembling around noon, it wasn’t until close to 3PM that the last of us left the premises, such was the enjoyable time we were having. People split into smaller groups to discuss some of the events and interests they shared in common. Slowly, we dribbled out the door and headed homeward (or elsewhere).

With all of the salt still on the roads, there were only about three brave Alfas in the lot this time. (We discovered that four of us present were also Mini Cooper S owners—think there’s any synergy between Alfa and Mini ownership?) But we’re looking forward to this month, when salt shouldn’t be a problem! It’s apparent that the monthly meeting idea has caught on—why don’t you join us next time?Tiny Quadrifoglio

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