A Ricochet Meetup on Panama City Beach

Several months ago my friend and fellow military historian Brady Kiel reached out with the joyous news that he and his wife would be relocating from Tampa to Hurlburt Field, near Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, and wouldn’t it be a great idea, he wondered, if we hosted a Ricochet Meetup on Florida’s Emerald Coast?

The question took me back several years to a time when I traveled the country in an 18-wheeler, attending Ricochet Meetups from Athens, GA to Seattle, WA and Nashville, TN to Los Angeles, CA and many more places. Why yes, I replied, it’s a fabulous idea!!

The resulting meetup unfolded in a heartwarming way on Panama City Beach from December 6th through the 8th. I use the term “heartwarming” advisedly because the local temperature dropped so quickly that it nearly knocked the bottom out of the thermometer. Nevertheless, Ricochet members arrived on Friday evening at Harpoon Harry’s for an evening of memories, catching up on longtime friendships and laughs by the dozen.

Longtime Ricochet members might remember the effervescent Felicia Birney and the wonderful Mellisa, who was known on Ricochet as “6ft 2 in Heels.” They were both in attendance, as was Blondie, Brady Kiel and his charming wife, along with Susan Quinn and her delightful husband.

I was immediately reminded of the description of Ricochet Meetups that I used over a decade ago, as a gathering of friends who had not met yet. Oh, we’ve known each other for years in many instances, but that knowledge has been based on the written word, on sharing each other's experiences and ideas on a plethora of topics. Even when we’ve disagreed, our bond has been based on civility, reasoned discussion, and an undercurrent of humor and goodwill that keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously.

And when we finally get together in person? In a sense, the result is predictable in that we have such a grand time chatting and laughing that we are typically the last customers to leave the restaurant as the staff prepares to close down for the night. Such was the case last Friday night as we stepped into a bracing cold front barreling in off the Gulf of Mexico. But our hearts were happy, our smiles radiant, and hopefully Brady hasn’t realized that I put the whole shindig on his charge card (just kidding!).

Saturday morning found myself, along with my lovely wife and talk radio star Brian Rust on the patio of Harrison’s Kitchen & Bar in downtown Panama City, setting up the sound equipment for a live edition of my podcast to be recorded in front of a combined audience of Ricochet folks and Brian’s local peeps. The folks at the restaurant had placed a sort of plexiglass covering that kept the wind from howling across the patio and then added some mobile heaters to keep everyone warm and comfortable. The result was an ideal place for lunch and a show.

As the assembled group was winding up their meals, Brian and I fired up the mics and the soundboard, and The Dave Carter Show was off and running. There were laughs, musical bits and comedy bits, and compelling interviews with local historian Bob Hurst, military historian Brady Kiel, and Ricochet Contributor / American Thinker Writer Susan Quinn. Our audience got into the vibe of the show as we celebrated a cultural resurgence of common sense in general and basked in the company of good people and a genuinely happy event. If you haven’t heard the live show itself, you can click on the link right here!

Members of our Ricochet Rally reconvened for dinner at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville restaurant on Panama City Beach Saturday evening, which was to be the last get-together of our happy time since the assemblage needed to retreat back to their respective homes the following morning. Again, the conversation — often several mini-conversations at once — was in turn riveting, brilliant, personal, uproariously funny, and always, always generous and beautifully warm. When it was time to go, we all got up before sitting right back down for a group photo courtesy of Felicia, who also served as volunteer photographer for the live show.

Then, we stood about the table in small groups and continued our conversation because, deep down, we wanted to slow time itself to make the moment last. As we said our good-byes in the parking lot, my wife and I prevailed on Felicia and Melissa to let us drive them to their hotel since it was on our way home. We had such a good time chit-chatting in the car that I drove right past their hotel while attempting to regale them with some story or other. We laughed at my “senior moment,” as my wife and I saw the ladies to the hotel before pointing the car to our own home near the bay.

Becky remarked to me on what a thoroughly great time she had enjoyed during the meetup. She was impressed not only by the brain power and caliber of conversations of Ricochet attendees but by the genuine goodwill that everyone positively exudes to those around them. Our politics are similar but not in lockstep, our backgrounds and stations in life vary but our mutual respect and friendships endure and grow over time.

As Becky and I agreed, “We need to do this again.” And we will.