A Play-ett by Lee Urbani (way, way off Broadway) ACT 1, Scene 1, Curtain Lifts: The stage is set within a lonely remote isolated encampment on the moors on the Eastern Shore of a body of water somewhere in Scotland. The players are costumed for a cold, dark and windy night, the encampment is dimly lit, and the fires are low and flickering to conserve the fuel. Just then the trusty and good looking well dressed King’s Advisor burst through the door and calmly states “What, what’s that, I hear at the encampment’s wall?” “Tis nothing.” was the Exchequer’s reply. “Nay, I do believe it is a faint but growing clamor of discontent from the masses, it is a winter for discontent after all” the Advisor countered. “Ha” said the King “let them eat cake, and wash it down with a shot of Mede, that will calm them” “But wait, my liege there are no cakes to be eaten, there is no Beverage to be had. Alas the cook fires are all out, the tavern is closed and the “Barbarians are at the Gates” Dear King!” Advises the Advisor The crowd rushes in, swords, pitchforks and clubs come out, fight ensues, everyone dies. The Curtain Drops; Act 2, Scene 1, Curtain Lifts: We have traveled many miles and many years forward in time, it’s still a cold, dark and windy night, of course. And the bleak and desolate encampment is now the Bar at the RHYC. It is dark; we are in fact under a modern onslaught. Well not the RHYC, but the Board of Directors for sure - for making the difficult decision to close the Club House in January. In fact the onslaught of members seems to be growing and instead of “Barbarians at the Gates” we have “Members at the Website”. The BoD may have been overly cautious by closing in January, but only time will tell. And please keep in mind that in this scene no one dies! While I do not make light of your well thought out comments, I do believe a little levity is in order and we should share some of the facts with our Members that perhaps we did not do before. The YC is in fact not closed; you can still enjoy the grounds, walk your dog, work on your boat, stroll along the waterfront or go for a frostbite sail. The Bar and food service is closed, we made that conservative and difficult choice for one reason; we will cut our utility and payroll costs by a minimum of $5,000.00 for the month of January. We all feel the pinch of these difficult economic times. We may need those 5 G’s as we work our way through these turbulent waters. On the other hand we can promise the membership this much; should the strategies (this being one of them) put in place control costs, and we have all the confidence they will, we will be able to open the Club for January of 2010. The Members side of the bargain is to fully patronize the restaurant during the dark days of next January. Deal?