Every year, Dale Hansen throws a huge party out at his Moon Shadow Ranch in Waxahachie. I’ve heard stories of animal sacrifice, temple prostitutes, and beer. Hansen’s party was Saturday, and somehow this year I lucked into an invitation. My report:
The image you see here is of Hansen’s pool. I found it on the site run by the outfit that built the thing. But about $150,000 worth of landscaping has been done since this picture was taken. It’s pretty sweet. (Note: when it comes to estimating the cost of landscaping, I have no idea what I’m talking about.)
Dale’s ranch is huge. We parked in a remote field and were shuttled to the party proper in a bus. We got there a little after 8, which is when the invitation said dinner was over. This made My Fair Lady nervous. She’s pregnant. And always hungry.
Thankfully, they were still serving when we got there. Hot dogs, burgers, corn on the cob, beans. Not thankfully, my burger was served raw in the center. I’m talking tartar. So I only ate the edges. Also thankfully, there was plenty of beer and margaritas. I made sure to drink enough alcohol to kill any bacteria I might have ingested.
I’m guessing there were 500, maybe 600 people there. Hansen has an actual covered stage in his backyard. Not a temporary thing. A permanent stage. Very fitting. There were three bands on the bill. Hansen was the emcee, natch.
MFL and I doubled-dated with another couple. The guy used to work at Channel 8, and he saw some former co-workers he recognized. The only person I recognized was Mickey Spagnola.
And that was my big take-away: I expected this party to be an insidery affair, a bunch of Hansen’s friends, athletes, media types. I thought I’d feel like an interloper. But not so. Best I could tell, no one at the party really knew each other. The party’s too big for that. It felt more like going to the Scarborough Faire, only with less jousting.
We decamped around 10 p.m., before anyone had gotten in the pool. At least I assume someone eventually got in the pool. I saw no animal sacrifice, no temple prostitutes. I can confirm, however, that there was beer.
Perhaps a FBvian who stayed later can tell us if things got rocking a little later.
