This past weekend ranks in my all-time top 5. The camaraderie, the laughs, the golf, the STDs, Jack?s BBQ party. It was like the DVR stuck on double speed though because it all went by so quickly and now it?s back to the grind. Agent, I will netteller you those 5 clams plus interest, oh wait.
To say ?thank-you? just ain?t enough, Jack. Everything was perfect except I think you need a railing around your deck because I nearly fell off a few times. We needed IE to be there as his name came up a lot and we reminisced about the old free picks pages by IE, volfan, dalla and the legendary Nick Douglas. Here are some of my random recollections from the weekend:
PRELUDE
Boilermaker calls me at 10:00, says him and Randy are out in the parking lot at the Hampton Inn. I decide against my art deco golfing cap so The Judge and abc wouldn?t haze me about wardrobe. I am carrying a big cooler full of Bud and a sprinkle of free ice, thinking these guys are going to think I am a lush. I get down there and they each have a fully-stocked personal cooler of their own. I quickly learn these are quality guys. Guys just like me but smarter.
Randy is a budding artist and works out of his garage with stencils, spray paint and Smirnoff. He showed me some of his work. On the side of his cooler it read, ?DALLAS COWBOYS.? I said the art was good but Cowboy fans were not welcome in my van. Gmroz comes peeling into the parking lot and loads up his golf bag with more beer. He said there was terrible traffic backup and it turned out bohawk was stuck so we agreed to meet him at the course.
We all cracked a cold one and toasted Madjackdom. There was a family loading up their minivan right next to us. Three kids, sleeping bags, air mattresses. They say, ?It?s a little early to be drinking isn?t it guys?? We tell them we are madjackers and they nod and look away. Then we gave them a bottle of vodka to ease the pain of tent camping in the 90+ weather with three kids. They graciously accept and we were off to look for the golf course.
Now before I left St. Louis I told my wife that I was the designated driver and she got a good laugh out of that. That?s like putting Ron Jeremy in charge of a sorority house, said she. I soon subcontracted these duties to HH who I can?t thank enough for driving us ?artists? around all weekend.
We ended up on some pretty rural roads. The directions had us turning into the beanfields and past some Shrine place. Randy became worried that the whole thing was a setup: ?Game over, man! We are going to come around the corner and there will be the Mothership waiting, taking us prisoner to be sold as sex slaves,? this sounded scary, yet enticing somehow. I told him to calm down and take another shot of Drambuie.
There was a hidden gem of a golf course out there after all and we loaded up our golf carts to head for the driving range. I met Jack and let me tell you, you get a preconceived idea about how somebody is when you read their posts for 7 years, but the guy is a finer gentleman than I ever thought possible. His whole deal was to make sure everyone had a big time. And they did. I met yyz and we talked a Packers, Rams. Kosar was there and awake and hitting balls on the range. Handicapper and son delivered me a T-shirt (thank-you!) which is truly a nice item, especially with the HF (hokie fan) initials to help us remember our departed friend. I met all the fine folks and really enjoyed the conversation before golf. I think BSU Cards and his buddy, Jason, came in by helicopter but I am not sure. The peyote was starting to kick in. But I am pretty sure a helicopter landed on the driving range with some madjackers in tow.
Randy says he hasn?t seen the sunset since 1985. He works nights and has erratic hours. I say what do you do? He says he is a vodka man, and I say, ?So you are a liquor distributor?? No, he says, I just really like vodka. He takes out his wallet and hands me his card. It reads, VODKA MAN. No phone, no fax, just relax. He says if I can find his garage, we will drink vodka. I agreed to seek it someday? more later?