With temperatures certainly on the rise (get this, Ones: It is currently 75, not 45, degrees [in the shade] here at Headquarters in the early afternoon no less!), the Tattoos are in their final preparation stages and, based on the many incoming emails from those anxious Twos, we are in for one heck of a time and ride, as we always are with this illustrious, veteran-clad second of three groups.
Headlining the gaggle is nine [count ‘em!] time Extravaganza veteran Santa Rosa contractor Doug “Popeye” Hamilton who is the most timewise grizzled of all of this year’s 66+ participants. But for a bout with kidney stones four years ago he would have had a perfect attendance record in these here parts—Popeye it will be great to welcome you back and to have you among your flock of tattooing and Circle C tattooed counterparts, near equal in tenure among which is Walsh Vineyards Management’s Tim “Squawfish” Rodgers—so named may years ago for actually counting as “the next fish” a squawfish during one of our fishing bets…can you imagine?!?—who is well accompanied by not only his beautiful wife ‘Shanna Banana” but also by his two equally stunning returning daughters Mardi [“CT”] and Alia [“Snowflake”] and also by that wonderful Napa preschool teacher Lori “Fawn Lady” Ware—the proprietress of the famous Cry Die Award—and soon to be collegiate Gisella “St. Mary” Carapia, the six of whom will be resident in our co-owned glorious Blackfoot House (which all of the Twos will visit post lunch upon their arrivals on Saturday).
The veternness of Da Tattoos continues with (a) the return of Parducci Winery’s Tom “Sockeye” Thornhill (so noted for he, like Squawfish, trying to count a snagged Sockeye as “the next fish” while we were fishing together during the Alaskaganza several years ago) as well as with (b) McLeran Roofing’s Brian “Deerfish” McLeran—so named for his T–boning a Montana specimen while going 60 mph while returning from E-10…fortunately, Deerfish survived but he failed to abide by our ten year policy of catch and release. And it continues with (c) the return of pomegranate magnate Brad “Aril” Miller (who, this year, will be accompanied by his partner’s son Tony “The Chin” Pantaleo) as well as with (d) the most looked forward return of wine magnate Joe “Compari” Ciatti who, this year, is accompanied by his bodyguards/business associates Adam Eichorn and Greg Livengood and concludes with (d) the return, after may years in abstentia, of my dear Santa Barbara travel agent and guru Brian “Captain Four” Robertson who, this year, brings with him his cousin Chris “Maybe” Hurd.
There are six more Extravaganza virgins among the incoming Twos, each of whom have just 48 hours to get some sleep before it all begins (as I mentioned earlier, “sleep is highly overrated at the Extravaganza”): Scott and Heidi Caldwell will travel together for their first visit with us, as will “since grammar school friends” Al “Good Earth” Baylacq and his buddy Zane Wiley (boy, are we going to have a field day giving Zaneman his to-com Montana moniker!!) and cpa partners Steve “Montana Owes Me” Smith and John “Show Me” Comyns--the latter warning me in his office last month that “he is pretty hard to pleas…we will certainly see about that, Show Me, (now, was that a wise thing to do, fellow Extravaganzers?!?) and, in fact, I will give you [limited!] space post your experience here to tell the world just how you found E-12 to be (or not to be…with credit to Shakespeare for the tag-on line)—all part of our longstanding Extravaganza policy of “fairness in fishing”!!
So there you have it, the line up of twenty two twos who soon will be among us here in the wilds of Montana where (FINALLY!!!) the weather has in fact turned from winter into summer!
Bring it on Tattoos!!
Viva la Extravaganza!
Rock Creek Ron
----<’///><
No comments:
Post a Comment