A Chronicle of Nickfest

And so Nickfest officially ended on Saturday evening with a big old bash at my house. The year-llong celebration leading to my 50th birthday had a memorable finale, to make up for what I considered somewhat tepid enthusiasm for the 12 months of pre-functions. The party had a Caribbean theme, reflecting my love of Jimmy Buffett. But we mixed things up a bit by demanding Hawaiian shirts and leis of the participants.



Here is a pix of me cuttin' the rug with Mariel and Heather, while the lead singer of P.F. Flyer unleashes some classic rock.



Rather than spend a lot of time crafting a well-written report, I'm going to take the old journalistic trick of just writing a list.



1, Best Hawaiian shirt awards, as selected by me, went to Carmen Yount for women and Jeff Gillespie for men. I salute you, and may the dung of a thousand parrots descend on those who wore regular clothes.



2, Band members Jeff Gravelle and Darren Young, along with the other musicians whose names I do not remember, should consider quitting their day jobs and go on the road full-time. The set list was awesome, starting with ``Play That Funky Music'' and ending with ``Shook Me All Night Long.'' One criticism: ``Super Freak'' should be played every night.



3, Thanks to those who ignored my wife's unfortunate note on the invitation that there be no presents. To Aaron, Charlie and Mark, your thoughtful gifts of cigars will be savored in coming weeks. Special thanks to Charlie, who arranged his five cigars in an ascending order of length, representing the decades of my life. The smallest cigar represented years 1-10, the slightly longer cigar covered years 10-20, etc. My only criticism with this poetic gesture is that the cigar representing the current period is not long enough.



4, Carey's gift of framed Buffett album covers was huge; thanks to the DeWalts for the big poster of the smokin' hot bikini babe that I immediately mistook for a picture of Ann; and the many bottles of fine libations will not be wasted. The used golf club from Bruce will be remarked upon no more.



5, Apologies to all for abandoning the bar I had set up in the party room so I could dance. I was a pretty crappy bartender, anyway, as I think the margaritas were too weak, judging by the lack of vomiting.



6, Thanks to all who brought that great food, especially Brian Buck for pulled pork and Korean beef lettuce wraps. Ann deserves special celebration for cooking up hot wings, meatballs, mango salsa, and other foods, making the drink menu, hiring the band, setting up the party room, cleaning the house and making sure everyone had a good time. She made it all look easy, so easy in fact that I see no reason why it can't be an annual event. Here's looking forward to Nickfest 51 next March.

Another USTA season begins

The U.S. Tennis Association season began for my team on Saturday, and the results were impressive. Here is the rundown:
In No. 1 singles, Kevin ``Mustang Sally'' O'Neill gutted out a third set tiebreak win, showing the intestinal fortitude that later allowed him to digest dinner at Rancho Viejo. Kudos to Kevin, except for the second set.
In No. 2 singles , Chris Flanagan romped to a straight-set victory, proving that being a high school girls tennis coach does not necessarily mean the end of your athletic career. Chris' match was over so quickly that he could have consumed a six-pack watching the rest of us, EXCEPT THE CLUB STOPPED SERVING AT 7 P.M.!
In No. 1 doubles, Mark Connelly and Sam Joseph had some tense moments at the end, and not just because Mark was wearing an electric lime green Toucan Sam shirt. Congrats to them, and as for their opponents, Brad, we know you'll club them in the Tri-Cities.
In No. 2 doubles, the pretty boy team of myself and Bruce Johnson proved that, unlike Anna Kournikova, we've got sex appeal and game. Bruce also showed courage when he won his final service game despite pulling a muscle in his forearm (the monkus spankius muscle, which can take years to heal). Lets give it a rest before next weekend.
In No. 3 doubles, Ken Hunt took the court despite three broken ribs from skiing into a tree. He and Jeff Johnson almost pulled off a win before dropping the third set tie-break. For posting our only loss, they will both have to wear skirts to our next match on Sunday. Remember to accessorize, gentlemen.
Finally, I've received some complaints about our team rules during the season. It seems that some of the players are refusing to give up smoking, drinking, gambling and sex until the end of May. You know who you are, and you should be ashamed of yourselves.
However, like President Obama, I want to bring the audacity of hope to our team. So screw the rules and do what you want. It's working so far.

We've lost the R Bar

Tragic news this morning out of Bozeman, Mont. The landmark Rocking R Bar downtown was among numerous businesses destroyed in an explosion. The Rocking R is well-known to many people in this region, and was a frequent haunt of Montana State students such as myself. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, but I suspect terrorists from the University of Montana.
Authorities say the explosion destroyed four businesses, of which only three were bars. For that we can be thankful.

Many of you may have seen, or even own, a Rocking R baseball cap. They are very popular. My suggestion would be to put it on tonight, open a cold one, and tip it back in honor of the R Bar.

I went to the bar's web site at http://rockingrbar.com/ but there was no information about the explosion. But I did see that this would have been $2 margarita night, which only makes the disaster worse.

FYI, the bar contained a branch of Bozeman's famous Pickle Barrel sandwich chain. So the loss is even greater than previously imagined.

Maybe the owners could throw up a big canvas tent, like in pioneer days, and open atop the rubble. It's a thought.

The Looming Apocalypse

Those who have driven the lonely border region between Montana and Idaho on Interstate 90 know that the 10,000 Silver $ roadhouse has long been an oasis for bad food, crummy souvenirs and stingy video poker machines. In other words, it is a holy place.

Imagine my shock last week when I was driving towards Missoula and started seeing billboards for something called the 50,000 Silver $. Shock turned to horror as I approached the roadhouse and saw that it's familiar sign had indeed gone up 40,000 additional silver dollars.

I went inside to demand an explanation.

I stopped first in the bar, where I emptied some quarters I had coincidentally brought along into a poker machine and commenced to lose them. A young Asian woman was playing the machine next to me, and kept asking for help in deciphering the graphics to determine which cards to hold and which to discard. While she was having some trouble reading English, she was having no trouble with poker strategy and kept piling up points.

When I was out of money, I walked over to the bartender and learned that the name change reflected that many more people had donated silver dollars, which were mounted and displayed up the walls of the high-ceilinged bar. She told me the place originally started as the 2,000 Silver $, and the 10,000 name had remained for decades despite being inaccurate.

Now you know.

Daily Grind

Some people think covering college sports is a bunch of fun. But as these photos show, it is more akin to working in a mine. Here are pictures of me pounding away on deadline at recent Gonzaga games. One photo also shows my trusty sidekick Carey, who is keeping an eye on the action so we don't miss a key play. If the game is boring, he's mostly on the lookout for MILFs. After each game Carey goes down and talks to the losing team and I talk with the Zags.

The other photo shows me reading through my copy while Gonzaga alum John Stockton keeps people from approaching me. Stockton blew most of his NBA salary and now works as a security guard at Gonzaga games. He also makes coffee runs for us. (I hope people realize I am just kidding. Stockton is waiting to go to his seat).

Anyway, the deadline pressure is huge and the opportunities to screw up are many. But I am up to the challenge, and someday Carey will be also.

Nailing Nickfest

It looks like Nickfest will be the afternoon of March 14, with a Jimmy Buffett theme! More details will be sent soon. I invite faithful readers of this blog, both of you, to also visit my facebook page as that is where the most timely information is getting posted these days. There is only so much time in the day that I can spend talking about myself, and facebook seems to be getting most of it.

The photo shows an actual Parrot Head from Jimmy's concert in Las Vegas last October, and is suggested Nickfest apparel for the ladies.

Nickfest Update

Nickfest is rapidly approaching. I turn 50 on March 9, and the extended carnival that will accompany this historic event is in the process of taking shape.
Sadly, the worldwide economic woes will no doubt take a chunk out of Nickfest.
There are unlikely to be helicopters, roulette tables or a personal appearance by Jimmy Buffett.
But the party must go on!
In the spirit of our austere times, it may end up being beer, a homemade cake and cigars. But dancing is free!
There are some potential downers on the horizon. The Cougs are floundering, and may not make the NCAA tournament. My sore back is endangering the upcoming USTA team tennis season. And I have to cover an execution in Walla Walla on March 13 (a Friday!). Nothing gives you an appreciation of life quite like watching the state end someone else's.
To my friends I say, keep the 9th open. details will follow.