THE DOG ATE MY TRANSPLANT TRIB DRAFT
Huh? Whassat? You say I used that one before? OK then, Principal Poop ("What is reality?"), how about "I was too busy makin' nooz to blog about it"? So, let us restart our Transplant Journey......
TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT PICNIC: OUR VERY FIRST
When we last spoke, Cheryl and I were preparing for the TRIO picnic at Adobe Park in Milpitas. I still cannot forget that when I first started coming to Fremont to court Cheryl and charm her entire family (I kinda missed with Robin, though), they all called it "Smellpitas" because of the odor emanating from a charcoal briquet factory. I never smelled nor saw this offensive facility, so I think they were all trippin' and were just foolish victims of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce. Perhaps.
Bob/Irv, stay on the subject (slap, slap)! Thank you dear. Anyhow, we took some impressive shrimp brochettes for our entree and a salad to share, popped into the S2000 and made the trip. Great food, and lots of great folks. We met and talked to a pair of donor parents, who lost their daughter eight years ago. They told us about their attendance at the recent Transplant Games in Madison, WI. Both the event and their experiences there were truly moving. We have not discussed transplantation with a donor family before; it is quite powerful.
AN IMPROMPTU BBQ
When our visitors from Spain returned from their junket to Phoenix, we were able to arrange with them to join us here at Camp Broadmoor for a small BBQ. Kelly was interested in a traditional American BBQ, with burgers, dogs, potato salad, beers, ants and all the trimmings. We had about 24 hours to pull this off, but we had a secret weapon; the assistance of Chris, Leslie, Janice, Sandy and Moria enabled us to pull it off. We had a nice assortment of relatives, friends and other fans of Kelly, Oscar and the kiddoes, about 28 in all. VERY fun, and we miss all of those who were unable to make a mid-week, mid-day event.
THE ROLEX MONTEREY MOTORSPORTS REUNION
Some may have known this under its previous name of the Monterey Historics. I have been attending since we lived in Pacific Grove, in 1977. For those of you not familiar, this is a major part of what has become the world's biggest celebration of classic racing, exotic, and collector cars. There is literally an explosion of car events, such as tours, shows, exhibits, parties, and outrageous auctions. The culmination of the week-long activities is the famous Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where incredibly-restored classic vehicles are judged on the 18th hole of the golf course.
The racing is held at Laguna Seca Raceway, with two day's worth of short races in groups by age and performance. There are cars dating from pre-1920 up to the late '80's. Every year there is an honored make of car, but this year an individual was featured. It was my lifelong racing hero, Dan Gurney. So as you can imagine, I could not miss this one. We joined the Frates' and the Chaws (first time racing experience for the Chaws) and made the trip.
The only possible disappointment was that Dan was virtually inaccessible. Only 75 tickets were given out for an autograph session, and by 10:00 am there were already over 20 people in line for the 1:00 pm distribution. Life is too short...even for Dan Gurney. We never did see him, but 24 of the cars he drove and/or manufactured were present, some very famous ones to be sure.
We had a most memorable day. A fine collection of 600 veteran racing cars and their owners/drivers provided lots of entertainment both on the track and in the preparation (paddock) area. We also enjoyed the attendee parking areas, vendor arcade, and the traditional Monterey Bay Deep-Fried Calamari. Cherie only goes for the calamari, she really has never liked racing (Ha! NOT true!).
After the last race of the day, we took a run downtown to see the action. And there was some amazing action. Alvarado St. was blocked off and was chock full of interesting cars lining up for a turn on the auction block inside the Marriott. We wandered up and down, checking out the cars and interesting people amongst them. Across the street, another auction was in progress in the courtyard of the Portofino. All the while, many delectable vehicles drove around the streets emphasizing the car-fantasy nature of the weekend. Pretty heavy stuff for a car nut like Your Editor/Publisher!
By then, it was about dinner time, so we bopped over to the heart of Salinas to our favorite funky Mexican place, Rosita's Armory Cafe. Cherie and I found out about this little place when we lived down that way many years ago. It still has excellent, traditional and reasonably-priced food, and this time was no exception. After a bit of a Salinas tour, we found the freeway and turned north.
Again, much thanks to Jeff for driving, to Allen for taking photos that we hope will get us into the 2012 Heart Transplant calendar, and to everyone for great food and even greater company.
So, that is all the nooz that fits, up to the minute and freshly locally-grown as well. I owe you at least that much.
Bob/Irv
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