In Attendance:
Players:
Booboo, Jeff'A, Brian Brecto, , John Clark, , Fletcher, Joe Loud, Greenwood, Sam G., El-Gordo (Kevin), Dan Manka, Nick N., Wally, Red-Shoes, Shawn Schafer, Alan, Micha, Rusty, Stick Boy, Anthony, Chris W., Fern, Flipper, Cutty, and The Doode a "Clown".
Non-players:
Wade, Matt Cunningham, Hatfield, Gary Huckleberry, Biff, Sweat Pea, Buck, Shorty, Steve Watts, and Dick-Tador
Families:
the Habecks, Wills, Clarks, Cunninghams, Watts and Mankas
Narrative:
From the memory of the clouded Dick-Tador or from the Dick-Tador's cloudy memory.
Things for me started on Friday about 12:00 p.m. but I know several people arrived earlier that week in Phx. So for those folks, besides drinking lots of Crown and cokes, they played golf or went to a Giants/Cubbies game and then we will pick them up from there.
The whole LSD part of the WILDWEST BLUES FEST revolves around a 1970's Winnebago Motor home that Brian Breckto has graciously offered to make the LSD-Mobile Command Post for future local road trips. I picked the motor home up in Prescott Valley around 2:00 p.m. and after much doubt about weather it would pull itself out of the drive way I showed up at Black Canyon City about 4:00 p.m. and parked the beast, (yet to be named) with expired tags, directly on the edge of the fields in a very conspicuous location. Meeting Jeff'A at the Rock Springs Bar and showing his boys how to play cut throat pool we headed for the Rusty Spur, old town Scottsdale. Wow, flash from the past. Meeting us there were lots old faces. Including but not limited to JeffA,Cunningham, Anthony Ann and Family, John and Jackie Clark, Wade, Rusty, Micha, Cutty, Doode, Nick, Booboo, Greenwood, Alan, Fern, and SweatPea . After helping Fern learn the words to lots of old Country and Western tunes the groups decided to take different directions. Some went for serious drinking at a party in Fountain Hills and others to serious drinking at another bar, Patties. I must say the LSD T-shirts were out and about. At one point I counted 18 at one bar alone. Wa Hoo! This was all in accordance with Jeff'A falling off his wagon party. Mind you he had set the date of March first to fall off the wagon anyway.
Waking Sat. morning at Nicks with piles of other roomless LSDers we jumped in cars and headed to the fields-Way out BCC (Black Canyon City). Well, was it going to be an illustrious typical Rugby tournament? NO. The first thing that struck everyone as they set foot on the fields was. F***, it's Cold out here.
That brings up the back drop for the tournament. The intention was for LSD to have a family day outside, play some rugby, drink some cold beer and BBQ, and then campout that night at the fields. The high all week had been in the 60 to 70's in BCC and lows in the high forties to fifties. This morning at 9:00 a.m. it was 40 degrees out side and the wind was blowing a mild 30 mph steady with gusts in the 40's. The motor home never felt so good, except its tough to fit 30 plus in there. So following a circling of the wagons around the motor home to make a wind free environment we started to acclimated; fleece, t-necks, and long johns were coming out. You can't detour a Rugby tournament so easily!
Games for us started at 11:00 and our schedule, opponents, and numbers looked good. 20 plus who participated in the first game, 15 for the second and 10 for the third. Typical Old Boys fashion-you start the day with fifteen minuets of glory and finish it with 12 oz of sedative. But we do have some glory to report. We played and beat Scottsdale the first game and had a nice try by John Clark and few others. Things were looking good. Then in the Scottsdale Alumni game we let Joe Loud play a half at scrum half and what a misfortune that was. Following a close game and a marvelous few ramblings by Cutty and a try by Anthony we lost by a penalty kick, nothing new there in our history. The last game as always was our worst. We were going to try and have a drink off, but Fletch, not being beat up enough, helped our cause by getting five whores that really should have been doing WWF and not playing rugby. So we finished the day 1 and 2 with only one injury, just a couple of butterflies on the eye-brow.
Ahhh the motor home, bratwursts, a keg and lots of stories to tell. Things were looking good for the party that night.
Let me just list the party as a series of flashes before my eyes.
- Tye-Dyed and beads to adorn
- Mormon missionaries singing "Jesus Can't Play Rugby"
- 18 in a pick up truck, please drive slow Jeremy
- No id no problem says Smoken Joes, free beer is here
- Three bars, four bon fires and 300 + ruggers and no over sight
- Watching Breckto and some chick, naked otter slide in beer in tandem, oops where are those clothes.
- El-Gordo and Cassie sharing a clove cigarette in the corner of the bar
- Nick doing fire walking
- Pulling chairs out of the bon fires
- Watching Mormon missionaries dancing with Camo-Timberdoodles to rock lobster
- Wally smiling, grinning, and saying nothing with his mouth, but loads with his eyes
- Watching the Timberdooles WINNING the coveted party trophy
- Chris buying three shots of Tequila with-Dollars-US
- Fletcher unable to recognize that I don't need a another beer besides the three in front of me already
- Riding the Shuttle bus back to camp and seeing a gypsy on-clave huddled around a bon fire in front of the motor home
I curled up about 2:00 a.m. in my North Face sleeping bag in the motor home next to Cassie and made about 10 other beds.
Just as the sun rose I heard the chattering and music stop outside. One lone individual slept with-out care directly on the ground in front of the fire with no covers. The low was 28 that night. But we are a hardy crew of good times.
Sunday morning we snuck off just after sunrise to the Rock Springs Cafˇ for homemade pie and Coffee. Returning to the camp/fields it looked like an Afghan refugee camp. Bleak barren mountains, sub-freezing temperatures, howling winds and a hodge-podge of old RV's, smoldering campfires, tents, cups, cans, and plastic strewn everywhere. Trust me, if this tournament gets warmer weather, a little winter rain fall and continued support, it will be a premier tournament in the U.S. No greater possibility exists for good fields, competition, and a great traditional party.
Thank you to:
- Everyone who traveled from: England, Alaska, Colorado, California, Tucson, Williams, Flagstaff, Prescott and the Valley.
- The wives and mothers that either participated or gave kitchen passes for the guys.
- Everyone who hosted or brought down RV's and such: Nick, Wade, Sam, Brian, Biff, BooBoo and Jeff'A
- It was especially fun to see LSDers that are older than me coming out and sporting their LSD attire. So thank you Steve Watts, and Gary Huckelberry for showing up and lending your support what a pleasant surprise.
- The Scottsdale Wild West Bluesfest coordinators, job well done!
