Another evil thing about Facebook.

[Thumper]

I got a message last night that an old buddy of mine in L.A. posted a message on Facebook. (he was a mechanic of mine, who became a close friend, when I managed the Cadillac dealership in Hollywood, Ca.) I chimed in with some smart-assed remark and we went toe-to-toe for a few minutes, then he called me on the phone. We talked 'til 3:00 am MY TIME and caught up on many years of happenings. He and I have a LOT of history and I could write a book on the crazy shit we did ... but I won't bore you with the stories, although we rehashed them quite a bit last night. It was a TON of laughs. What sucked is he brought me up to date on friends of ours who have passed away or have major medical problems like cancer, etc. He told me of one friend, Bill, who passed away a few years ago and the rough time he had the last few years of his life, including being confined to a wheelchair.

Of course the conversation turned to Bills daughter because I used to "hit it" every once in a while back in the day. I was in my late 20's and I think she was 19. Not "positive" ol' Bill ever knew about it ... but if not, I "think" he at least had an idea. Anyway, while I was talking to my bud last night he said he saw Kim (the daughter) a year or so ago. Ahhhh, sweet little Kim! She was a total HOTTIE. Long blonde hair, tiny, petite little thing she was. I asked how she was doing and was told she's married and has a couple daughters. He then told me she has a Facebook page and I should send her a hello message. 'Course he had to tell me her new last name so I could look her up.

WTFO?????? I found her page, looked at the pics and came to the realization I must be an OLD fart! I swear she looks just like Barbara Bush! I HATE Facebook! :(

I couldn't sleep last night. :(

[Thumper]

Ok, I guess Facebook ain't ALL bad! During our conversation last night we started talking about another old friend ... a black dude who was a great guy and close friend. His name was Walt(er) Slade ... but we called him "Slade the Spade"! He was a real "Oreo" and was included in all of our river trips, etc. as a group ... which occurred quite often. He was a trip! Had an old, beat up van and always had an old sofa in there that he'd found in a trash pile on the side of a road somewhere. The first thing he'd do is pull in, park under a shade tree, open the side door to that old van and drag that ratty old sofa out! He hauled an old boat with him that looked like it came straight from Fred Sanford's back yard! (he LOVED to fish)

One weekend he and I ran up to Vegas and got a cheap hotel room just off the strip. We arrived right at lunchtime, so checked in and decided to walk the 1/2 block to the big casinos to find a cheap lunch buffet. We walked in the back door of a casino to "cut through" (the front door opened out onto the strip) and on the way through the casino, he dropped a buck in a slot machine ... one pull and he hit a $100+ jackpot. I told him a white boy could do much better than that, so I dropped a buck in a different machine and BINGO ... I hit a couple hundred bucks!! Unbelievable! We walked across the street and into Caesar's Palace where he walked by the roulette table ... slapped some cash in the field and damn if he didn't hit. Not to be outdone, I did the same and I hit also. Man-o-man, we were HOT. We'd been in town less than 1/2 hour and we were up by about $500-$600 already! We should have gone home, but heck, we'd just pulled into town. Needless to say, our winnings were gone by the end of the weekend. :(

One year (at work) I promoted him to Shop Foreman. My buds in the shop and I pitched in and had a nice nameplate professionally made for his new office. It said, "Slade the Spade" and under it was his title, "HNIC" (Head Nigger In Charge)! As "luck" would have it ... a customer went in his office shortly afterwards and she was a total bitch ... some "officer" with the L.A. chapter of the NAACP or sumpin' like that. A few of us were in the General Manager's office for a little lecture after that one. I'm still not sure if she knew what the HNIC meant. We had a limo in the shop one day and decided to take it for a "test drive" to lunch. The limo driver's black hat was in the front seat, so we made ol' Walt drive us all to lunch and he played the part. Wore his hat while driving and when we got to the Sizzler, he jumped out and opened the door for all us white boys to climb out. (we DID let him sit at our table and eat with us) :D

Man-o-man, the memories of those days are flooding in ...

Anyway, I sent him a short note last night and he "friended" me on his Facebook page this morning. Looks like that ol' black boy would fit in here just fine. Heck, he's got'ta be at least 70 years old nowadays and I understand he just bought a new, 2013 Porche! There are a lot of fond memories and I think we have a bit of catching up to do. Here're a few pics from his FB page (looks like he's still quite a character!).

Looks like he traded the 'Vette for the new Porche!

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Nothing like riding a Ninja at 70+ years old! (he married a Philippino gal)

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His fishing rig ...

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A few fish pics ...

738739740

[Bwana]

Sounds like a great guy and he apparently has the fishing thing figured out but good.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Maybe this was a good coincidence for ya Thumper. I think its time for you to get back outdoors and recharge your batteries. Just my opinion. If I lived over there by ya, I'd be hauling your ass out to a fishing hole somewhere.

BKB

[Thumper]

Oddly enough ... my doc just called from the VA and I'm going in tomorrow to pick up a new supply of pain meds to help me through a little mini-vacation we're taking. Lynn and I are headed to L.A. next week to visit family. She got a freebie room at the Hyatt in Orlando, so we'll spend Monday night there and hit our all-time favorite restaurant, Texas de Brazil for dinner (she gets a free birthday meal). We're leaving the car at the hotel and the shuttle will take us to the airport early Tues. am, then pick us up on March 5th when we return. I'd love to see "The Spade" while out there but he lives in Seattle now, so I doubt it'll happen. My bud and I were talking last night and decided we REALLY need to try to set up some sort of reunion with all the old gang. We had a really great crew in that shop and I was proud to be their boss (although, as far as I was concerned, they were my peers).