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Training - Bodybuilding - Nutrition - Motivation |
Bash 2002 Report and Photo ArchiveIronOnline reports, page 2First report from the trenches. Met up with Henrik and Bill2 yesterday AM for a workout at Gold's.
They headed off in the afternoon for the Women's Fitness and Olympia prejudging. Picked up Stella and Corey at the airport, and went straight to the Olympia Expo at Mandalay Bay. Tons of huge hardbodies, m and f alike, both streetable and full race contest shape throughout the convention area of the hotel. Inside, dozens of booths hawking everything from equipment and clothes to protein and creatine. Bags full of free samples. However, for those who have been at the Arnold Expo, Laree said that is larger. Nonetheless, everybody from nuveaux pros to Ferrigno, Draper, Zane, Pearl, and bunches of others. DD was at the Zane booth in the AM where a crowd gathered for up close photos. No booth was more popular. More to come. Bill L. -----
Following up on Bill's report, I ran into (Rockin') Ken Kay at the Expo, got my kids' picture taken with Lou and with Dave (he WAS) busy, and met martial arts greats Bill "Superfoot" Wallace and Cynthia Rothrock. Also talked with Porter Freeman for a while this morning before things got busy (nice guy). Missing the workout tonight to take the kids to Blue Man group, but this is a blast. JK ----- Zane remembers MrNH77 Just rolled in a couple of hours ago from Las Vegas and related parts. Avidly reading others' Bash commentaries. A quick one right now: met up with Henrik at Frank Zane's Expo booth on Friday morning. I was a bit early, the crowd hadn't yet built up and Frank was still pulling out all of his stuff. I mentioned Jim Ganley of New Hampshire as a big proponent of the Leg Blaster and Frank lit up at Jim's name. Frank also said that he has added some needed features to the Leg Blaster and the new models will be available soon. Bill K ----- By the way, regarding the Expo I got the same "you are a very little man" treatment from most of the bodybuilders there as well, but I'm pretty used to it and don't notice it too much any more--big is not in my future. It did make me feel better to go up the stairs behind, then along side of, then ahead of, a massive injected thing who was sweating like a pig and breathing like he'd run a mile just from the effort of climbing stairs: bet I could do more pullups than him, run and throw and swim further and faster, too (but he'd probably take me in wrasslin' and in a squat competition). JK -----Say, Dave said someone got a photo of Bill, Frank and Dave together, but he can't remember who it was. I'm thinking Henrik, who's not back online yet... anyone else see this or get the shot? 'Cause I need a copy of this one for sure!
That was the expo highlight for me, standing back and watching people come up to Frank's booth, see Frank (or Dave, whichever they saw first doesn't matter), recognize him, then realize who's standing next to him. Draper and Zane, together! Really fun to watch, and I know a lot of other IOLers got to enjoy watching that scene, too. In fact, CajunJohn and Dorothy stood back and watched for a while, as did Rockin and others. In fact, Randy got a double view of this when he watched me, watching Bev Francis, recognizing Dave. What a kick! You'd have thought they would have bumped into each other by now, but they hadn't. She's short, by the way -- my height, I think, or not much taller - -so Dave sort of wrapped himself around her, and for those of us watching (and for Dave and Bev, too, I imagine), it was really, really cool. That's the camaraderie part that carries over from the 50s and 60s, to the 70s, Bev's time in the 80s and now our time, and that's what we're carrying forward as we get together in Santa Cruz, Las Vegas and next year, St. Petersburg, Florida. I hope you can be there to share in this because it's the spirit that makes a wonderful memory. Laree ----- Fond reflections of the bench press challenge at GOLD'S, Friday evening 9PM:
...Len Ramano, wearing his stars & stripes bandanna, and demo-ing his DB hangers...as well as his magnificent benching ability. Jamie on the tread, incognito... ...Bill Keyes getting psyched for a heavy bench lift... Gripping that bar, two breaths, a nod, and off it goes! He beat us all... what a stud at his age... ...Big Kevin Smith explaining ECAWO - cheers! Also benching massively. ...Rockin' ken bangin' out reps like he was Elvis Presley doin' Jailhouse Rock... Nice hair Ken! Not a bad bench too.... ...Big Ed from Wisconsin showing his scar from rotator cuff surgery, then putting up a great set with the big plates... ...Mild mannered Art Hansen, the only one I saw to rival Bill Keyes heavy lifts. "Watch out for those quiet ones," my mama used to say... ...Hans catching that "Kodak moment" of everyone between his sets.... ...Laree mingling with everyone making sure we're all having a great time... ...Tony (TUNA) Compton quietly bangin out his turns on the slippery bench... Who would ever believe Tony used to weigh 233 pounds!!! That guy is ripped! Modest too...
...Then hangin' with a bunch of IOL'ers and the Blond Bomber, in the lobby. Meeting Guy Miller (couldn't miss that smile!)... Meeting Stella and Sam...Then heading out with Bill Luttrell to spend my first night at his place, God Bless him....
Just a few tid-bits as I remember it, Friday night... -Stingo ----- Hello from sunny Las Vegas! Saturday morning, 9am... well, it was 9am when I lost my $20 post. I'm tapping away at the world's lousiest internet kiosk, wrote a moderately nice recap of yesterday when it disconnected, taking my 45 minutes and the money with it. It's nearly time to get going to the park at this point, so other than the shortest, I'll have to say hello and good-bye and promise to take good notes, photos and memories to share tomorrow. I think everybody settled in yesterday with no major snaffus, other than a hotel room mixup that turned Bill and Nancy Luttrell's house ino a hostel. Slumber party, woohoo! Yesterday started with Dave at Frank Zane's booth at the Expo. When we arrived, already waiting was a small group of rowdies, let's see, Lon and Lisa Baldridge, Bill Frazee, Len and Jamie Romano... watching from the side, Cajin John and pull-up girls, Dorothy and Vicki Masterson. Didn't take me long to notice Rockin, totally BEAMING, and his wife, Jean, hanging, as Bill and Nancy rolled in, carting Stella and Corey from the airport. --- Tuna Tony and Elaine just wandered by, heading for breakfast and said to say hello... on my credit card, ticking away the PC Kiosk minutes -- House Henrik snapped pictures of all the heros, young and old, and will share, no doubt. Henrik! Ya gotta send me that one with you and that egg girl. I'm posting that one, man! I'm totally afraid of getting disconnected again, and am going to sign off because I know I don't have the time to try to write this again. The caterer called last night with the menu in his joyful detail, so gotta go, friends! I promise to write with the rest later -- or maybe someone with a laptop has already written about our great time last with a couple dozen of us hanging out at Gold's... Guy Miller and family, Art and Diane Hansen, Sam arrived, and Kevin (giving neck massages, can you believe it!), Bill Keyes, whom I looked for and hadn't seen all day, Hans, Len and Jamie again, and Dan and Ed and Corey, Stella... I'm trying to replay the photos in my head, but I'm sorry to report it doesn't work all that well... Henrik, Tony and Elaine, Barbara, Ron and Carolyn... I give. I'll report in later... miss ya all! Laree ----- We're back, -- Monday night -- I'll get my film to the lab tomorrow and a recap post out to IOL, too. SO sorry I didn't do better with keeping you all up-to-date with the goings-on, because you were all a part of this, and everyone there was aware of it at all times. It was a GROUP thing that included the entire group, not just the 10% who pulled off the trip one way or another, and it felt that way... I was hoping a couple of people there had laptops in hand to keep y'all in the scene of it all, but I see that didn't happen. My original intentions were to go to the hotel's business center each night and tap out a little report, but the first night when I got there I discovered it closed at 6pm. The next morning when they opened, me standing there coffee cup and biscotti in hand, I found they didn't have computer rentals there and was directed upstairs where I discovered the hateful pckiosk. After I wrote just the cleverest post that got wiped out while I was trying to get the danged thing to accept a credit card when my $5 was up, searching through my green bills (yes, dropping on the casino floor, no, not really caring at that point), finally to jam a $20 into the slot... too late, post gone and $20 worth of credit staring me in the face, daring me to get back into that cute, friendly mood and try again. Fat chance. All good intentions aside, I failed in my plan of keeping IOL in the IOL Bash this weekend. We'll make up for it in photo reports, though, I'll bet big money on that (and those who saw me in the casino will think that a wager to take, but in this case I think not) because we have literally thousands of photos prepped for lab processing, scanning, thumbnailing, screensaving and slide viewing. Rockin, Len and Tony all have several hundred each, I know, and are -- can I say this right? -- E A G E R to share. :) Gotta go unpack. We missed y'all at the bbq... bunches! Laree ----- I'm sitting here pawing through four rolls of film, missing everybody and wishing I had more pictures to gaze at. That, of course, leads me back to the pages of Bash 01 and a reminiscing session there, and the experience points out to me that this year was different for me than last year. And, I expect, it was a different experience for everyone, seeing people they perhaps correspond with off-list or relate to in extended ways. It was also different for those returning for year two, as opposed to those attending for the first time. I think there were about 15 of us who were also here in Santa Cruz for Bash 01, out of a total of around 150 at the park on Saturday. For us, it was a reunion of friends and deeper in that way, but also more mellow -- less frightening and therefore, a little bit less exciting, I think. The
first year is filled with some anxiety -- will everyone be in better
shape? will anyone like me? will anyone else even show up? will
I have anyone to talk to, or will I sit there alone all day? --
and when you realize everything's going to be fine (very, very quickly
I should add), a flood of relief adds to the ear-to-ear grin that
one wears as some great Year three -- Bash 03, now firmly planted in St. Petersburg, Florida -- will carry these same feelings, I think, except the reunion part will get another year deeper with people returning from Bash 01 and/or Bash 02. It's quite hard to put into words the pure joy it is to meet everyone. I know that everyone shares a little frustration with this and our posts end up feeling a little flat because we're trying to, I don't know, hug everybody again or something. That just doesn't work over the keyboard, does it? I miss everybody, people I met last year who weren't able to make it this year, and people I met last weekend alike! I'm shutting down for the night, but promise to be back tomorrow with a real report, and plans to combine my photos and those sent to me by the rest of my pals over the next week or two. Many Bash attendees aren't home yet, having extended the vacation... including Henrik, who's making his way past the Grand Canyon today and on toward Zion and Bryce Canyons tomorrow for a week-long Canyon States tour before heading back to Denmark for the winter. I suppose it's that idea of the Denmark winter that made him commit to return to Bash 03 for a look a Florida! Laree ----- Bashing in Las Vegas
It all happened so quickly. One moment you're speeding across a colorless and lifeless desert, the next you are standing awash in dazzling lights, sounds and sensations too plentiful and various to assimilate and in short time you are again competing for space on a string of remote, bushy highway as if life was a race to the end. We live in the preparation and anticipation of the moments before us and in the memory of the moments gone by. The occasion of the real thing is seldom part of our experience; that is, unless the "real thing" is extraordinarily intense and the physics of living, as we know it, is transcended. Paradise Park visited. Never a dull moment, no stress larger than a hiccup, no catastrophes, no regretful occurrences, no losses, if-onlys or could-haves: just a rare combination of uncommonly nice and good and interesting people sharing a life-binding thread of time together and having pleasure over something worthwhile; pursuing the joys of health, muscle and might amid the struggle of living day by day. I estimated that 150 faces sat before Frank and me in the pleasant shade of the small pavilion, as Virgil and Barbara (world's greatest caterers) lovingly tended the smoky fires and simmering foods. Speakers carried our voices, answers in response to questions that have been tricking all of us over the years of rattling the iron. Frank and I are both 60 with only months separating us, and our training techniques run parallel, as train tracks traversing America East to West. When we approach a mountain or a river, we each assess the obstacle according to our industry and surmount it according to our resources. The destination is reached, though the routes he and I choose are different enough to offer passage to anyone in particular heading our way. The information is not in the answer so much as it is in the answering. More later... I just want to get this out there to say hi and let you know life is grand, The Bash was a genuine bash and the friends in the air are genuine friends, indeed. Laree and I feel like a million. The gym beckons. DD Click here to continue to part 3 Click here to return to the Bash 02 Archive |
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