Two years to write Twenty Saturdays before my self-imposed deadline of 20 years expires to tell my story. The Saturdays run from 1999 into the year 2000, but the story rightly begins 1993 in Ocean City, MD with hurricane Emily bouncing up along the East Coast pushing 12 to 14 footers on the normally docile beaches of Ocean City. Working as a waiter at BJ's on the Bay at 75th Street came with many benefits and privileges. Without being there you can't appreciate the amount and beauty of the babes and the skills and coolness of the dudes. My dart throwing abilities got me invited to the Barn a cool beach rental with two fuge-ball tables and like 6 roommates and at least one raging party a night. This night was the annual opening season fuge-ball tournament and these guys were serious. $40 a man $80 a team, round robin, double elimination, $1,000 pot goes to the last team standing!
I had only a training shift that night and hadn't earned anything yet, but won $40 shooting darts and figured easy come easy go. It was a blind draw for partners and I got lucky with getting the kitchen manager from BJ's. He was an older heavy drinking kind of dude who's only words to me were, "Rookie if you can play a decent back we're going to take this thing." About twenty beers and six hours later we were the last men standing. Turns out I could block and pass almost as good as he could shoot. We split $1,200 bucks, but more importantly made some really cool friends and had met some beautiful ladies who now knew my name and it wasn't Rookie. Some of the guys called me champ and others called me by my name, then some called me hey is that your boat?
I lived across the Assawoman Bay in Ocean Pines with my parents. I was too old to be living with my parents, but I was there helping my dad recover from a second stroke that had really taken him down hard. I also lived there with my dog Sam Sammy D!
By the end of the summer my dad said he didn't need me any more. Gave me a precious piece of advice too. Said son this is probably the last time in your life you can move anywhere in the world you want to move. For the rest of your life you will have to move for work or move for family. You will have to move here and move there. Like when I had to love to Cleveland, but you, now, can up and move anywhere your heart desires.
So I Surfed hurricane Emily and then moved to Aspen!
