CAC Benevolent Fund

CAC 2004

Getting ready for a huge reunion of my other family members is something that I look forward to each year. This year was no exception as I hurriedly gathered items for the trip. I packed my suitcase on Sunday, except for my suits for the trip on Wednesday morning.

Arriving at the Toledo Express airport just after 6:30 a.m., I proceeded to the counter, where my reservation I made some two months prior was waiting for me. The surroundings for security were not as in force as they were on my prior trips, to my eyes. They had been moved behind closed doors for the screening of bags for problems. I went through the metal detectors, and, even though I tried to take my boots off prior to the search, the metal shanks in my boots set the machine off, and I was promptly taken to the side and scanned with a hand detector. I removed my boots, and all was fine for me to proceed to the gate where I would wait for nearly two hours.

I quietly sipped on coffee and read the morning paper to find out that a dear friend of mine had passed away the previous day. John Graham was a Ham Radio operator and a computer aficionado, like me, and we enjoyed many trips to the amateur radio flea markets to look for great buys. John leaves a wonderful wife of 50 years and a great family of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to mourn his passing.

Suddenly, I was aware that I had fallen asleep when they called for passengers to begin to take seats on the 727 that would take us to Rockford, Illinois, and then to Las Vegas. As this was a leased aircraft, it did not have the first class section that I was used to in my travels. It also was an older craft from a fleet used in extra capacity by the airline. It lacked the luster and opulence of the newer 737 and 747 aircraft that Trans Meridian uses.

We were not in Rockford long before we were airborne again and headed due southwest to Las Vegas, Nevada and McCarran Airport. We arrived at 11:30 in the morning MST, and I proceeded to the baggage and ground transportation area. Area prices had gone up for the shuttle service to downtown, mainly due to gasoline prices in the $2.25 range for regular. I sometimes wonder about the oil companies and their pricing policies.

Arriving at the Plaza, I was greeted by Red Bastien, who had been anxiously awaiting many of the people coming to the big event called the Jack Benny Year (39) of the CAC. We exchanged handshakes and hugs and spoke for a few moments when he was called away by someone else arriving. I checked in, but my room was not ready at noon, so I had my bags checked and went to get a short snack. I ran into Bruce Swayze and Fr. Jason Sanderson while getting my snack, and we enjoyed a brief, happy get together talking about friends and family. Nick Bockwinkel joined us briefly.

Dr. David Ring joined us for a few minutes, as he had just arrived in from Cleveland. As I went back to see if my room was ready, I met with Morgan Dollar and his wife from North Carolina, and we talked about Jimmy Valiant, who had trained him. I proceeded to my suite, unpacked my stuff and went back down to the ballroom. Les Thatcher was going over some strategy of the next few days, and Ed Wiskowski (Col. DeBeers) was talking to some fans and enjoying the fun time that this event gives, that being our character that we were in the ring.

I stayed until just after 7 p.m. and then went with Doc for a wonderful meal at Binion's Horseshoe Casino. As I entered the casino, I could tell by the musty odor that the area had, in fact, been closed for a while, and that it needed something to correct the air problem. We went to the dining area and ordered steak and lobster. The food was okay, but the company was better, as I was getting the chance to chat with a guy that I look up to in more ways than I can count.

I retired back to my suite and watched a little television before falling asleep around 11 p.m. I had been up for 21 hours and needed to hit the sack.

I started Thursday morning by going to the registration table and meeting with Kurt Nielson, one of the webmasters for the CAC, and Karl Lauer, "My Older Friend." As I looked at my name badge, I noticed a big difference in it, as they had put a picture of Red Bastien on the face along with the logo and name of the wearer. I was very impressed when I had an extra item added on to mine. It was a bright orange ribbon that had the word HONOREE on the face in gold.

Many people began to assemble around me, and flashbulbs went off as if a visiting dignitary from a distant land were in their midst. It was then that it hit me … they were taking my picture and asking for my autograph and inviting me to come and share their table and talk to me. What a wonderful feeling went through my body as the next four hours went by with more people coming to see the kid from Flint, Michigan that had finally made it to the Main Event. To borrow a phrase from the late Road Warrior Hawk … "OH WHAT A RUSH !!!!!!!!!"

To Be Continued....

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers