CAC 2009 Part Four

I have to start this column off on a very sad statement. Princess Jasmine has passed away. Cynthia Johnson, better known as Princess Jasmine, passed away this morning at 7:45 a.m. Jasmine was a CAC member and was honored this year at the annual reunion.. Jasmine had battled cancer for a good while and was unable to attend this year’s reunion. Her award was Fed-Ex’ed overnight to her following the reunion.

Jasmine was well known in the wrestling world. She had worked for the AWA, NWA, WCW, WWF and tons of Independent promoters. Had feuds in the Caribbean, Japan, Africa, the Philippines, Korea, the Middle East, and all over the United States & Canada. Trained by Prince Pullins and Dick the Bruiser in 1968, her first match was just three months after training.

Jasmine’s funeral will be at Woods Funeral Home, 1003 S. Halsted St., Chicago Heights, Illinois 60411.

I will miss that beautiful smile and wonderful hug we shared each time we saw each other.--Percival

The Tuesday night Baloney Blowout was extra special this year as it was at the Gold Coast for the first time. Their chef decided to add a few extra items for the menu, and it really made the night extra special. Besides the baloney and cheeses, they also had macaroni and potato salads, along with pickles, beets, onions and carrots. Then, to top things off, they had freshly baked cookies and bagged chips.

Bill White, Keri and Dyllan, her mom, Wolfie Jr. and myself made up the huge round table. We shared many a thought about life and about wrestling as we shared our blowout dinner. Bill even snuck a roast beef sandwich out in my briefcase. He didn't know that I had some cookies and chips in there too.

Following the blowout, we went downstairs and joined the crowd at TGI Friday’s for a few after-dinner drinks. As I was having a bowl of ice cream, I looked up, and there was Wendi Weaver, daughter of Penny Banner. She had just gotten off the plane after spending most of the day coming in from Charlotte. She gave me the biggest hug and stayed for a couple of drinks, bringing us up on the latest stories since we last saw her in Waterloo.

Somewhere around 2 a.m., Bill nudged me and said we needed to get back to the condo as we had a big day ahead of us with the finals in Cribbage to be played. At about 3, we finally made it out the door of the Gold Coast, and, a few moments later, we were back at the Wyndham.

At 8 a.m., we were having breakfast and chatting about what kind of day it would be crowning another champion in the Cribbage Tournament. Bill told me that he was going to have his name done in big Gothic letters for the tag on the bragging board. I told him that he had two more matches to go to do that and that his competition would be very tough today.

Arriving at the reception room around 10, I began to ready the tables for the finals in the Tournament. I had taken a special new deck of cards to be played with in the Main Event. The seal had not been broken on them, as I did not want anyone having excuses for winning or losing.

Percival: "This is a picture of the Tiffany Suncatcher that my Uncle Basil Friend built for Bp. Jason Sanderson. It is a very simple design but has a lot of beauty in the colors selected. I hand carried it from Florida back to Ohio in January and then to Las Vegas in April."

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Andrew Carmichael started off the semi-main event against The Sensational Intelligent Masked Destroyer. True to his abilities, Andrew took the Destroyer the entire three falls. Even though some say that Destroyer had hold of the bottom rope when he got the final pin fall, he ended up the victor. The two shook hands and gave each other a hug and went their ways.

Bill White, on the other hand, was facing the only gal in the matches. As JR would have said ... it was an inter-gender slobberknocker of a bout. Hair was pulled, punches were thrown, and somebody said they thought there was blood on the cards. These two were about as evenly matched as identical twins. Each having scored a pin fall, Bill called upon his former skills as a wrestler and topped Skye Castellucci for the three-count and was moved into the Main Event.

Dick Beyer was so worn out from his first conquest that he went and had dinner with Mike Tenay, who lives there in Las Vegas. Returning to the final table, he glared at Bill White, who had been waiting for over an hour for him. The two stared eye to eye and got nose to nose as I went over the final rules for the Championship. I pulled the cover from the special deck of cards, and the two shook hands and the game began.

Both men scored victories in the opening falls by 10 points and 12 points, respectively. The third fall had spectators surrounding the area as tension built between the two. Bill tried a few times to grab the mask and turn it around so the Destroyer couldn't see the cards. Beyer finally gave him a huge hand but beat that by having almost as many in his hand as he did in the crib and took the final fall.

New Champion "The Sensational Intelligent Masked Destroyer, Dick Beyer." The man that began the tournament in 2003 finally had his name in the record books as champ. Bill looked at him and told him to keep it shined up real good because it would be going home with him next year to set on his mantle.

As it was nearing 5 p.m., we hurriedly went to the car and headed back to the Wyndham and changed clothes for the Banquet evening ahead.

To be continued…

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers