Las Vegas 2008

First of all, I owe an apology and also a debt of thanks for and to the readers of my column for the past couple of months where there were intermittent lapses of columns due to my own personal issues and internet issues.

I have tried over the past decade to be as punctual and on time as usual as I could be. I hope that you will all forgive me. I will try and correct that situation and keep it in balance.

My flight to Las Vegas began on Saturday, the 7th of June, from Toledo airport without too many difficulties. A fierce storm the night before that produced a couple of tornados had left the airline without maximum power and communication.

Most of the issues of pre-plane departure had to be done the old fashioned way ... by hand using a pen to check out the names on the printed list of passengers. The fact that they had tried in vain to get contact with the hub in Detroit left us with a boarding issue of being late for departure and further complicated us with connections in the Wayne County airport facility, which is pretty large to get around in.

Our plane that was scheduled to leave at 10:30 finally was airborne at 11:10 and reached DTW (Detroit) at 11:45 at the gate. As luck would have it, my next segment to fly was to Houston, and it was scheduled to leave from the other side of the airport at 12:23. I hurried as much as I could and just made the connection as the last of the people were boarding at 12:03. If I had stopped to get food, I would not have made the connection.

The flight to Houston , roughly two and a half hours, was met head on with a taste of the turbulent storms that devastated the Midwest and destroyed a lot of homes and, in some instances, killed innocent people in its path. It was like being on a roller coaster at Six Flags. The pilot was able to get clearance to go from 34,000 feet to 36,000, and it helped a lot as the crew were able to at least serve us some beverages.

Houston was clear but raining when we arrived, and I was truly amazed at the size of George Bush International Airport. It was sure different than what I had seen in the early 60's when I traveled thru Texas heading to either New Mexico or Arkansas.

Changing terminals to Continental was also an experience for me due to its tremendous area that was covered by shuttle. I again found myself on the opposite side of the airport, but fortunately had a couple of hours between flights to rest up a little.

The remainder of my flight segments to Las Vegas was spent somewhat in comfort after the first 20 or so minutes of getting to a cruising altitude of 32,000 feet. We had to pass thru a small storm area but were soon above it and the remainder of the flight to Las Vegas was quite enjoyable.

Arriving at 7:30 p.m., I was met by Rhonda Orton and whisked to their compound near I-95. I spent the rest of the evening chatting with Rita (Bob Sr.'s widow) and Barry (Bob's youngest son). Before finally retiring at 10:30, I paused to check the internet and had discovered 120 new e-mails that had been sent to me by fans and friends.

Sunday morning found me taking the Ortons to breakfast at Denny's nearby. It also prepared myself for a huge day filled with more joys and fun that I could ever imagine.

To be continued ...

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers

2003 BWC Hall of Fame Inductee
2004 CAC Hall of Fame Inductee
2006 LWA Hall of Fame Inductee
2007 TCCW Hall of Fame Honoree