Alicia's House Part Two

Following a drive from Toledo to Chicago earlier in the day, Dave "Supermouth" Burzynski and I, along with former Harlem Globetrotter great Meadowlark Lemon, had gone to Peotone, Illinois. It was some 15 miles above Manteno, and our goal was to visit with fans and friends at Nick's Licks, an ice cream parlor and cafe located on Second Street in this historic, quaint, small village about 20 miles south of Chicago, just off Interstate 57.

"Turd," the owner, had asked Juan and Stella Hernandez to bring all the celebrities to the event. He even offered to cook dinner for us as we met and greeted many fans that evening. I must say that home cooked meals are a lot better than some diners can offer on the road. It was also a welcome sight to me to have so many of my fans in Peotone and surrounding cities come to the meet and greet.

At 9 p.m., we ventured back out to the Interstate and proceeded to Manteno, where we would call it a night. I had been up since 5 a.m. and driven nearly 300 miles at that point. Everyone said their goodnights, and we were off to our rooms at the Holiday Inn Express.

Saturday morning, I rose at 7 a.m. and went to the breakfast area of the hotel and enjoyed fresh fruits and cereal, as well as my favorite, biscuits and gravy. I returned to my room to ready myself for the golf outing that would start at 10 a.m.

At 9:30, I joined Dave Burzynski and Meadowlark Lemon at the registration parking area, and we loaded the car for the short five-mile trip to the Manteno Golf Club. As I drove away from the hotel, I clicked on my CD player, and sounds of the past began to fill up the interior of my car. I had one of my favorite gospel quartet groups playing, The Statesmen. Meadowlark asked me to turn the volume up a little, as he was really enjoying the sounds.

Unknown to me, Meadowlark is very much into the ministry and welcomed the sounds coming out of the speakers. He is a very dedicated family man who resides in Arizona but takes his ministry nationwide wherever he is called to go to.

Arriving at the golf club, we unloaded all the baggage and clubs needed for the day. Dave and I went in to see the items being set up for the silent auction later that day. I gave Juan a complete year set from 1932 of the New Mexico Magazine. It was something that had been in my collections for nearly 25 years, and I hoped that it would bring something to help out Alicia's House.

I felt a strong hand on my shoulder and turned to get a big hug from Buddy "Freebird" Roberts. It had been nearly a year since I had seen him at the last golf outing. He is also a CAC honoree and a good friend to me. We began to talk when I was spun around by Lee Roupas of Chicago. Lee is the poster guy for JUST SAY NO in Illinois. He is also a personal fitness trainer for many people. As I looked at some more people coming into the building, I saw the first husband and wife team honored by the CAC this past April, Paul Christy and Bunny Love. They came over and said hello and went to the autograph tables.

Former Chicago Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas came in next and said hello, along with Jimmy Valiant. I turned my head back towards the front door, and there stood Mr. and Mrs. Glen Rylko and their son Patrick. They were so happy to see everybody and to renew friendships. Cel Hernandez, Mr. Karate Jr., came by to say his hellos next, along with Police Chief Paul Farber.

As it was nearing the 11 a.m. tee off time, I went and got Buddy Roberts, and we began our trip around the course to be good will ambassadors and try and cheer up the players. My knowledge of golfing and the rules led us into more trouble than Buddy Roberts could handle. We stayed out for about an hour before returning to the clubhouse, where we had lunch and spoke to many fans and friends.

After a short rest, the meet and greet session began in the main ballroom. The front table was filled, and hundreds of people passed us and bought merchandise and shook hands and took many pictures. The two hours seemed to just fly by, and, before you knew it, we were starting to ready ourselves for the dinner banquet. Fans were turned away at the front, as the event was completely sold out.

Meadowlark was asked to come to the podium and say the blessing prayer for the meal. He is very articulate and speaks with authority and love. You can learn more about this tremendous personality at his website, www.meadowlarklemon.com.

I sat next to Milt Pappas again, and we enjoyed a beautiful dinner of chicken stuffed with cheese and ham, meatloaf, potatoes, gravy, vegetables, bread and rolls, topped off with dessert. I filled myself to the rim with food and washed it down with plenty of water.

Following the dinner, all that were at our front table were introduced to the capacity crowd. One by one, the accolades were given as Juan presented us. It seemed that, as he got closer to the podium and the front of the table, the crowd applauded even more each time. Harley Race, Jimmy Valiant and Meadowlark Lemon each had standing ovations, and rightfully so.

Next came the special honorees that night. The first was a special one, as it was named after the late George Gunderson, a true friend of many hundreds of people and a lifetime member of the Cauliflower Alley Club. Claudia and Andy brought the award forward and announced the winner, Glen Rylko! Glen was very amazed and emotionally spent by the honor and accepted it with a lot of pride and honor. I was so happy for him, as I knew that he did a lot of promoting for Alicia's House during the past few years.

There was an auction following the other introductions to people that had helped out Alicia's House. Turd came forward with a huge toilet seat that had been signed by about 100 stars that had been on his radio program the past year. Anybody from Mr. T, to sport stars, to political and private people know in the greater Chicago area, was on that seat. It went for $500 and was bought by a local lady.

Meadowlark Lemon's Hall of Fame uniform jersey went for $400, and his ball cap from that same Hall of Fame went for $200. All the proceeds went to help Alicia's House feed the hungry. You can find out more about Alicia's House, and, if you want to make your own contribution to help out, please visit www.aliciashouse.org .

Following the dinner, Dave and I went back to Peotone to visit with my friend Karl, owner of Die Peotone Beer Stube. They were having an Octoberfest celebration that weekend, and Karl was very busy with all the things that were involved with it. We stayed for about an hour and relished on German music, food and drink before heading back to Manteno.

The trip back to Toledo the following morning seemed to go very well, as the traffic was at a minimum, and the hours seemed to just drift by very easily as Dave and I listened to some CD’s I had in the car. Dave and I said our goodbyes at my home, and he was off to Detroit to return to his.

Leaving the golf outing is probably the hardest thing that I can think of for me to do. I have tremendous feelings for the many friends I have made during this event and others as well. The time seems to rush on by me, as I enjoy their company and the love we share in helping others less fortunate than us. I get great feelings knowing that I have made an impact in someone's life just by my presence. I hope that my contribution to the outing was accepted with the intent it was given and that it will help in some way.

To Juan and Stella, to the many volunteers that helped, to the staff of the Manteno Golf Club that treated us like family, to my friends that came and to the hundreds of people that continue to support Alicia's House … THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!

I will see you again next year.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers
2004 CAC Honoree