Alicia's House Part One

This past week, the wrestling world lost another huge box office attraction from the 50's ... Gene "Mr. America" Stanlee passed away at age 82.

Also, this past week, my friend , Dan Roeglin, from Minneapolis called me to let everyone know that he is helping out the FEMA efforts in Louisiana. He has promised the Chicago 6 that he will be in contact with them soon. Men and women like this that are in the hurricane-ravaged south should be looked upon as more than HEROES . They are trying to put normal living back in place in New Orleans. Please keep them in your prayers.--Percival

This week’s column deals with something close to my heart in my sunset years. It is something that, if called upon to do, I would do every week and never miss a heartbeat.

My friend, Reverend Juan "Mr. Karate" Hernandez, and his wife, Stella, have been very active in helping others out for a lot of years. They have been active with many charitable groups in the greater Chicago area and also statewide. The love they share can't be duplicated anywhere else in the world, and the end results have shown that fact.

The families they have helped out have been more than gracious about them and have become very close to them. It isn't just a matter of handing out food to a family that needs support. They have gone beyond that with Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas gifts for the many children of those families, and spiritual help whenever needed.

The good will they show pays off in the tremendous response they receive from the many friends they have made. It also shows up in the many great superstars of the various industries that come to the golf outings.

I was part of the 2004 event held in Beecher along with Scott Schwartz, Buddy Roberts, Ox Baker, Milt Pappas, Bunny Love and Paul Christy, Dave Burzynski and many others. We had a wonderful time golfing and meeting with all the people that attended. We helped to raise enough money to feed 2,643 families with almost 84,000 pounds of food. That fact made me want to come back and see if we could out do that figure this year.

Dave Burzynski and I left my home near Toledo, Ohio at 10:30 on Friday morning and headed west on the Ohio Turnpike. Sixty miles later, we were in Indiana, and, soon afterward, we were exiting at Michigan City, Indiana to go south on Highway 421 and connect with US-30 West. Crossing south Chicago, we exited onto US 57 South towards Manteno, some 30 miles away.

Arriving at the Holiday Inn just off the expressway, my phone began to ring almost constantly. The Chief called and asked if I would bring Meadowlark Lemon to the dinner event that evening in Peotone. Juan called to see if we had made it okay, as did five others that I confide in almost every week.

Once in my room, I called Meadowlark and asked if it would be all right for him to ride with us rather than go in high-speed pursuit in an un-marked police car at 45 M.P.H. on the expressway. He laughed and said it would be his pleasure to be with us. I called and asked Harley to be at the front desk area at 5:30 to follow us.

Meeting Meadowlark Lemon was the highlight of the trip. The former Globetrotter was just as I had remembered him from a couple of decades ago. My train of thought was broken when Harley Race pulled up. I went to say hello to him, and he reminded me of the last time that he had followed me. We shared a laugh, and then Harley told me that he had reformed a lot since then.

The short 15-mile ride was easy as the miles just clicked away. I looked back in the rear view mirror every so often to make sure that Harley was not on my back bumper. I am sure that my Grand Marquis would have gone at speeds over 100 M.P.H. if Harley had gotten an inkling to do so.

Arriving at Nick's Licks on Second St. in Peotone, I stepped back a little in time with the quaint shop and the surrounding buildings that dated into the 1800's. I was familiar with a cafe down the street named Mayberry's, which had a decoration of the TV show that Andy and Barney made famous.

The owners, Jeff and Laura Renzetti, met us with open arms. Jeff is better known as simply "TURD," a radio personality on Q101 in Chicago for the past 11 years. They are also both major helpers in Alicia's House.

Following a meet and greet session, we were treated to a beautiful dinner, Italian style. They are wonderful hosts that I will remember forever. At 9 p.m., we returned to Manteno to the Holiday Inn and called it an evening.

To be continued ...

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