The Citizen also ran a nice article. In fact, there's about 18 different articles and letters to the editor there.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Newspaper Articles on Ralph
The following articles ran in the Fairfield Minuteman. Click on each to view a larger image.
The Citizen also ran a nice article. In fact, there's about 18 different articles and letters to the editor there.
The Citizen also ran a nice article. In fact, there's about 18 different articles and letters to the editor there.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Goodbye Ralph
We said goodbye to a good man yesterday. A great man. A man from whom we all learned and continue to learn. A man who served his country, his community, his family, and his friends, right to the very end. But beyond his service, there was something else. Shannon was right yesterday when she said, "there's just something about Ralph." Something about his warmth and humility - something that made it impossible not to feel welcomed and comfortable when he was around.
Like most of us, I remember party after party at the Bowleys. I remember Ralph at the grill, Deb in the breezeway, Chris on the piano, Gilly trying to keep her friends away from us (but let's face it, we were irresistible), and Shannon raising a commotion. After he was done on the grill, Ralph would make his way inside and sit, at which point a steady stream of people would rotate through the chair next to him, sharing stories, telling tales, and usually receiving advice (though they may not have recognized it as such at the time). Around 10 or 11, Ralph would decide he was done, and head off to the bedroom. He'd be back in a few minutes - all ready for bed and done up in his jammies. He'd smile, wave, and head off to sleep. Ralph was so welcoming that even when he clearly wanted to go to bed, he didn't want us to leave (...though truthfully, had he asked us, we probably wouldn't have left anyway :-)
Bill made an interesting comment yesterday - even during our goofy teenage years, when all we wanted to do was establish our independence and strike out on our own - even then, Bo was never hesitant to bring everyone to his house to chat up his parents. It was always clear just how proud he was to be their son.
We'll miss you, Ralph.
Like most of us, I remember party after party at the Bowleys. I remember Ralph at the grill, Deb in the breezeway, Chris on the piano, Gilly trying to keep her friends away from us (but let's face it, we were irresistible), and Shannon raising a commotion. After he was done on the grill, Ralph would make his way inside and sit, at which point a steady stream of people would rotate through the chair next to him, sharing stories, telling tales, and usually receiving advice (though they may not have recognized it as such at the time). Around 10 or 11, Ralph would decide he was done, and head off to the bedroom. He'd be back in a few minutes - all ready for bed and done up in his jammies. He'd smile, wave, and head off to sleep. Ralph was so welcoming that even when he clearly wanted to go to bed, he didn't want us to leave (...though truthfully, had he asked us, we probably wouldn't have left anyway :-)
Bill made an interesting comment yesterday - even during our goofy teenage years, when all we wanted to do was establish our independence and strike out on our own - even then, Bo was never hesitant to bring everyone to his house to chat up his parents. It was always clear just how proud he was to be their son.
We'll miss you, Ralph.
Friday, February 26, 2010
CKAFBAOS - A Toast by Chris
Thought you all would get a kick out of this - I believe it's the last CKAFBAOS speech he wrote....
Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has come again to send this year off with a bit of a bang. For those of you who have never spent a New Years with the Nut Crowd, this is the part of the evening where we celebrate our friend's accomplishments with the annual Curt Knox Award for Bravery and/or Stupidity. For those of you who have been here in New Years past, you'll be happy to know that tonight's presentation will be short and sweet and will contain a number of toasts to the events of the new year.
Sadly, this year saw the demise of the Nut. After years of abuse at the hands of those present, the Nut finally closed its doors - and then quickly re-opened under new ownership. If we could drink one final toast to the house at 44 Chestnut and the memories within: May the senate sub-committee never learn the truth.
With the demise of the Nut came a long awaited change. When the Denizens of the Nut decided that the time had come to shut the doors, they set a date and packed their things. When the new Tennants - a small upstart group lead by Ray's brother - showed up with their stuff, they found that Rick Lindstrom - who by all accounts had lived in the house for over 18 years - was still in his room, sleeping and nothing had been packed. This being said, he did eventually move out of the house, so here's to Rick Lindstrom for getting out alive.
The Nut was not the only institution to take a hit this year, as several people gave up their bachelorhood and bachlorettedness, moving into the sacred bondage of holy matrimony. Would everyone who got married in the past year please step forward and be recognized, and ladies and gentlemen, may we lift our glasses to these fine young couples. May the adventures they share provide fodder for speeches for years go come.
There is an individual missing here tonight who needs to be mentioned. Not was this individual truly an inspired visionary throughout Y2K, he is one of the few people present or not to embody the qualities of Bravery and or Stupidity. So again, ladies and gentlemen, may I ask you to raise your glasses and throw one back for Mr. Douglas Knox. Doug, wherever you may be, this is for you.
And speaking of Doug, his planning and implementation of a certain event we simply call 'Nutstock' was ground zero for this year's bravery and or stupidity award recipient. Lots of things happened at Nutstock, but one thing that not many people know is that there were hidden cameras placed all around the lake, so tonight's festivities are compliments of my latest web creation 'mynakedfriends.com' of which you can become a member for a nominal fee of $15.00. A month. Here's to my naked friends.
Nutstock was the grandson of the June First BBQ - and in the planning of the event, many decisions had to be made. Some were good and some were bad. None were as long lasting and tedious as this year's selection of the United States president.
As a side note, I'm thinking of moving to Florida to make my fortune into Porn. I'll be called Hangin Chad and my first skin flick will be called 'We kept swinging until we Bush'.
Well, on Nutstock's early July evening, something memorable and outrageous happened. As the bonfire singed the trees and the port-a-poties swayed with excess, something very special was happening in Tent City. With 4 kegs gone and 2 to go, the word of the day was 'beer'. Some people drank all night long while some drifted into restful sleeps. For one person, the sleep was not so restful.
With noise all around, this year's award winner arose from his sleep with an ungodly pressure in his bladder. Though still tipsy from a day of drinking, the individual groped about in the tent for the zipper that would lead him to the outdoor. The pressure kept building. He fumbled in the darkness like a high school freshman with a bra-strap and much to his dismay, the door to the tent was nowhere to be found. Was there a door? He was sure there had been when he fell asleep. The pressure kept building..... and building....... and building. We're talking hover dam here. Well, the time finally came for this individual to make a decision: this individual had to either find the zipper or piss in the tent. There were no other choices. The pressure kept building and reached a critical point, at which time our hero could take it no more - he reached into his pants and whipped out a KNIFE - and with that knife, our hero sliced a hole in the side of the tent and hobbled into the darkness, pants around ankles, faucets on full....
Ladies and gentlemen, please raise your glasses to this year's recipient of the Curt Knox Award for Bravery and or Stupidity, Mr Clark Fearon, who - much to the dismay of his girlfriend Paula - made the late night decision to slice into the tent - that Paula had borrowed from her boss....
Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has come again to send this year off with a bit of a bang. For those of you who have never spent a New Years with the Nut Crowd, this is the part of the evening where we celebrate our friend's accomplishments with the annual Curt Knox Award for Bravery and/or Stupidity. For those of you who have been here in New Years past, you'll be happy to know that tonight's presentation will be short and sweet and will contain a number of toasts to the events of the new year.
Sadly, this year saw the demise of the Nut. After years of abuse at the hands of those present, the Nut finally closed its doors - and then quickly re-opened under new ownership. If we could drink one final toast to the house at 44 Chestnut and the memories within: May the senate sub-committee never learn the truth.
With the demise of the Nut came a long awaited change. When the Denizens of the Nut decided that the time had come to shut the doors, they set a date and packed their things. When the new Tennants - a small upstart group lead by Ray's brother - showed up with their stuff, they found that Rick Lindstrom - who by all accounts had lived in the house for over 18 years - was still in his room, sleeping and nothing had been packed. This being said, he did eventually move out of the house, so here's to Rick Lindstrom for getting out alive.
The Nut was not the only institution to take a hit this year, as several people gave up their bachelorhood and bachlorettedness, moving into the sacred bondage of holy matrimony. Would everyone who got married in the past year please step forward and be recognized, and ladies and gentlemen, may we lift our glasses to these fine young couples. May the adventures they share provide fodder for speeches for years go come.
There is an individual missing here tonight who needs to be mentioned. Not was this individual truly an inspired visionary throughout Y2K, he is one of the few people present or not to embody the qualities of Bravery and or Stupidity. So again, ladies and gentlemen, may I ask you to raise your glasses and throw one back for Mr. Douglas Knox. Doug, wherever you may be, this is for you.
And speaking of Doug, his planning and implementation of a certain event we simply call 'Nutstock' was ground zero for this year's bravery and or stupidity award recipient. Lots of things happened at Nutstock, but one thing that not many people know is that there were hidden cameras placed all around the lake, so tonight's festivities are compliments of my latest web creation 'mynakedfriends.com' of which you can become a member for a nominal fee of $15.00. A month. Here's to my naked friends.
Nutstock was the grandson of the June First BBQ - and in the planning of the event, many decisions had to be made. Some were good and some were bad. None were as long lasting and tedious as this year's selection of the United States president.
As a side note, I'm thinking of moving to Florida to make my fortune into Porn. I'll be called Hangin Chad and my first skin flick will be called 'We kept swinging until we Bush'.
Well, on Nutstock's early July evening, something memorable and outrageous happened. As the bonfire singed the trees and the port-a-poties swayed with excess, something very special was happening in Tent City. With 4 kegs gone and 2 to go, the word of the day was 'beer'. Some people drank all night long while some drifted into restful sleeps. For one person, the sleep was not so restful.
With noise all around, this year's award winner arose from his sleep with an ungodly pressure in his bladder. Though still tipsy from a day of drinking, the individual groped about in the tent for the zipper that would lead him to the outdoor. The pressure kept building. He fumbled in the darkness like a high school freshman with a bra-strap and much to his dismay, the door to the tent was nowhere to be found. Was there a door? He was sure there had been when he fell asleep. The pressure kept building..... and building....... and building. We're talking hover dam here. Well, the time finally came for this individual to make a decision: this individual had to either find the zipper or piss in the tent. There were no other choices. The pressure kept building and reached a critical point, at which time our hero could take it no more - he reached into his pants and whipped out a KNIFE - and with that knife, our hero sliced a hole in the side of the tent and hobbled into the darkness, pants around ankles, faucets on full....
Ladies and gentlemen, please raise your glasses to this year's recipient of the Curt Knox Award for Bravery and or Stupidity, Mr Clark Fearon, who - much to the dismay of his girlfriend Paula - made the late night decision to slice into the tent - that Paula had borrowed from her boss....
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