Pensacola Beach, Florida
February 21 – 24, 2002
Hello everyone!
I want to tell you all what a great time I had at this past Gulf Games!
I have so many of my very best friends that I have met at these vacations together, and it is only at this event that I even see most of them. This alone is why Gulf Games is so important to me.
Quite frankly we can all thank our good friend Greg Schloesser for this. Those of us that know him well know how committed and involved he is towards any good cause that he pursues. It is this quality that makes him such a great and valuable friend as well!
I am so thankful to have “been in the right place at the right time” in my life to have met Greg and Ted.
Many of you know the story of how we all met, but I want to give you my own version of how our friendship began.
We first learned of each others existence over the Internet after each of us had been invited to join a semi-private web site that focused on the discussion of board games. It wasn’t long after this that the three of us became good friends.
Finally we entertained the idea of getting together one day. That’s when Greg proposed that the three of us, families and all, spend a vacation together at a site that was centrally located.
Since Greg was familiar to a place that he had previously visited, he suggested that we all meet at Navare Beach. That we did, and now that time together is fondly remembered as Gulf Games One.
Certainly there are many people who simply wouldn’t understand the whole purpose of taking a vacation to meet with other people to play games. But then, they just don’t get it, do they? 🙂
Playing games is not the main reason for Gulf Games, has many of us have heard Greg himself so often remind us. Gaming (since we are all addicts!) is the centerpiece, if you will, that serves as the vehicle that brings us all together, for the fellowship, and the fun of it. And how wonderful an experience this has been indeed!
As all of you know by now, it is Greg’s relentless spirit that has reached out to all of us and gathered us together in this way. Without him, …. well just try to picture it, Gulf Games without Greg & Gail just wouldn’t be the same, …. it wouldn’t even exist.
Since that very first get together in Navare Beach, over four years ago now, led by Greg’s tireless efforts, we have assembled quite a diverse and interesting group of friendly people.
Where else can you find mathematicians, business administrators, insurance salesmen, ex-thug type fishermen, a pastor of a
church, and even a guy who works in the White House?
Where else could you meet such a diverse group of people and their wife’s and children as well?
Where else could you do this and do so in an environment that allowed such diverse people to relax and let down their inhibitions long enough to actually become friends? Where else could you actually meet and accept Craig Berg?
After our time together in Navare, the three of us were very eager to get together again. It was at Gulf Games 2 in Panama City where we met next, with several other friends and families who also came along to see what we were up to! 🙂 This is where our Gulf Games experience really took off!
Since that time, Mark Jackson, Lenny Leo and Tim & Vickie Watson have become “permanent fixtures” at each previous Gulf Games. It’s these people, these good friends, that have come along Greg’s side as helpers who have contributed so much of themselves to this fellowship that we all are a part of.
Thank you, thank you, thank you all, so very much!
Now we have just returned home from the latest such gathering, Gulf Games # 9, in beautiful Pensacola Florida.
Ben, your comments were right on! Pensacola was beautiful & clean, and the Hotel facilities were top notch. In many ways, this was possibly the best Gulf Games yet.
I just finished reading Ted’s report and I must say that his comments echo my own feelings. Ted said: ” This Gulf Games, more than any other, has made me realize that all of my best friends are not living near me.“
Yeah, (sigh), I know what you mean pal.
But hey Ted, Charlie Davis seems to be pretty good company. You meant “most” of your better friends, right? 🙂
I sure hope you can put a string of days together for Savannah, Ted, it’s always a big disappointment when you have to leave early, but I understand. 🙁
Speaking of friends, the attendance at GG # 9 was down a bit, so many of our favorite friends, the “usual suspects” were absent.
Though I missed each of them, the smaller turnout allowed me the opportunity to spend more quality time with newcomers and people that I probably wouldn’t have had a chance to otherwise.
This was the case with Jason & Vonda Matthews. Though they certainly aren’t new faces, they have not been able to make a few of the past Gulf Games, and so I had the opportunity to spend more time with them this past week than at any previous Gulf Games.
Vonda was available for games but she spent much of her time proudly showing off her precious little baby girl, Eliza (great name guys!) She had some stiff competition though, as Jim’s wife, Debbie (the Cobb’s) was sporting their gorgeous little tot as well, baby Jessica!
After Jason graciously suffered through my own game, I had the opportunity to learn and play his game as well. He has put together a fantastic effort which has already been accepted by GMT and is due to be published in the near future. I can say with total honesty that I can hardly wait to obtain a copy when it finally is available. Great job, Jason!
This time with Jason was well spent for another reason — because Rob Derrick sat in with us and learned the game as well. I played in several games with Rob (the Basement Gamer) Derrick and took a liking to him right away.
I hope your making plans for Savannah, Rob! By the way, Rob, I have copy # 423 of 1000 😉
Rob and Charlie Davis were both newcomers to Gulf Games, but there were several others as well. Ward Batty was back and he brought along some of his local gaming pals with him this time — Jeff Stephens and Bryan Rankin.
I didn’t manage to end up spending much time with Jeff but we can remedy that in Savannah, Jeff, OK?
I did however spend more time than I cared to with Bryan, who almost managed to outlast Vonda and myself, in the Liar’s Dice tournament.
Bryan has his day though as he and his solid partner Tim Watson defeated Chris Lohroff and Sheldon Smith in the championship match in the Crokinole tournament. What a finish, way to go guys!
Another new comer to Gulf Games was James (not Jim!) Miller. Greg and I knew James from our trips to Alan Moon’s Gathering of Friends, so we knew what a great guy he was, and he fit right in. I am very glad that you made it to Pensacola James!
Greg & Lenny’s fellow Westbank Gamer veteran John Moore (and family) made his first trip to Gulf Games. John is a sharp gamer and we had already heard of his prowess in Liar’s Dice. Naturally we went right to work on him when he made it to the final table in the tournament. Sorry John, but you were a marked man!
Another first timer to Gulf Games was Sarah Samuelson, who I had never even heard of until I saw her name on the registration list. Of course by now I have heard of the story of how her husband Thor made it possible for her to attend, and we are all the better for it! Sarah was a real delight and I hope that she gets the chance to introduce us to the mighty Thor in Savannah 🙂
So these were the many new (and some not so new) relationships that I had a chance to build on in Pensacola. I’m not gonna mention the “old faithfulls” here, it would take me volumes, you guys know who you are, and how I feel about you all.
Anyway, to all of you “newcomers,” hopefully you all will become a part of the closer knit group that our buddy Teddy Cheatham lamented over; friends that live far away perhaps, but friends that are always close in our hearts.
Well, that’s all for now. I will post again soon with a bit more “people talk” and my own take on some of the new games I played this past week.