Month: May 2011

It was a Friday night in July 2006. The Romanians were in town working for the summer and living in an apartment at Front and Union. Early in the evening I met one of girls, who later came to be nicknamed The Romanian Sensation, at Sleep Out Louie’s for a drink before she left for work.

As we were chatting, she felt a light tug on her ponytail and I heard from behind, “Hey, Pauly!” I turned around to see my friend “Big Dave” Burnette. Dave played football for Arkansas and went on to play in the NFL for the Falcons and Cowboys. Dave was a true hulk of a man, standing somewhere between 6’7″ and 6’9″ with a bald head.

Dave had mistaken the Romanian Sensation for someone else who had similar long blond hair. When she turned around, he was shocked that he’d pulled the ponytail of someone he didn’t know. “Miss, I am SO sorry,” he told her several times. The Sensation didn’t react well. She turned her back to Big Dave and for the next 5 minutes acted like a turtle retreating into its shell. Dave tried to apologize to her several more times, but he sensed he was making her uncomfortable (through no fault of his own; she overreacted to what was an innocent mistake) and let her be.

Every time I saw Dave for the next several months afterward, he said to me, “Paul, I am so sorry I upset your Romanian friend.” I thought it was funny that a former pro football player would be so concerned about the feelings of a five-foot-tall girl who had long since gone back home. That’s how Big Dave was, though. A gentle giant.

The next year, the Ques Brothers were founded and Big Dave and I became BBQ teammates. When Dave found out I was an Arkansas fan, he and I had many lengthy discussions about Arkansas football and our chances of getting to a BCS bowl. The Hogs finally got there last fall, and Dave went to the Sugar Bowl to watch his nephew, quarterback Ryan Mallett.

Last Monday I jumped out of bed with enthusiasm, celebrating the start of vacation. My mood fell through the floor, however, when I logged on to Facebook and saw a bunch of “RIP Big Dave, we miss you” messages. Dave had played a game of basketball Monday morning. After the game, he suffered a heart attack and passed away. He was fifty years old.

Like me, Big Dave was a big poker fan, but we never got a chance to play together much. Dave, I hope I have many years before I meet up with you again, but when I do perhaps we can get a $1/$2 cash game going up there. I know you were watching over our BBQ team booth this weekend, and I’m sure you saw the outpouring of love for you from your many friends. Rest in peace, brother.

Ten of the best memories of BBQ Fest this year, in no particular order:

– Dancing with Audrey in the Ques brothers booth

– The antelope that Nikki’s parents brought from Montana. I never knew antelope tasted so good.

– Suzy. Tube top. ‘Nuff said.

– Watching the tribute video of Big Dave made by Willy. Not Willie, our cook, or Willie Jr., our assistant cook, but another Willy who was great friends with Dave.

– The WITCH who came in our booth, ate and drank, then threw a full cup of water on me. She probably thinks she ruined my Friday and that I spent the rest of the night steaming about the incident. I hope one of my friends who was there tells her how the rest of my Friday went.

– The couple from Holland who we met on the shuttle. They came to our booth and got a tour of our cooking rig. One of the things I most enjoy about BBQ Fest is showing first-timers around.

– The rig itself. It’s the first time we’ve used a two-story trailer rather than scaffolding. You could tell it was not a new trailer – we rented it from a former team and it was a bit rusty in places – but the team enjoyed it. It was far less work than setting scaffolding up.

– Donna, the suckling pig that was served for dinner Wednesday night at the Squeal Street booth

– Pre-gaming at the Saucer every day. Frequently heard quote: “Well, you know… I was going to leave… but you know, I think I’m going to have ONE MORE!”

– The emergence of Bud Light into the premium beer category. Several of my friends didn’t want to drink the Natty that was being served in our booth, so they went to the store and bought Bud Light instead.

Still one more BBQ Fest post to come. Check back.

COLD was the theme of BBQ Fest yesterday. It never got much above 60 and was windy most of the day. I wore my PBR hoodie and shorts. It was still a good day, but for tube top viewing it was rather bad.

Complete Saturday album here. Less than 100 pics this time, as is typical when I slow down on Saturday. We got 4th in Ms. Piggie, 5th in Best Booth and 10th in Best T-shirt. I’m not sure of our exact placement in Shoulder but have heard that we were in the top 20.

Apologies to everyone whose calls and texts went unreturned the past few days. I had a heck of a time getting a cell signal, and much of the time it was so noisy that I didn’t hear my phone go off.

KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS to Memphis in May. Given the severely limited amount of planning time they had, they put together an incredible event. Also kudos to Harrah’s for the shuttle service. I expected long waits to get to the fairgrounds and back, but the shuttles were efficient and available. Next time I go to Tunica, I plan on making Harrah’s my stop, to show them my appreciation.

And now it’s over. Back to reality. Grizzlies vs. Thunder Game 7 is on ABC at 2:30. If I had to guess where I’m watching it, I’d say Saucer but I’m open to other ideas.

I have one more post to do that is sort of related to BBQ Fest, a post that should have gone up Tuesday or Wednesday but due to timing, I haven’t typed it yet. Check back.

Left upper pocket: Assorted change. Breath strips. Digital camera. iPhone.

Right upper pocket: Keys, pens. On Friends & Family night, admission ticket.

Left lower pocket: Guest wristbands to the Ques Brothers booth.

Right lower pocket: iPhone charger. Spare batteries (2) for the camera.

Left back pocket: Wallet.

Right back pocket: Note pad. Not really necessary since I use Evernote on my iPhone, but handy to have as a backup.

Waist loop: Growl towel in support of the Grizzlies.

Wrist: BBQ Fest 3-day pass, Ques Brothers team wristband, Ques shuttle wristband.