Hello, all! 2 weeks from now we'll all be between Q&A Sessions, rubbing our bellies from all that BBQ! I want to personally thank Greg Price for having this fanfest vision back in '04. I attended the first one, which was a whirlwind weekend that I'll never forget. Next was '05, another unforgettable experience. Then in '07 I brought the whole family along, and it has become our family tradition. This will be 4 years running for me getting up early Thursday morning and loading up our van (thank God for the deep trunk and stow-n-go seats). My wife has to work in the morning but should be home by 10:30 and we should be out by 11am. Everyone is excited.  
 
Something always seems to happen in our family each year that makes being with our Fanfest family more meaningful and appreciated. In 2008 my wife was very sick. I could have lost her and that scared the hell out of me. But she pulled through and we made it to Charlotte. Watching her trip over her own words meeting Bruno Sammartino was something the kids and I will never forget. Then last year I lost my grandmother the week before Fanfest. Her funeral was the Saturday before. The week leading up to her passing was a long and draining time. Fanfest hit at the right moment to help ease the pain and sadness.
 
Now here we are 2 weeks away and bad has reared its ugly head again. My stepfather passed away rather unexpectedly yesterday. He was as much of a dad to me as he could be for the past 7 years he was in my life. The kids called him Grandpa... he was definitely part of our family. His relationship with my mom had become strained over the past few months due to his health and some financial issues that I'm not real clear on... and I don't want to be. But he was so grateful to us for not shutting him out when it seemed that the rest of my family had. I had no reason to. Whatever was between him and my mom was just that, between the 2 of them. He never disrespected me, my wife, or our children... He only showed us gratitude, love, and affection. And it will not be the same without that here in a physical presence anymore. Hell, he was more like family than my own flesh and blood family tends to be. RIP Albert Brown. You are missed by the 6 of us terribly.  
Don't mean to ramble on, just needed to "talk". I'm sure plenty of you here know what I mean. Just make sure that the people you care about know how much you care. You never know when that chance will be taken from you. Everyone take care and we will see you, our extended family, in 2 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!