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Blog Entry 19 of 20 Arvada: The way it was, the way it is, the way it could be.

I moved to Arvada in 1975, getting to spend my formative years growing up here, watching it change, breaking several municipal codes, and seeing how much trouble I could get in without my parents actually finding out. I moved back to Arvada a year ago, and while my contacts with the local authorites have drastically gone down hill, my fond memories of growing up here havent. My writings will be about the times I spent growing up here, the friends I grew up with, the trouble we got in, the stuff we got away with, and basically anything else that spews forth from my brain. I graduated from Arvada High School in 1985 (Go Redski...oops, go Reds...oops....go Bulldogs, or Wombats, or Tibetan Spitting Lamas, or whatever they are called these days). I spent 10 years on the Comedy circuit, but these days prefer to spend time with my wife, my dog, and whatever poor souls end up on a poker table with me. When I post a story, please feel free to write me back with your memories. I would like to know if I was the only one who remembers seeing Young Frankenstien at the Wadsworth drive in, or tried desperately to lose his virginity on a carpeted mushroom at US on Wheels.

Blog Url: http://denver.yourhub.com/~MrSnugglePants

Passing of a friend...

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Contributed by: Patrick Bunn on 5/1/2008

It's probably been a dozen years since I met Nate. If I remember correctly it was a karaoke night out at the old Cherry Bomb night club in Lakewood. We used to go down there, get our drink on and sing our brains out. Actually, back then, my friends used to sing their brains out. I hadn't really found my inner American Idol yet. I finally got the courage, then proceeded to sing Cats in the Cradle 5 times a night until I got it right. One night, a big dude walked in. I mean really big. Grossberger from Stir Crazy big.

He walked in that night, and immediately started talking to us like we were old friends. The funny thing was, no one thought anything of it. We had never met this guy before, and 30 seconds in, we were sharing a beer and a laugh.

"You gonna sing one?" I asked, waiting for the obligatory "Naw, I don't sing" reply.

Five minutes later, Big Nate got up and kicked out a Garth Brooks tune that if Mr. Brooks had heard, he would have sued Nate for copyright infringement. We just sat there in stunned silence, watching this mountain make us all look bad. He never pointed out that on his worst night, he could out sing me. He was more interested in trying to out joke me. And some nights, he did.

After conquering the Karaoke world, Nate took his talents to the world of the Disc Jockey. He would DJ anytime, anywhere, for anyone. I remember, he used to do his show at the old No Frills Grille on Hampden. Most DJ's would go in there with a mix board, a couple of speakers, CD player, turntable, whatever. Nate used to go in there with enough equipment to work an after-prom party at the Pepsi Center. Every now and then, just to show what he could do, he'd turn it up just to see how long it would take some of the junk on the walls at the No Frills to fall on some poor unsuspecting soul. The guy who got hit with the french horn probably was a little hacked off, but man, that was fun to watch.

I found out today that Big Nate passed last week. Guess his heart had finally had enough of keeping that much of a person alive. I feel sad that I wont ever run into him again at the occasional poker game or bar. I understand that Nate is in a place where his size wont be a detriment to him, but I am going to miss having the chance to sit and reminisce about the times we had. Even though I hadn't seen Nate but a couple of times over the last year or so, I miss my friend. I know that a world without Nate's laugh is not as good of a place as it was 2 weeks ago. Bless you, Big Dog. Save me a barstool next to you. I will see you again someday.

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Showing 1-2 of 2 comments

Submitted By: Michael Rule

posted on 5/2/2008 @ 7:12:23 AM

Rated Blog Entry

He sounds like a great guy. Losing friends is tough; it reminds us of the fragility of life and the passing of time.

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Submitted By: William Boucher

posted on 5/1/2008 @ 4:46:31 PM

Rated Blog Entry

You were both lucky to know each other.

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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Patrick Bunn

Arvada , CO

Patrick Bunn has posted 20 blog entries and 34 comments since joining on 4/17/2007. Patrick Bunn's average blog rating is 4.98.

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