2006 Hotel California #8 Event of the Year

#8. On February 18th, 2006 The Puppy was sealed to Karen. Karen was blessed that day to be the Puppy wife. And Puppy was super blessed not to have to go through with that mail-order bride deal. An outstanding weekend. Many of us made the trip out, visited, shared stories, laughed, danced, and all-around had a wonderful time. Lots of pictures circulated the blog afterward, which you all can find in the archives. And the Pup wrote a fun thank you note. Take a look below.

From: Brian Matsen
Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2006 21:15:46 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Muchas Gracias

My friends,
I just got back Sunday night from my honeymoon in Maui. Very nice! I wanted to thank those of you who were able to come to the wedding. And an extra gracias for those who came from far distances. It really meant a lot to me. For those of you who weren't able to come we missed having you there. I had so much fun at the bachelor party and the reception. Thanks Jaime for putting together another stellar video production. It was a classic! I hope you guys enjoyed getting together as much as I did.
Yesterday, Karen and I closed on our new house here in the Chicago area. So my life continues to change rapidly. Our new address is:
708 Mayfield Court
Naperville, IL 60565
We would love to have visitors so if you are in the area or would like to get away and enjoy the great city of Chicago, let us know. We'll take in a Cubs game at Wrigley Field - A must do for every sports fan. I must go now for it's time to let out another siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii grande!
Brian

But, to me, some of the fun occurred before the actual wedding. In preparation for the wedding. Of course, in preparing for the event, the stories started circulating. Dave Nabrotzky shared the story of calling out, in a female voice, to an unassuming Carl Whittaker one brisk Fall night. Outside Carl’s window a voice beckoned to him, “Carl, Carl Come here Carl.” He then woke up, got dressed and walked outside to find Nabrotzky grabbing his ankles and his full moon lighting the night sky. Shane responded to that story in an email below:

On 1/22/06, Shane Simpson wrote:
Carl, I was not there but if you are still having nightmares then it must have been funny. (But how much better would it had been if Moulton or Jake walked out just before you did!)

Dave, you should thank your lucky stars that didn’t happen. And the fun didn’t end there. Luke next warned us all of seat 29E on Continental. Listen to some of the words from one disgruntled passenger. “Dear Continental Airlines. I am disgusted as I write this note to you about the miserable experience I am having sitting in seat 29E on one of your aircrafts. As you may know, this seat is situated directly across from the lavatory…all my senses are being tortured simultaneously. It’s difficult to say what the worst part about sitting in 29E really is. Is it the stench of the sanitation fluid that’s blown all over my body every 60 seconds when the door opens…or is it the passengers asses that seem to fit into my personal space like a pornographic jigsaw puzzle?...I am picturing a board room full of executives giving props to the young promising engineer that figured out how to squeeze an additional row of seats onto this plane…I would like to flush his head in the toilet that I am close enough to touch from my seat.” Hysterical. Genius. The writer even drew little pictures of him frowning with somebody’s butt in his face.

You can see how energized we were for this weekend. It came and was great. We were all full of glee. And then. CNN broke the news. Just days after the Puppy Wedding. Take a read below.

Don Knotts, TV's Barney Fife, Dies
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 26, 2006; Page C08
Don Knotts, the rail-thin comic actor who was perhaps best known to millions of television viewers as the bungling Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife in "The Andy Griffith Show" and the squirrelly landlord, Mr. Furley in "Three's Company," died of lung cancer Feb. 24 at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 81.

I hope that each and every anniversary, Puppy, you and the Karen pop in a videotape and remember Mr. Furley. Take a moment for your old pal Don Knotts. You don’t need to create a shrine or anything. That would be weird. Just a few minutes before your Si Grande watch a little Three’s Company. Or after having kissing, find a rerun on Nick at Nite. He deserves it. Congrats Pup on the wedding. And making #8 on the countdown.