- Joined
- Dec 3, 2015
- Messages
- 2,936
I'm sure many of our forum members here already know what a wonderful person Alan (joeradza) is, but I am compelled to express his awesomeness.
Back at the end of July, I won a GAW hosted by Alan that included a wonderful Rough Rider Barlow, a lucky quarter, and a Minnesota Twins (TC) hat. Our conversation via email started as expected, but we quickly began discussing life, family, and hobbies. We discovered mutual interests in cars, racing, and photography. We have casually emailed each other since, and it's been a splendid friendship sprung from something that showed Alan's heart.
Friday, I received an email from Alan titled "Surprise". Alan had once again shown his generosity by sending me a surprise package. The only problem was that my gift package decided that it wanted a weekend to party in the French Quarter before heading out to my suburb. So, I had to wait until today.
It was well worth the wait. I had recently commented on a beautiful Lakota Teal that Alan had picked up, and what happens to show up today but a Lakota Teal complete with a wonderful note and a stamped penny depicting the Empire State building and Alan's beloved Yankees emblem.
The Teal is a solid little bugger with a healthy pull and stronger locking mechanism. It is perfectly sized to ride alongside my Peanut in my watch pocket, where I intend for it to stay quite a bit.
Thank you, Alan, for the wonderful gifts, but thank you more for the friendship.
Back at the end of July, I won a GAW hosted by Alan that included a wonderful Rough Rider Barlow, a lucky quarter, and a Minnesota Twins (TC) hat. Our conversation via email started as expected, but we quickly began discussing life, family, and hobbies. We discovered mutual interests in cars, racing, and photography. We have casually emailed each other since, and it's been a splendid friendship sprung from something that showed Alan's heart.
Friday, I received an email from Alan titled "Surprise". Alan had once again shown his generosity by sending me a surprise package. The only problem was that my gift package decided that it wanted a weekend to party in the French Quarter before heading out to my suburb. So, I had to wait until today.

It was well worth the wait. I had recently commented on a beautiful Lakota Teal that Alan had picked up, and what happens to show up today but a Lakota Teal complete with a wonderful note and a stamped penny depicting the Empire State building and Alan's beloved Yankees emblem.
The Teal is a solid little bugger with a healthy pull and stronger locking mechanism. It is perfectly sized to ride alongside my Peanut in my watch pocket, where I intend for it to stay quite a bit.
Thank you, Alan, for the wonderful gifts, but thank you more for the friendship.