Leaderboard

So I have started to type my thoughts and feelings here, and hold my tears back a zillion times, and I am still unable to control my sadness, so i am just gonna try and stay light. One thing i know for sure is, someday when its my time, the first thing i am gonna do is track track that summumma-b*tch down, and kick him square in the a$$, for makin me cry more in the last few days than i have in the last few years! ....... right after i throw my arms around him and cry out of hapiness instead of sadness. Aside from a ton of great times at the dunes of course, one of my favorite things about Al was the random calls i would get from him, about BBQ, or his sisters "broken house" (his sis lives in henderson, so once in awhile he would call in a favor when something would break...lol), or invites to events he was doin in the SoCal area. Once he called me and was all excited...... Al; "hey Buddy! how ya doin?"...Me; "i am good, how are you, whats goin on?"...Al; " I'm good, hey are you at home, i need a favor?"...Me; yeah, I am here, of course what do you need?"...Al; "I need to borrow 200 bucks" ...Me; Lol, what? sure? are you in town or something?"...Al; "haha, no i am at home"...Me; "soooo, how am i gonna get it to ya? lol"...Al; "well heres the deal, do you know what Cambro boxes are?" ...Me; "no clue"...Al; " a cambro case is a food service/catering storage case for hot food (CONTINUES WITH A VERY IN DEPTH DESCRIPTION OF THE CASE AND WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO WITH IT...LOL) and i found 2 for sale in vegas for 100 bucks each, and the are normally like 400 each."...Me; "hahaha, sooooo, what are you telling me Al?"... Al; haha, your catching on arent ya!? I need to borrow 200 bucks, then i need you to take the 200 over to 24/7 limo service, ask for Anthony, and tell him you are there to pick up the cambros for Smokin Al's BBQ. then just hold on to them for me, until next week when my sister can stop by and pick them up and bring them to me." ...Me;Hahaha, gawd dammit Al! haha, so you want to borrow 200 bucks, an hour of runnin around, and some gas money from me then, is that what your saying??...LMAO!!"...Al; haha EXACTLY! ...Me; lol EXACTLY!, you sucker!, no problem buddy, I will take care of it.........anyway the rest of the call was all BBQ talk and a bunch of bs'ing but it is one of those funny "moments with Al" that will always stick out in my mind. The fact of the matter is, i probably would have brought him the 200 bucks to his house if he asked me too. thats just the kinda of guy Al was, once you knew him, you loved him, and you would do anything for him. In the relatively short time that Al was a part of my families life, he was in it full throttle, he was a part of my family, without question. Al was truely important to myself and my family, and it saddens me deeply to have lost someone so special. As i sit here typing through my tears, I reflect on the past year and the things Al fought like hell through, and I know that he is deffinately in a better place, and is no longer in the pain that he was in just days ago, but i cant help but be selfish and wish he was still here, even for just one more day. I would give anything to be able to talk to him just one more time, to have the chance to let him know how much he means to me and the family. I love ya Al, and hope to walk beside again someday...

Jesus, you're an impatient fugger aren't ya? It's only been a day since you posted the topic. Settle down, Beavis! I'm sure if you wait, more will post.

Pete that was a classic pic lmfao thanks for sharing.

Julie you said it so well. That was SO Al! It was just a couple weeks ago, even in his condition, he managed to get on the shoutbox and ask if we were going to be doing breakfast for everyone at the regatta. He was such a strong guy and was still looking out for everyone until the end. I remember one trip he broke his car (imagine that LOL) and went right back to cooking food for everyone like Julie said. He had his deep fryer out there and he had the best time making up some sort of doughnut concoctions. Everyone came over as he passed out different sizes/ shapes and had so much fun. It made him so happy. One of the best memories I had with Al was New Years Eve 2010/2011. We were shooting off fireworks all over the place (in camp) and almost caught each others rigs on fire. Actually it was his daughter, Jackie, she was the main culprit! It was hilarious. Al was laughing so hard. I loved seeing him have a good time. He was so full of life. The next day on a dune run he mentioned to me that this was "the best new years he'd ever had". That felt so good to hear. I am going to miss that crazy guy blasting through the dunes with his LOUD and obnoxious flamed out sandcar, crazy hair in his face, always running on the edge of blowing something up. That thing was a monster. I would hear him coming and running us down to jump in on a dune run. We'd give each other that wave and then hammer down. Before each trip out, he would just randomly call me and tell me how many pounds of tri tip, pulled pork, and racks of ribs he was bringing out. I could barely understand him and gave him sh*t all the time because he would always be driving somewhere and he'd have to talk on speakerphone. lol He would always have a secret stash of ribs or a special plate of food for me. I came to realize he did this for almost everyone. He wanted to make everyone feel special. He was always looking out for everyone. One of the last few times we camped together (I think it was the time with the deep fryer), I gave him a new nickname....camp papa. He was like a father to everyone, taking care of his dune family. I am happy to have shared a portion of my life with Al. Not only did we get Al, but he introduced us to a group of awesome people. His family, Brian, Nicki, Aaron, Ricky Bobby, Dan, etc etc. They are all just as genuine as he was. He will me missed dearly and will never be forgotten. One of the last texts I got from him through Brian was "Thanks Pete, Love you bud". Rest in peace, my friend.....Al Tomblin aka Smokin Al We'll hook up for a dune run in the next life. A classic memory with Brian and Al when Al got an early jump drag racing at comp hill.