Artie's Partay

[Michael Eisenstadt]

Mostly there were heavily tattooed youths in alternate
(=self-invented) motorsickle gear. Several times I heard 
them cry out ARTIE'S PARTAY! Interestingly the band
was very good. very very good even though as they said
their bassist didn't show. 

When Doug Breeding was still alive it was an older
crowd, Sandy Lockett (deceased) being the friend 
that took me there for the first time. Sandy who was
a very creative fabulist warned me that many of these
older guys worked for Willie Nelson and carried heat.

even Artie's live-in cook Galen is winding the annual
party down. he did his superb potato salad and a pork
chicken rice gumbo and that was it. no hotdogs.

Dave Moriaty showed me a recent Wonder Wart Hog
episode in the current issue of Zap. Then he showed it
to Artie. Artie shook hands with me. Lots of folks 
shaking hands. Some older very weatherbeaten guys 
with unlikely headgear. Houston White was there,
also Bob Simmons in a clean blue seersucker jacket
stretched across his broad shoulders. he has grown a 
beard and he wears a yellow gimme cap with buttons 
with writing on them covering the entire hat. as per
usual there were plenty of unknown folk to study,
memorize, envy in one way or another, and forget 
about.

list of non-attendees too long to type