Well, THAT was fun!

It was great seeing Billy, Seane and John again, and they did a great job in the booth doing demos and keeping things moving. Nerb by "Proxy', Al Ciner deserves a thanks for bringing some of his test wraps that were outstanding to see in person. NERB "on demand", Hiro Tanaka gets a big "thumbs up"and a smile for doing a guide wrap on the global rod....too cool! Thanks to "spontanious" NERB Joe K in the U40 booth for applying finish to the guide.

Hanging out with Al, Dennis and whats his name...Nick, was good clean fun. Talking and smoking with Hiro was interesting, and watching him try to figure out just what the @%$# was going on in the Westin saturday night was priceless. I got to meet everyone on the global rod except Doc and Dave Boyle, another good thing.

The thread art I saw was phenominal. Mark Crouses rods are outstanding. Jim Uptons Baby Dragon is beyond words, and Hiro's ? ....awesome.

The whole weekend was overwelming. On monday we all had the opportunity to visit Tom at his shop and we all @#$%&'d rodbuilding for a couple hours along with Ralph OQuinn. AND got to see Hiros rods in the sun, striking! Thanks Tom.

Lots to comment on, lots of good stories, but that would bore y'all. Fun times in traffic in Washington assembling one of Bill Stevens wrappers, while eating some fine ass beef jerky Lance sold me.

I actually, while talking to Billy,Seane, and John sunday night said "y'all" without knowing it. Freaked me out!!

Mike

Mike, it was my pleasure to finally meet you, Billy, John, Seane and Al. You folks are a very talented, friendly bunch and excellent teachers.

Thanks for the reel seat and blue madeira - will put them to good use.

Stan

Stan, I assume it was you who told teve from Madeira about my rods? If so, thank you. Good luck with VW, make sure to ask me some Q's.

Mike - that was a blast. WEll worth teh 11 months of preparation to get down there. Where's our 10x10 space go? lol. 20%? Geez, lets leave a few rolls of masking tape and call it a night., lol. How many threads can you wrap in a band? Uh, I dunno, lets see if I can wrap 18. Guess I can wrap 18 threads in a band, huh? Anyone got Gummy worms?

Next year we'll know what to expect and be better prepared.

Tom's shop was fun. "Hoodlums" - that had me cracking up. It was too clean in there, we needed to break out some thread and throw it all over the place.

Hey!!! I haven't seen any posts about Italo's box. Did it get filled up?

Bill in WV

I don't know about his "box" but he (very literally) walked off with my hat on his head on Sunday. I ran into him in the hotel lobby - I was going out to eat and he was going to hook up with someone else. I really never had a chance to speak with him this year, which I regret deeply.

I gave Italo 3- 4oz spools of some Holland, I think some others set him up with some stuff as well.

I know that he had gotten all his equipment and supplies stolen, and the swampland boys had a box for anyone who wanted to donate. I was just wondering if it got filled. Surely someone knows, maybe Bill or Lance will chime in.

Bill in WV

If yuz guys could hang around longer next year we can implant some more of our southern slang. So when yuz get back yall start to sound like us good ol boys. See you next year guys.

Gotta add my two cents. Thanks so much to Mike, Billy, Sean and John for making me feel like a part of the weekend. I'll be a NERBS proxy anytime. It was great to meet all of them in person. Shared some laughs, some stories and learned a lot. Looking forward to next year already. Hope to have some better stuff to bring. Again,, thanks to all y'all.

I had a complete blast meeting all of the vendors , and wandering the city with Al, Mike, Sean ,and even the shoe bomber. All of the vendors were exelent ,and the public in that part of the country is sooo polite and friendly. ........... it was a pleasant change from the rat race of New England. The only thing I forgot to do was eat a grit .
Meeting Tom , Andy , Hiro ,Italo ,Dennis , Al ,Bill Stevens and the swamp gang , along with a hundred others who I've been wanting to meet was the highlight of my trip . And another thanks to Tom for letting us grope all of his "goodies" in his shop on monday while in the way back . Hope to make it back next year . John

Got Fish ?

Michael- you said "ya'll" ?? Next thing you know, we'll have you eatin' grits.

Enjoyed meeting you guys and look forward to seeing you next year.

Pete Kornegay
Camden, NC

I had a great time in Charlotte with Billy, Mike and John. Thanks to these guys for all their efforts in making this possible for NERB's. It was great to meet everyone, or as Mike would say, y'all, down in Charlotte. Just to many people to list here. Looking forward to next year.

Thanks to Tom Kirkman for letting us visit his shop. Thanks to everyone who stopped by the NERB's booth, can't wait for next years show!!!



Sean Endres
North East Rod Builders
New London, CT