Intro
Ronn is astounded at what Barely Balanced has to wear on such a cold festival day
Filling up with Tortuga Fuel at the Morning Meeting
Beautiful AZRF Tortuga Cart Minions Sherri and Rosa
Beata and Kari luv AZRF Stage Manager Bryon
Welcome to my February Journal, Tortugaholics! It has been a busy month for yours truly. I’ve been enjoying my Arizona Winter just fine, doing Tortuga and Riki-type stuff all over the Sun Valley. New Beginnings has been the theme for February, with plenty for me to learn along my journey—about achieving my goals and about myself. Oh, and of course I’ve managed to have a little fun in the middle of it all.
The Wet Tortugaz
Enjoying an unscheduled day off today. Rain, rain, rain—enough to make patron (that’s you guys) parking a dangerous place to be. As a result, the festival is closed on a Sunday. (Actually, we never opened, but who’s arguing semantics?)
Always mixed feelings on a day like today. First there’s the disappointment at not being able to bring laughter to the masses (again, that’s you), as well as our own smiling faces. Couple that with the monetary hit that comes with losing half your income from a two-day work week, and you have quite a recipe for a depressing day. I know, I know—boohoo. The other side of this moist coin is that I’m off on a Sunday! I have a veritable plethora of things I can do to brighten my humor. And, I’ll do them! Oh yes, I will. Of course, what am I doing first? Taking care of business, working on my oh-so-due Tortuga Journal.
Other than today, working the Arizona Fest has been a hoot thus far. I’m making new friends everywhere I go, and all our shows have even become a touch funnier! Troy Story is beginning to blossom even more than last year, and we three are really enjoying performing it.
We’re being visited by Minnesota Tortuga Minions Kari Torkelson and Beata Simin this weekend. They flew in from the Minneapolis cold to enjoy . . . some of this Arizona sunshine?! Timing is everything, I suppose. Sorry that they had to be here for the rain, but very happy to spend time with them again—even if it is a little soggy.
Toga Party
Hanging with B-Day Romans Heather and Julius
Sock Zombies - like a sock monkey only Undeader
Kitty and Heather enjoy the Birthday Cake
Stylin' Tortugaz
Cap'n Dave welcomes everyone aboard
See, Ronn's comic intent is to imply that we're trashed...but I think it gets lost in the translation
A nice End of Day pic with Dave & June, and they're boating buddy Mike
Toga, Toga, Toga! Let it be known that Heather, Julius & Katrina’s birthdays shall be celebrated in high Roman fashion this year. All shall take and shape their best bed sheets into stunning togas!
It was a no-skata Toga Party—grapes were peeled, the chariots were greased up and ready to go, and Heather made a batch or two of her mouth-watering bun-wrapped weenies. Okay, so we didn’t actually run the chariot races, but the weenies and grapes were most excellent. The cake was fabulous, the exhibitions were stunning—yo-yos and poi spinning and tiger-form martial art katas, oh my—and Heather really liked her Sock Zombie gift.
Though it was quite a chilly night, we had plenty cake candles, warm birthday wishes, and Heather’s fire poi exhibition to keep us warm. I wasn’t even sad about the canceled chariot race.
I'm on a boat!
When you travel this wonderful country like we do, you’re bound to meet some interesting, fun-loving people. Two such people are Dave & June Esparza (and their family, but let’s not get crazy with the intros here). Not only have we enjoyed seeing them here at the Arizona Renaissance Festival, but we even ran into them at the Tall Ships Festival in Tacoma, Washington a couple years back. Dave is former Coast Guard, and he & June help out with them whenever they can. Pretty cool.
This year, Dave & June took the Baumans (all three) and me out boating and sightseeing onSaguaro Lake. Even though I’m not really a “nature guy,” I enjoyed my time with them and all that beautiful scenery.
AZRF TV Promo
Our Name in Plastic!
Discussing the upcoming promo with Jeff Seigel in the AZTV Green Room
Tortugaz on the Pat McMahon Show
Two Thumbs Up for my new Snuggie Blanket!
Festival time often means radio and television promos for we Tortugas. This year the boyz & I were guests along with festival producer Jeffrey Siegel on AZTV’s The Pat McMahon Show. Usually, we do the interviews while Jeffrey looks on to make sure we don’t get too crazy with our improvs out there. This time, however, Pat wanted to interview Jeffrey, while we stuck around to add entertainment fluffage. Needless to say, everything worked out fine, even with the change in promo format. We even had Everybody Loves Raymond’s Doris Roberts and her entourage laughing in the background. Again, timing is everything.
Outro
I conclude my February Journal, letting you know that someone has recently gifted me with The Snuggie Blanket—“the blanket that has sleeves”! That’s right, I now own a black one, and I’ve even used it a couple times. Why am I sharing my eccentricity with you? Because life should be fun, and fun can be found in the weirdest places. Whether you’re an avid collector of anything from stamps to shot glasses to travel spoons, a gamer with a penchant for Dungeons & Dragons or WOW, or an exhausted Ren Fest entertainer, chillin’ in his tough-guy black Snuggie Blanket—enjoy your life to the fullest and don’t let nobody “yuck your yum.” Sometimes it’s the weird stuff that brings us the most pleasure, in our own lives . . . or seeing it in someone else’s. Quit worrying about what everyone else thinks and stop taking yourself so damned serious. Take time to smell the roses . . . even if they are made out of scented leather.
On a side note, you might have noticed that I still haven’t gotten into anything about my in-the-works fantasy novel. Again I’ve run out of the space necessary to be that self-indulgent. Maybe next time—we’ll see. ; )
Have a great March, Tortugaholics! See you in thirty or so!
