There are only two weekends left of the Arizona Renaissance Festival, and we have had a fan-damn-tastic time here in the desert-y desert. Though I haven’t taken any trips to Las Vegas, Nevada (like Ronn & Heather) or to Nogales, Mexico (like Jef & Sharon), I have had a wonderful time reconnecting with friends and fellow sojourners in the land of the big sky.
I have had a very good time with all my rennie buds that I haven’t seen since eons ago - an eon works out to about two months in "Riki-speak." Don Juan & Miguel are back onstage, along with Don Juan’s daughter Esmeralda. Hey Nunnie Nunnie are whoopin’ it up with good, clean holy humor - something that we Tortugas are very in touch with, as you can clearly see by our saintly Swordfighting & Stupidity show. And, of course, there is the fabulous Madam Sarina - ever my cohort in energetic and philosophical discussions and my latest workout partner.
 It's good to be a Tortuga |
 New Product Placement (with Dana from Hey Nunnie Nunnie!) |
 Gift shirt from Beautiful Dakota of the DJ&M show |
Jef has really stepped up to the plate to become the lead whipmaster of Troupe Tortuga, having spent numerous man-hours - at least two - honing his skills and making the rest of us (Ronn and I) look bad. He’s been hanging out in the joust camp, and picking up tips from Hanlon Leesdirector/whip cracker extraordinaire, Steve Cowan. Somewhere in the process, he managed to procure (buy) us a set of nylon whips - one black (Ronn’s), one red (Jef’s), and one brown & black (that would be mine). Through the space-age technology of these nylon whips, it is now possible for each of us to practice anywhere without having to worry about tearing up the others made of expensive kangaroo leather. Sooo, now we have no excuse for slacking off. Thanx, Jef! And I mean that!
Ronn’s really settled in to the home life with his new girl and her pet. Why, he can be seen almost daily doing manly chores like walking the doglet and conquering Civilization IV. As a result of his attention to these arduous duties, he has made a safe haven for his missy and her canine miniature in both his palace trailer and the cyber world.
 Cowboy Butch & Doglet |
 A star is born! |
 Tortuga Minions Cindy & Tammy rock! |
That’s not the only thing we’ve got going on at this here festival. We’ve set up shoppe with yet another merchandise cart - not unlike the one we have in North Carolina. In fact, we like this design so much that we’re having another one built for this year’s Georgia Renaissance Festival. (Actually, we’re having our favorite Charlotte-based Italians transport it from Huntersville, N.C. to the Atlanta area - special thanx to Frankie and the gang! Later we’ll have groovy cart-creator, Jamie Harvey build us another one in time for the Carolina show.)
 Scaramouche signs autographs for the fans |
 Tree-Man hugger! |
 Crazy alert! |
And now for something completely different...
For at least three years now my friend Sarina and I have been working hard, furthering our financial education. We read books, we listen to audio CDs, we’ve even been known to sign up for a seminar or two. Why, do you ask? Why put ourselves through many hours of such an obviously boring subject? We do this because it enriches our lives and allows us to look to our future with more in our hope chest than just what the name itself implies. And trust me when I say - making money is no longer boring to me.
This last weekend I was leaning on our merchandise cart, speaking with Arizona fan club chapter head Cindy Gray and a few of our fans. What can I say - I lean, I speak, I schmooze.
One of them - an Arizona fan club member named Renee York - happened to mention that she worked at a local financial radio station. You could have clocked my head-snap in her direction at over 100 mph. She had my attention. I will happily chat-up almost anyone about real estate, stocks, and even discuss the pros and cons of the latest self-proclaimed financial gurus.
My interest in most things financial began right here in Arizona at a Robert Kiyosaki seminar. This was quickly followed by reading many of his Rich Dad, Poor Dad books (found in - don’t be scared - the business section of your neighborhood bookstore). It changed the way I view amassing wealth.
Does this mean that I am an unbalanced, money-mad Scrooge? I don’t think so. Besides, it’s fun to me. I’ve made a game out of pulling my financial act together, and if that happens to set me up for a richer life experience, so much the better. Pick up a book and check it out for yourself. Who knows - maybe the next time we meet, we’ll have something new to talk about.
Traveling on the Renaissance circuit like we do, we tend to meet the most interesting people. They come from all walks of life and carry with them a wide variety of perspectives. Living in this kind of environment invites a certain air of spontaneity. Case in point: Friday night, St. Patrick’s Day.
After a long day of not too much going on, I was pleasantly surprised to find that two St. Patty’s Day leprechauns (Jef and our friend Christian Stavros) had set up shop at our place, and were busy preparing a feast for our friends at the festival. They had skewered and marinated souvlaki kabobs, corned some beef (okay, so what would you call it?), and concocted the best tasting baklava that it has been my pleasure to wrap my lips around.
 Sarina on the 'Rich Dad' financial offices field trip |
 Jef & Christian at their Great St. Patty's Day Souvlaki & Corned Beef cookout |
 Rainy-day Sunday |
Jef and Christian brought everything down to joust camp (the paddock where the jousters stay and keep their horses - duh!), and set up the feast there. Soon there were hungry rennies everywhere, all with food in their mouths and smiles on their faces. I’m going to have to say that, much likeeverything Jef puts his hands to, the evening was a smashing success.
We’ve come to the end of yet another Riki Tortuga journal, and this month’s been an excellent ride. We’ve had good days, we’ve had great days, we’ve had sunny days... . Okay, we’ve only had two rain days the whole time we’ve been here in the state of Arizona, but do they have to fall on the freakin’ weekend - both of them! Not that I’m complaining - I’m just sayin’.
Take care of yourselves, Tortugaholics, and I’ll be back in thirty with tastier Tortuga tidbits and news of the Rikker. Ciao!
