Nashville BearJam: Part III-Saturday
This was the busiest day of the run, and the one that was most drama-filled. What a day!!
The morning started abruptly. About 10am, there was a banging on Will's door. Turns out to be Freddy Freeman (acousticub) trying to get Will. He's obviously pissed and troubled. Jim and I decide to just stay in bed while he talks to Will. From what we could here, there was a problem with DeVil's. It was supposed to be open for the Bearapalooza artists to set up and rehearse before the noon show. There was mix up between who was actually supposed to open the bar. Will and Freddy left to go take care of that. Will asked us to take out Hazel before we left. We got showered and dressed and took out Hazel, then got on the road to DeVil's stopping to grab some sunscreen.
We arrived at DeVil's right at noon. We brought some extra clothes and towels because of the Bear Wash event they were having and also just in case. The weather was KILLER! It was HOT!!!! Nothing but sun and humidity. We were looking forward to being indoors and were glad they decided to move the event inside. Or so we thought. I don't know if it was the fact that there were several people in the bar, or there were climate control issues, or just there were stage lights and such on, but the inside of DeVil's was not much cooler than the outside. It made for a very warm day. However, things would start to get a little better. The food arrived and Bearapalooza started (about an hour late). I found Dan irishchub and Craig and Jim and I sat near them. Man, Bearapalooza was so much fun! There are some really great artists involved in this and I am glad that I got the chance to hear them. It was fun. However, the food was calling, so Jim and I grabbed some good food and stepped outside. The only problem with going in and outdoors to the patio was that the only door was right next to the stage. There were very few stops between acts to jump back and forth, so, to me, going outside or coming back in was difficult. Anyway, Jim and I stepped outside and found a nice, shady table. There were other people out there, including the president of the Music City Bears, Andrew, and Will. Will was one of the first guys in the group who volunteered for the dunk tank. That was fun!! LOL Soon, I saw other guys out, including Robert and John and Mike and Matt. I grabbed a photo of those guys. It's a hot group.
Soon, I decided to head back inside and ran into a very attractive black guy named....wait for it...wait for it...wait for it....Damien!!! Yeah, he was a very nice guy, a little scattered, but good. HOT as hell. Anyway, Damien seemed to take a shining to me and Jim, so he came out with me to sit at the table. He wasn't a part of the run, but was just out at the bar hanging out. It was fun. Eventually, I was getting hot. A little too hot, unfortunately, so I decided to do the bear wash. It was nice and cool. Essentially it was a hose with a showerhead attached to it. Jim operated the wash, and it was good and fun. Nice and cool! After that, I saw that Dan, Craig, Cris slacker_x and Tony batcavebear had found a shady spot on the other side of the back patio (it was quite spacious back there and probably would have been a great place for the events had it not been so hot). We decided to join them and got our photos taken again by the guys from BearFilms.com. It was fun just hanging out and was nice. Soon, however, we heard that Bobaloo bobaloo was performing. He did an excellent rendition of "Stroke" with the band. It was awesome! Got to see him shirtless!! WOOHOO! After that, Jim and I were outside with Derrick and such. Got to make out a little bit before we headed inside to watch the end of Yolanda's set and then Kendall's set thereisnofear. Unfortunately, Kendall's CD tracks were messed up, so it did not go very well, but he handled it better than I would have. It was a good set, overall. About that time, Jim was getting restless and we were ready to go. There was, unfortunatlely, another hour to the show! We hung out a little and I watched some of the performers, but mostly we chatted around. Jim talked with someone he had met the night before. Turns out that he is the company manager for a Shakespeare festival in Alabama. So, Jim might be doing a show down there! YAY!! ;-) Anyway, things finally winded down and we grabbed Will and headed back to his place. We took a disco nap, showered and then changed clothes for the evening's banquet.
Now, here's where things between Will and us started to go downhill. We were about to get in the car, when Will (who had stepped over to Freddy's place) came over to let us know that he had offered Jade (the performance artist from Thursday) a ride to the banquet. Now, he essentially extended the invitation of our car to him without asking us first. I mean, it was fine for us to do, it's just that it would have been nice to have been asked. Anyway, Jade rode with us down to the hotel and we made it to banquet just before it started. It was pretty good food. We ended up sitting by ourselves, with Jean-Paul fuzbears sitting down with us for the dinner. During the dinner was the "best of" contest. Instead of there being an actual contest at the bar, the group gives every member ballots to fill out over the course of the run (Best Ass, Best Belly, Best Fur, Mr. Bear Jam, etc.). It's a little hard to do because it's hard to catch names, but it was done. The contest went pretty well. There was also a silent auction. Jim got a smoothie machine and I got a package from Nashville Cares. It was fun. Soon after, Will let me know that he was heading upstairs to someone's room and that he would be down by the end of movie. Not wanting to stop him, I pretty much asked if he had a cell phone or something so I could contact him. He said he didn't and that I shouldn't worry as he would be down in time *Strike 2*. I let Jim know, and he did not seem too happy about that either. Well, we brushed it off again and just decided to sit back and enjoy the movie. They were having a TLAVideo sponsored showing of "Cachorro." There were some technical difficulties at first (subtitles weren't working), but soon it was smooth sailing. Since most of you have already seen it, I won't bore you with a review, but I will say that I very much enjoyed it. It's a good movie and very interesting how it was set up. Jim liked it as well. Will had shown up about 11:30 or so and watched the end of the movie with us.
After the movie, there was an opportunity set up by the Tennessee Area Naturists (TAN). They were having a Bare Bear Party in honor of the run as part of their usual line up. Now, Jim and I talked about it and decided to go (I've never done anything like this before). Will also decided to go. However, since the movie ran long, there was concern that it would have already started or had ended. No one could be reached at the party, so we just decided to head over there and see what happened. We drove over to where it was going to be (it was at someone's house) and found that it was still going on. So, we all stripped and started hanging out (hehehe). The party was pretty fun. The house had two floors. The lower level was the more social floor, people hanging out, talking, drinking, and eating. The second floor was where the more "provocative" activities were happening. After spending some time on the first floor and getting comfortable (thanks in part to some kickass punch), I ventured up to the second floor. I found Jim and started playing with him and we were eventually joined by a hot daddy bear. It was great, great fun. Eventually Jim and the other guy got off and ventured downstairs and I stuck around and had a little more fun. I didn't have to wait long ;-). Soon, Will showed up. He let me know that Jim was downstairs and that he mentioned to him that this would be our last stop (we were planning on going to an unscheduled after-hours party that was at the hotel about 2am). I took this to mean that Jim was probably ready to go. I finished what I was doing and was about to head down when I noticed that Will was playing with a couple of guys. He had just started playing with them, I mean. Jim eventually came up and found us. He laid down on a bed and I talked to him. Jim was fading (the day had been long), so I knew we had to get to bed. I followed Jim downstairs and he got dressed. Will was a little preoccupied I guess to see us leaving. Anyway, time ticked away and it was becoming apparent that Will wasn't coming down. Jim was fuming and I was, too *Strike 3*. We were ready to go and had to wait on Will. We had been doing it all day and for most of the weekend and we shouldn't have had to have been doing that. Jim even got to the point that he said that was wanting to go home that night (meaning back to Cincinnati), but didn't want me or him to risk falling asleep. So, we waited and waited. Finally, fed up with this, I made my way upstairs and found Will. He was just sitting there talking with the guy he was with (and a couple others). Nashville people are very social! I let him know that we were ready to go. He seemed surprised, and finally came down with me. We all got dressed and hopped in the car (after Will and others were still talking). The drive was mostly quiet because Jim and I were both mad and tired. Will however continued to talk a little, but eventually got the hint (I think). We made it to his place and made plans for the next day. Jim wanted to get up bright and early and hit the road back home. We let Will know that we would go ahead and set our own alarm so he could sleep in. After Will told us one more story, we hugged for the last time and went to sleep....
FINAL CHAPTER COMING SOON....
The morning started abruptly. About 10am, there was a banging on Will's door. Turns out to be Freddy Freeman (acousticub) trying to get Will. He's obviously pissed and troubled. Jim and I decide to just stay in bed while he talks to Will. From what we could here, there was a problem with DeVil's. It was supposed to be open for the Bearapalooza artists to set up and rehearse before the noon show. There was mix up between who was actually supposed to open the bar. Will and Freddy left to go take care of that. Will asked us to take out Hazel before we left. We got showered and dressed and took out Hazel, then got on the road to DeVil's stopping to grab some sunscreen.
We arrived at DeVil's right at noon. We brought some extra clothes and towels because of the Bear Wash event they were having and also just in case. The weather was KILLER! It was HOT!!!! Nothing but sun and humidity. We were looking forward to being indoors and were glad they decided to move the event inside. Or so we thought. I don't know if it was the fact that there were several people in the bar, or there were climate control issues, or just there were stage lights and such on, but the inside of DeVil's was not much cooler than the outside. It made for a very warm day. However, things would start to get a little better. The food arrived and Bearapalooza started (about an hour late). I found Dan irishchub and Craig and Jim and I sat near them. Man, Bearapalooza was so much fun! There are some really great artists involved in this and I am glad that I got the chance to hear them. It was fun. However, the food was calling, so Jim and I grabbed some good food and stepped outside. The only problem with going in and outdoors to the patio was that the only door was right next to the stage. There were very few stops between acts to jump back and forth, so, to me, going outside or coming back in was difficult. Anyway, Jim and I stepped outside and found a nice, shady table. There were other people out there, including the president of the Music City Bears, Andrew, and Will. Will was one of the first guys in the group who volunteered for the dunk tank. That was fun!! LOL Soon, I saw other guys out, including Robert and John and Mike and Matt. I grabbed a photo of those guys. It's a hot group.
Soon, I decided to head back inside and ran into a very attractive black guy named....wait for it...wait for it...wait for it....Damien!!! Yeah, he was a very nice guy, a little scattered, but good. HOT as hell. Anyway, Damien seemed to take a shining to me and Jim, so he came out with me to sit at the table. He wasn't a part of the run, but was just out at the bar hanging out. It was fun. Eventually, I was getting hot. A little too hot, unfortunately, so I decided to do the bear wash. It was nice and cool. Essentially it was a hose with a showerhead attached to it. Jim operated the wash, and it was good and fun. Nice and cool! After that, I saw that Dan, Craig, Cris slacker_x and Tony batcavebear had found a shady spot on the other side of the back patio (it was quite spacious back there and probably would have been a great place for the events had it not been so hot). We decided to join them and got our photos taken again by the guys from BearFilms.com. It was fun just hanging out and was nice. Soon, however, we heard that Bobaloo bobaloo was performing. He did an excellent rendition of "Stroke" with the band. It was awesome! Got to see him shirtless!! WOOHOO! After that, Jim and I were outside with Derrick and such. Got to make out a little bit before we headed inside to watch the end of Yolanda's set and then Kendall's set thereisnofear. Unfortunately, Kendall's CD tracks were messed up, so it did not go very well, but he handled it better than I would have. It was a good set, overall. About that time, Jim was getting restless and we were ready to go. There was, unfortunatlely, another hour to the show! We hung out a little and I watched some of the performers, but mostly we chatted around. Jim talked with someone he had met the night before. Turns out that he is the company manager for a Shakespeare festival in Alabama. So, Jim might be doing a show down there! YAY!! ;-) Anyway, things finally winded down and we grabbed Will and headed back to his place. We took a disco nap, showered and then changed clothes for the evening's banquet.
Now, here's where things between Will and us started to go downhill. We were about to get in the car, when Will (who had stepped over to Freddy's place) came over to let us know that he had offered Jade (the performance artist from Thursday) a ride to the banquet. Now, he essentially extended the invitation of our car to him without asking us first. I mean, it was fine for us to do, it's just that it would have been nice to have been asked. Anyway, Jade rode with us down to the hotel and we made it to banquet just before it started. It was pretty good food. We ended up sitting by ourselves, with Jean-Paul fuzbears sitting down with us for the dinner. During the dinner was the "best of" contest. Instead of there being an actual contest at the bar, the group gives every member ballots to fill out over the course of the run (Best Ass, Best Belly, Best Fur, Mr. Bear Jam, etc.). It's a little hard to do because it's hard to catch names, but it was done. The contest went pretty well. There was also a silent auction. Jim got a smoothie machine and I got a package from Nashville Cares. It was fun. Soon after, Will let me know that he was heading upstairs to someone's room and that he would be down by the end of movie. Not wanting to stop him, I pretty much asked if he had a cell phone or something so I could contact him. He said he didn't and that I shouldn't worry as he would be down in time *Strike 2*. I let Jim know, and he did not seem too happy about that either. Well, we brushed it off again and just decided to sit back and enjoy the movie. They were having a TLAVideo sponsored showing of "Cachorro." There were some technical difficulties at first (subtitles weren't working), but soon it was smooth sailing. Since most of you have already seen it, I won't bore you with a review, but I will say that I very much enjoyed it. It's a good movie and very interesting how it was set up. Jim liked it as well. Will had shown up about 11:30 or so and watched the end of the movie with us.
After the movie, there was an opportunity set up by the Tennessee Area Naturists (TAN). They were having a Bare Bear Party in honor of the run as part of their usual line up. Now, Jim and I talked about it and decided to go (I've never done anything like this before). Will also decided to go. However, since the movie ran long, there was concern that it would have already started or had ended. No one could be reached at the party, so we just decided to head over there and see what happened. We drove over to where it was going to be (it was at someone's house) and found that it was still going on. So, we all stripped and started hanging out (hehehe). The party was pretty fun. The house had two floors. The lower level was the more social floor, people hanging out, talking, drinking, and eating. The second floor was where the more "provocative" activities were happening. After spending some time on the first floor and getting comfortable (thanks in part to some kickass punch), I ventured up to the second floor. I found Jim and started playing with him and we were eventually joined by a hot daddy bear. It was great, great fun. Eventually Jim and the other guy got off and ventured downstairs and I stuck around and had a little more fun. I didn't have to wait long ;-). Soon, Will showed up. He let me know that Jim was downstairs and that he mentioned to him that this would be our last stop (we were planning on going to an unscheduled after-hours party that was at the hotel about 2am). I took this to mean that Jim was probably ready to go. I finished what I was doing and was about to head down when I noticed that Will was playing with a couple of guys. He had just started playing with them, I mean. Jim eventually came up and found us. He laid down on a bed and I talked to him. Jim was fading (the day had been long), so I knew we had to get to bed. I followed Jim downstairs and he got dressed. Will was a little preoccupied I guess to see us leaving. Anyway, time ticked away and it was becoming apparent that Will wasn't coming down. Jim was fuming and I was, too *Strike 3*. We were ready to go and had to wait on Will. We had been doing it all day and for most of the weekend and we shouldn't have had to have been doing that. Jim even got to the point that he said that was wanting to go home that night (meaning back to Cincinnati), but didn't want me or him to risk falling asleep. So, we waited and waited. Finally, fed up with this, I made my way upstairs and found Will. He was just sitting there talking with the guy he was with (and a couple others). Nashville people are very social! I let him know that we were ready to go. He seemed surprised, and finally came down with me. We all got dressed and hopped in the car (after Will and others were still talking). The drive was mostly quiet because Jim and I were both mad and tired. Will however continued to talk a little, but eventually got the hint (I think). We made it to his place and made plans for the next day. Jim wanted to get up bright and early and hit the road back home. We let Will know that we would go ahead and set our own alarm so he could sleep in. After Will told us one more story, we hugged for the last time and went to sleep....
FINAL CHAPTER COMING SOON....