The old wrecking crew

One Tuesday night recently we celebrated our friend Ernie’s 46th year without a drink. Ernie’s brother was here from the state of Washington to help celebrate. Something seemed familiar about Ernie’s brother. Ernie called his brother, who has 27 years of sobriety, “Spud.” I thought, I’ve only known one Spud in my life. That’s when I remembered him. He was part of a crew I was on (Spud, Cowboy Kirk, Screaming George and I) in the late fall of ’73 into late spring of ’74 in Rock Springs, Wyo., and also the Salt Lake area. Like the song “Auld Lang Syne” (Webster’s: old long since, old times, good old days, of one’s youth, etc.) asks, “Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and days of auld lang syne?”