PICKLED ONION PUB; RENTON, WA By Ty Hughes Bobby Magee would have been proud to have seen the response to his first annual memorial dart shoot. Pickled Onion, his main hangout, planned a $1,000 Gtd. Added Memorial in Bobby’s honor for Saturday, April 19, and it turned out to be huge! I showed up two hours early thinking I would enjoy a quiet dinner before the big event… uh, no way. The bar was already full of well-wishers for Bobby’s girlfriend of 15 years, Brenda, who had her brother and daughter there as well. Forty three dart teams filtered in over the next couple hours and signed up to play. And that’s to say nothing of the folks there just to show support and not shoot in the tourney. The place was more than just packed, the Pickled Onion was shoulder to shoulder, turn sideways to move packed. Poor TC was cooking dinners at a record pace and running them out to the customers. How she found them, I’ll never know. Mark and Klaus kicked butt behind the bar. These guys make a killer team – they never seem too slammed. Mohawks were very popular among the massive crowd in honor of Bobby’s own hairstyle choice. Though Cal wasn’t sporting a mohawk, his help and support running the tournament, which ran until way after closing, was greatly appreciated. He was happy to present the tournament winners with trophies of their own to mark the occasion. Cal pulled together his resources and built a six foot in-house trophy in Bobby’s honor and will be proudly displayed at the Pickled Onion for years to come. Pickled Onion’s owner, Sean and his wife Jennifer along with his brother Ian’s girlfriend, Becky, were already selling raffle tickets by the hundreds for a buck a piece. Some very gracious friends of Bobby’s were spending upwards of fifty dollars each for raffle tickets. The raffle table was stacked with tons of donated raffle items that were ceremoniously given away throughout the evening. Brenda was eventually handed over $2,100 in cash that night to assist with the cost of losing her number one man – a huge help with her finances. Brenda was ecstatic and thanked everyone profusely for their generosity. It should be noted that several other bars came through with donations of their own, including Wah Long, who raised over $900 and Cloud 9 who raised $300, plus Shane and Angie of Liquid Lime donated another $250 of their own. The night was a great success in celebration of Bobby Magee’s life. He definitely will not be forgotten. In fact, Sean made it clear that this event was just the beginning of many more to come. He’s already got plans of using future proceeds to help other spouses who’ve unexpectedly lost their loved ones and need a hand with the mounting costs associated with the void left in their lives. A noble cause indeed, and one that is so necessary within our community. Kudos to those who pulled together and donated of their time and money. Thanks to everyone who generously donated raffle items. Finally, a special thanks to Sean and Jen and friends for their love and support and for selflessly opening up their bar and their hearts in memory of our good friend, Bobby Magee – may he rest in peace. My Bobby Magee By Brenda Savage “Bobbyshoot” was a huge success! I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone’s support and generosity, especially Sean, Jen and the Pickled Onion staff! Bobby loved all of them so much and so do I. They are like family to me. Thanks also to Cloud 9 and Wah Long! It was so cool that these other dart houses showed their support by holding memorial dart shoots in Bobby’s honor. I am most appreciative for everyone’s overwhelming show of concern. Bobby was born and raised in Wisconsin Rapids, WI. He grew up loving the outdoors - hunting, fishing and camping with his dad and brothers. He especially loved the Green Bay Packers and remained a loyal fan to the end. Bobby and I met on a blind date in 1993 and it was love at first sight! Together we raised two beautiful daughters, Randi and Dani. Bobby and I were always doing something together. In the early years we often went out to see live music; Alice In Chains, Nirvana, SoundGarden, Pearl Jam, all of the best Seattle grunge bands! His best friend Steve was also in a band and we loved hanging out with them. One of Bobby’s favorite places to go was to our friend’s property on Hat Island. We would go there almost every weekend to help them build their house and golf on the island’s private course. We all stayed together with all of the kids in a little one-room cabin. Sometimes our whole “gang” would come up and bring their tents and they’d have a big party weekend. Wow, those were the good ol’ days! One of Bobby’s favorite things to do was to hang out on Jerry’s boat every year, tied up on the log boom at SeaFair, grilling bacon wrapped prawns while watching the hydro races! Another favorite tradition was to go to Leavenworth every year for Oktoberfest. Bobby was a true Bavarian and had the coolest hat full of Oktoberfest pins! Bobby was a familiar face in the dart world. Darts truly was one of his passions. He became a huge competitor and mentor to so many. He was always willing to lend a hand or offer advice to anyone who asked. He had so much fun hanging out with Sean, Ian, Cal, Terry, Brenda, Sarah, Justin, Mark, Klaus and all of the regular dart players at the Onion. He has left such a void in our lives and he is missed so much. We all miss hearing the infamous EEEEERRRRRR! We will never forget you Bobby Magee! Check out Bobby’s Myspace site for more fun and laughs: www.myspace.com/bobbymagee4
|
||||||||
|