A Night I'll Never Forget

For a full day and most of another now I've been utterly remiss in not coming back on here and thanking everyone for showing up at the ACC Basketball Book of Fame launch party down at the Community Arts Cafe Wednesday night. And I hate, above almost all things, being remiss, especially utterly remiss.

I have to admit I was stressing a bit by the time I woke up Wednesday, but what put my mind to rest was knowing that those at the party would be the people who have been behind me for so long, most of them long before I ever got around to writing this book. I knew with them/you there for me, as they/you have always been, we'd have a time to remember.

And I was right.

If I start thanking individual people I know I'd leave someone out, and have to be utterly remiss once again. And nobody wants that.

But I will make an exception for family, and we had plenty of it there. I always have to start with my blushing (often for good reason) bride Tybee, and quickly get to the best daughter a man could have, Rebecca. And it's always a party with the other two Collins' boys in the house, and it meant so much that Tom was there with his bride Jenny from Raleigh and Joe made the long haul all the way up from Franklin with his bride Pam. Mayhem has been known to ensue when this crowd gets together, and some did, indeed, ensue Wednesday night.

Tybee's side of the family was also well-represented with her sisters Kim and Brenda up from the Triangle, along with Brenda's hubby Watts Ward and their two talented sons, Matt and Michael. Matt is so talented he brought his black Gibson Hummingbird and joined the All-ACC Hotshots on stage, and Michael is so talented it videoed the whole uproarious set. I've been too swamped to check out the results of Michael's handiwork yet, but if it's good stuff, which I imagine it is, I'll upload some songs onto the blog.

We really don't have that many occasions we know for absolute certain that we'll remember for the rest of our lives, but I experienced one Wednesday.

And to all that made it the special occasion that it was, thanks.

As an extra special treat from this blog, here's some photos of the grand occasion taken by Shannon Pierce of the good folks at Blair Publishing.

            (L-R Trisina Dickerson of Blair in the bad company of the Collins boys Dan, Tom and Joe)

                           The All-ACC Hotshots (L-R Johnny Hoots, Bubba Spear, Country Dan and Matt Ward: drummer Ed Snider was hiding behind the tom tom.)