Ode To PUNKUN January 25, 2007

[WebMistress]

Hopefully I can say that this is better late than never. I originally wanted to post this before the end of the year, but things just kept delaying me.

I’ll add the usual disclaimer here. I’m sure that I missed mentioning many great experiences. That would be because of; 1) I wasn’t there when it happened or, 2) I can’t remember all the happenings. Also, the following would have been many pages longer when printed if everything was remembered.

The main point of this posting is to honor somebody that was extremely important to our club when it became the ‘Alliance’. Some of the early members will remember that we could very easily have NOT been in existence today were it not for a strong person to occupy the office of President. The following words are about that person who served as President of the finest car club in the world for six years.

May God Bless him, his family & all of ya’ll…….

ODE TO PUNKUN

Long, long ago and not so far away,
A fledgling T-Bucket club fell into ‘Harm’s Way’.
It became incumbent to replace ‘Association’ with ‘Alliance within our name,
Many factors influenced this change, so to fruition they came.

To go into the details is not what these words are about,
In respect, they are dedicated to someone who developed a lot of clout!
When he volunteered to serve in a new position, which few would do,
He was one of two on the ballot, and was elected to an office that was new.

Richard Johnson was not how he was identified by name,
His nickname, or handle did create his fame.
It was given to him long before he walked into our fuss,
And, for the most part, he’s been known as ‘Punkun’ to most of us.

Now, about that handle, let me speak a bit,
For a few selected folks have sometimes had a fit,
When that nickname was spelled ‘Pumpkin’, it caused a snit.
They knew it was incorrect because it sure didn’t fit!

To explore this nickname spelling, there’s a present need,
Although, the spelling issue to date, has caused no one to bleed.
On some of the confusion, I’ll ‘draw a bead’.
Starting with the word pumpkin, as I did read.

My dictionary defines pumpkin succinctly, so this description leads;
“A large, round, orange-yellow edible gourd like fruit with many seeds.”
If large means tall, then Punkun certainly did not heed,
But he might agree that to tape his girth would produce an affirmative read.
He’s certainly not an edible gourd, upon which one feeds.
Colae, Katie and Amy were blessings that met him and Melinda’s needs.

Another confusing aspect is the color of Punkun’s T,
Isn’t it about the same hue that a typical pumpkin would be?
One more contributing factor, to this misnomer, as one can readily see.
And it may temporarily fill those ‘Pumpkin’ folks with glee.

And then there’s the matter of the BBS posts Punkun would hatch,
When one looked at his location, it always indicated ‘The Patch’!
But, henceforth let it be known that ‘Punkun’ is the name that is correct,
So that all might pronounce and print it true, without neglect.

Although this nickname clarification is overdue and, or late,
If my dim memory will allow, there are other things to state.

Punkun already had a daytime job when he filled the President slot,
Little did he know the time required, would be more than a lot.
Thank the Lord he didn’t reconsider; he might have said, “NOT!”
The new Alliance really needed a good man in that important spot.

Few people knew that Punkun was on call seven days a week,
And most days worked were long and hard, with no relief to seek.
Then, it was home to Melinda and the girls to pound that N.T.B.A. beat,
Which required a lot of phone time, sitting in the President seat.

So began Punkun’s Presidency, with never ending work,
And through his six year term that work continued to lurk,
At times requiring additional help from Melinda and the girls,
Now ‘The Patch’ would be exposed to six Nats, complete with whirls.

Punkun’s first Presidential Nats was held in Hannibal,
It was as hot as standing in front of a large, fire breathing animal.
When Punkun arrived at the room next to the Pups and me,
I went out to help him unload all the things that I could see.

The entire Patch was there so we unloaded the car quickly enough,
When we got through, that room was full of N.T.B.A. stuff.
Until that time I didn’t realize a President had to do all of this,
And I’m not sure at all that Punkun considered it bliss.

There was a notable surprise that happened at the Hannibal meet,
Occurring at the end of our National Meeting, it was comedy complete.
I think it was Red that presented Fat Pat with his, now famous, ‘tu-tu’,
Alerting Punkun that anytime we had a meeting, it would be a ‘lu-lu’.
All those attending had a great laugh that day,
Including Punkun from the podium, who realized that we like to play.

At Kansas City Punkun almost succumbed to an unbridled laugh,
When being questioned about next year’s accommodations on our behalf,
Some one asked, “Will the hotel accept our furry friends?”
Punkun chuckled and said, “They will!” For me, that was a win.
Then the guy sitting in front of me asked, “What about dogs?”
The laughter that followed was louder than large rolling logs.
Punkun was laughing harder than anyone else in the room,
He finally did compose himself, since the meeting was to end real soon.

Also at Kansas City there occurred a Fat Pat roast,
With Weelstang and the ‘New Mexico Bunch’ being the hosts.
By now Punkun had learned to beware of a potential ‘punch line’,
This time he was informed, but forgot, till Bill reminded him it was time.
Weelstang’s first present to Pat was an Alien doll that was very GREEN,
Punkun was submerged in laughter or so it would seem.

And then came a five gallon bucket full of ‘Roswell Crash Site Sand’,
That turned Punkun and all into a ‘Merry Little Band’.
After everything was presented, Punkun took the meeting back into hand,
He was getting some ‘On the Job Training’ that was grand.

That would come in handy at our first Mountain Home run,
Cause, out tumbled another great big ball of fun.
When we met at the parking lot of the ‘old’ Wal-Mart,
Continuing fun that the Nats embodied from the start.

On the stage in front, B.C. produced the latest ‘T-Bucket head wear’,
Punkun donned this helmet with antlers up in the air.
Although it was a funny sight, he really didn’t care,
He almost wouldn’t remove that hat, not even on a dare.
It was difficult to catch him when his head was bare,
For months, on our web page, his ‘head wear’ pic was there.

Then came the last meeting, over which Punkun would reside,
Being at Bull Shoals, we mounted our T’s with miles to drive.
Within the meeting there was levity plus an award, necessary to hide,
And like a television news break, it would be presented ‘Live’.

When the ‘award presentation’ part of the program finally came,
Punkun was quite startled when he heard his name.
Although there had been much laughter in previous years,
Being placed in the ‘N.T.B.A. Hall of Fame’ filled his eyes with tears.

Al received the first award, Punkun never saw a second one coming,
When the reality hit him, it looked like it was quite numbing.
Yes, I think Punkun was tagged with a total surprise,
Never realizing how he was viewed in the member’s eyes.

After the Nats ending, a new officer election was completed,
With their terms fulfilled, Punkun and his officer’s names were deleted.
So Weelstang and his cabinet could take office with strong belief,
Now Punkun could relax as a member with much deserved relief.

Returning to my beginning words when Punkun filled a gap,
That was heavily laded with things to do and no time for a nap.
There were few members realizing that we could lose it all,
Unless we could find a President that would stand in tall.
Enter Punkun with a list of goals to do, so he did begin,
And he pursued those goals until his term did recently end.

Most, if not all, of his objectives have been presented and done,
Now Punkun could hand the reins to Weelstang for his run.
On January first, two thousand-seven, Punkun did exactly that,
Now he’s wearing a completely different, ‘non-antler’ hat.

Punkun, I’m so glad that you were willing to serve,
Any accolades that can be sent you way are well deserved.
Along with your cabinet members which served along the way,
They are also deserving of praise, I’m sure that you would say.

I’ve tried to stress in the words above, about how important you were,
When you stepped into the new ‘Alliance’, knowing what was to incur.
By filling that ‘beginning gap’, I think it’s safe to say,
Without your past service, there would be NO N.T.B.A. today.

May the Lord continue to Bless you Punkun, for all your life,
And let’s include your family: Colae, Katy, Amy and Melinda, your wife.
The N.T.B.A. was also blessed by your serving for a six year accumulation,
In a stress filled job, with problems to solve, offering no remuneration.

Punkun, we’ll always think of you whenever we assemble,
The ‘President’ word will fill our minds, your image will resemble.
To retain this thought in our memories will be great to do,
Maybe in this small way, we can happily honor you.

Herman T. Quackenbush January 25, 2007

Aka: T-Pilot with Pups

Aka: John Eplen