Fellow E-15ers:
A tradition of every year's Extravaganza is the privilege I have at the end of each year's event to sit down alone on a Sunday morning here at my office at Headquarters, to reflect back on that year's Extravaganza and to write to each of you who attended to thank you for your being here in Extravaganzaland with your fellow travelers. Several have asked, "Where is that traditional thank you letter this year, Ron?" and the reply is that today, some two plus months later, is the very first Sunday that I am here alone, with our mascot Ma'am the Great Black Lab, and finally in a position to reach out to you with this sincere note of thanks for all of the love and affection that you expressed during this, the most difficult of Extravaganzas—the first without our Hostess With the Mostess.
The purpose of the Extravaganza(s) is to bring together folks from all walks of life into the wonders of the flora and fauna of western Montana and together explore the rivers in their natural beauty, to tickle the fins of their resident trout and return them after a quick photo-op, and to conjoin as a family of fellow travelers who have the common elements of rugged individualism, a true love for their fellow man, and a lust to explore the wilds of nature in a safe and secure manner (not to mention the propensity to never pass up a good party, particularly one laced with the finest of wines that the Napa Valley has to offer). Extravaganza 2015 bore witness to an assemblage of the best of the best in union, and in the case of our first-ever all-veteran Group One, reunion.
From the perspective of a couple of month now past, reflect back with me on the sights that you took in while you were here—the beauty of nature's flora, the pure smells of her perfumes, the pristineness of clear rivers with abundant healthy fish guarded by adventurers just like us who left what we saw in a better condition than we found it. Think of the presentations that you received of representatives of the Montana Wildlife Federation, the National Wildlife Federation, Montana's Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and, most touchingly and as reflected in thanks, the wonderful guardians of Montana's Natural History Center for whom, to support and enable their outreach program to get kids out into nature to see and witness what you did, we purchased the bus in the attached picture.
If you have any doubt about the wonderfulness with which we have collectively surrounded ourselves here in Extravaganzaland, take a close look at the smiles on the faces of each of the youngsters in that picture. Isn't that just about the most precious thing that you have seen in a very, very long time? As we go forward in our separate lives know that by our being together and as a result of our individual and your collective charity, every mile that "Rocky" the bus travels will be a reflection of each of you and all of us conjoined as one and every experience unfolded by those miles will likewise be a product of your and our being together.
Another reason that the delivery of this letter has been a bit delayed is that, for me, this message is a culmination of 16 years of a wonderful relationship that I was privileged to share with our nee Hostess With The Mostess—it is my formal adieu; it is my final closure on what has been a most difficult journey over the past several years as the wickedness of alcoholism ravaged and destroyed what we had together and what we shared with you via the Extravaganzas of the prior dozen years . After Kathy's passing in January, I had lunch with a dear couple in downtown Missoula who had been of so much assistance to me, after which there was an almost physical tugging that took me to a nearby art store where I was taken by and purchased a beautifully framed gilded and painted changed-color maple leaf which presently hangs in the master bathroom here at Headquarters. It is entitled "Nothing Lasts Forever"…and that, prophetically, is indeed the case as soulfully and bitterly painful as that at times can be. This is one of those times and as I put the exclamation mark on E-15 and close the book of my passage with Kathy, in no small part because of the love and Extravagant strength that each of you expressed to me (especially the wonderful ladies of Group Two who orchestrated the beautiful Kandles for Kathy passage on our last night together), I look forward to my future with enthusiasm and optimism, and I do so knowing that your giving to me when combined with the beauty and warmth that Kathy and I shared together will make that future a bright one, filled with many, many more Extravaganzas and all of the sharing, giving and receiving that is innately associated with this blessed event that, together, we have created and each ensuing year recreate.
So, in final salute to Extravaganza 2015, please light your Kandle for Kathy that we gave you in celebration of her life, of all that has blessed us by being together in the past, and of all that we will share together in the upcoming years. To that end, I hope that each and every one of you E-15ers joins us here again in Extravaganzaland as Group One of E-16 reconvenes here on Saturday, June 11, 2016…bring it on, gang!!
Best to all from the now concluding scene of it all,
Rock Creek Ron and, by proxy, Your Hostess With the Mostess
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