There’s an expression we Goodboys use on the eve of our annual Goodboys Invitational golf tournament: inevitably, on Thursday night when several of us from the northern contingent (Ed. note: even though I live in Arizona, I’m still considered part of this group that lives in the Lowell/Dracut metroplex; as opposed to those members who live either on the South Shore or on the Cape, and are called the southern contingent) gather at the World Cup Driving Range in Hudson, NH to hit balls before going out for dinner and cocktails, Ben “The Funny Guy” Andrusaitis will say something to the effect, “Boys, Christmas morning is almost here!”

And so it is, as tonight begins the festivities associated with Goodboys Invitational weekend. Oh my, Santa’s elves have been especially busy this year:

* Ron “Cubby” Myerow has finished work on the official scoreboard;
* Pat “Doggy Duval” McLaughlin has the Bloody Mary makings and wet bar all arranged for Saturday and Sunday mornings;
* Kevin “Goose” Dwyer has secured our Saturday night dinner reservations;
* Mike “Vegas” Clark has been recording bets on the so-called ‘pigeon sheet’ and has been doing special wrist and finger exercises over the past several weeks so he can accurately and swiftly record the various bets tossed across the breakfast table on Saturday and Sunday mornings;
* Doug “The Great White Shank” Richard has all the paperwork associated with the Mariner Motor Lodge and Captains Golf Course reservations safely stowed in a hermetically-sealed briefcase handcuffed to his right wrist (a critical deviation from the past when he would use his left wrist);
* Steve “Killer” Kowalski has ready the Spielberg Memorial Trophy (the “Holy Grail” of the Gooboys Invitational) and the champions jackets, and has secured Friday afternoon optional golf reservations at Truro’s Highland Links course;
* Ben “The Funny Guy” Andrusaitis has spent weeks sharpening his wit;
* Paul “Possum” Shepter is, um, just planning to show. But – he’s already paid in full, so that’s OK with me.

The Great White Shank will be taking a few days off to enjoy the fun and festivities, and will be happy to report back all the highlights come next Tuesday. In the meantime, enjoy some excerpts of an upcoming book by Victor N. Cugini on Top Priority, ‘The Band That Never Changed Rock’ – a band my brother Mark and I started many moons ago.

Fore!