Remember this post from last month? Well, the below pic (sorry I couldn’t make it clearer) is what the announcement as looked like as published in ESQ’s Winter 2016 edition:

And here is the thank you note I sent to ESQ editor David Beard (published on the opposite page, left column):

David, you can imagine how stoked (not to mention spooked) I was to get your email with the note that I’d won a 50th anniversary MONO LP autographed by “the boys”. Looks like I’ll have to dust off my turntable. Not to mention finding some speakers I can hook it up to. I say I was spooked because it just so happens I’ve been counting down my top ten albums of all time over at my blog goodboysnation.com and it just so happens that today – today! – was #2 and – you guessed it: “Pet Sounds”. (I guess you’ll have to check in to see what my #1 album was!). Just goes to show there are forces in the universe few of us understand, eh? I first saw the Beach Boys at Boston Garden in 1975 – my late brother Mark and I were so stoked to see the white amplifiers, white grand piano, palm trees, rugs and tiffany lamps in their stage setting that we did the same thing in the band we had at the time. Since that time I guess I’ve seen them at least three dozen times, including the infamous 1977 show in Pawtucket, Rhode Island where Dennis and Mike had a major tiff on stage. I’ve been a subscriber to ESQ for as long as I can remember, and I look forward to seeing every new issue when it appears in my mailbox. I appreciate everything you and everyone at ESQ does, and I will always cherish this incredible gift. Heck, I might even get it framed. My fondest wishes go out to you and all your readers.
Surf’s Up!
Doug Richard
Gilbert, Arizona

I still haven’t figured out whether (and how) I’ll get my 50th MONO edition of Pet Sounds framed, but it was a nice gift and I’m grateful to David and the folks at ESQ for the lovely gift.

A big welcome to ESQ readers! Here’s the link to the Pet Sounds review mentioned in my thank you note. Feel free to check the site out for other Beach Boys-related posts by using the search function – there’s a bunch of it. Why I never created a music category for the blog is something I should have done a long time ago. Maybe some weekend when I’ve got nothing better to do!