Waffles and Questions
One of the greatest things about being a wrestling photographer is the
fact I some times get to travel with this crazy circus like atmosphere
called wrestling. So as a feature on my blog I decide that I will
share some of the road trips that I have taken and the sites I have
seen; and what better way to start this off with than my first road
trip with the wrestlers a few years ago. I was invited to attend the NWA 57th annual convention in Tennessee by my friend and then vice president of New Japan Pro Wrestling's West Coast offices David Marquez to photograph the event and a contract signing between NJPW and TNA for talent sharing. Before I go any further I have to say that there are very few people I trust in the wrestling business and Dave is one of them. There was five of us in the NJPW contingent; David, a professional wrestling manger know as C Edward Vander Pyle; and two wrestlers Tommy "Kome" Williams and Alex Koslov; and myself.
As part of the convention there were three nights of wrestling events in three different towns; Lebanon, Springfield and Nashville with over 50 matches and a chance to see the talent from all the other regions. But the real fun of this convention was just hanging out with the wrestlers after the shows.
Let me set the stage there are these diners called Waffle House all over the freaking place. In my opinion they make Denny's seem like a 4 star restaurant, the food is not all that good, and it seems very dingy and not to mention I got a slight case of food poisoning the first night we ate there (for some reason that was the only place the guys wanted to eat night after night). So there we were sitting in a Waffle House; Williams, Vander Pyle, Koslov and myself eating this crap once again discussing the show. Koslov who was born in Russia but has been in the states for years has this way he asks question which I don't quite get. "Let me ask you a question" he would always start and I know I was in for a good one, " I like baseball" he would finish off in his thick Russian accent. I would just sit there not knowing what to say to that question and pretend he never asked.
This time Alex actually had a question for the waitress, which cause my mouth just to drop open. The waitress came by like and asked if everything was ok. To which Alex responded in Alex Wisdom way "Excuse me, Can I get a sample of the waffles?"
My mind was reeling trying not to laugh my head off at Alex asking for a sample of a two dollar waffle and him just being as serious as he could be. I just looked at him dumbfounded, not sure what waitress response would be I just watched it unfold in front of my eyes.
"Sorry honey," she responded in her Flo from "Alice" southern accent "we don't give samples of the waffles out."
Their accidents were like dueling banjos over the subject of waffles. It was like driving by an traffic accident that you can't look away from.
I thought that was the end of it, but once again Alex proved me wrong "can't you just scraped some of the side (of the waffle iron) for me" he said.
The waitress said no curtly and walked away from us just shaking her head. In the end I think she thought it was just a big joke perpetrated by a couple of guys from out of town, little did she know that it wasn't a joke.
This is just one of many stories from road. So stay tuned as another tale from the road is heading your way soon.
About Slam Jam
Shane Michael Kidder, creator of a Web site of his photos that receives nearly 2 million hits a month from around the world, has learned many lessons in his time photographing wrestling, the most important one being “watch where the wrestlers are going.” This comes after almost being knocked out by a wrestler diving out of the ring at his first show in 2003 at a Golden State Championship Wrestling event in Newhall, Calif. Born in Northridge and still living in the San Fernando Valley, he spends most of his time working on his Web site in preparation for the next wrestling event.
Leave a comment