Epilogue II". Enjoy !
(Photo above by Nick Steers. Scraped from the pages of the Facebook Group, "L.A. County Lifeguards And Alumni" without permission. Woo Hoo!)
Dateline: Thursday, June 11, 2009
San Pedro, Calif.
Re: *** "Kenny Atkins Retires; Pedro on Lock-On; Taverna Declared A Crime Scene !"
Reports and photos continue to trickle in of the ridiculously successful retirement send off for Kenny Atkins this past thursday nite at a certain Greek Taverna in San Pedro. This blog post will most likely continue to be updated with new content as it is forwarded to "County Recurrent." To date, we've only heard from Randy Steigley, who in an email this afternoon professed, "The belly dancer will be my wife, I'm in love ! oxomoxo Steigley". Another witness says he saw Steigley with a dollar bill in his mouth which leads to all sorts of speculation. To which we at "County Recurrent" demand to know why there was no mention of a belly dancer in the flyer ?! Those of us caught up at the annual Johnny Joseph Scholarship Dinner would have bolted that event for sure had we known of the "entertainment" at Kenny's retirement !!!
"County Recurrent" was able to secure a couple of Classic Shots taken by Joel Gitelson at Kenny's Retirement Party and here they are:
(Photo by and courtesy of Joel Gitelson. Kenny with John Burich.)
(Photo by and courtesy of Joel Gitelson. Kenny with Chris.)
note: Jury is still out on the explanation of this award.
In addition, "County Recurrent" has rifled through its vast library of photos and located some photos featuring Capt. Kenny Atkins, which we will narrate as part of this retrospective celebration and inquisition.
We begin with the photo below which is where this odyssey began in 1971 with that year's L.A. City Beach Lifeguard Rookie Group Shot. How is it that Kenny has not aged?
(Photo above courtesy of Kenny Atkins and Richard Mark).
(Photo above is from Jimmy Makuta's Retirement Party in June 2008. L2R: Mark Newman, M.D., Dave Estey, S.O.L., Ret.; and Kenny Atkins holding what is almost certainly 'not' a glass of Martinelli's cider).
(Photo above is from earlier this month at Scott Davey's Retirement Party; Shown here, L2R, retired LACo S.O.L., Donny Souther with Kenny).
(Photo above shows the Infamous Atkins Brothers, Dan and Kenny. Brothers from a different mother, that is. Never before seen together until this very day!)
(Another photo from Scott Davey's retirement party shows Kenny, at left, with LACo Recurrents, Jamie Orr, and Will Maguire, at right).
(Arthur Verge, at left, with Kenny and Jamie Orr).
Congratulations to Kenny ! Your retirement, while certainly not welcomed by your colleagues, is a just reward for your many years of outstanding service to the public. Your many, many friends are as well a testament to your personal charm, warmth, integrity, and then, of course, there is your Outstanding Sense of Humor ! It has already been calculated that "practical jokes" within the Lifeguard Dept. have already precipitously dropped since your last day. :-) If anyone can enjoy retirement with a smile, we know it will be you ! Kenny Atkins is now officially 10-7. And so we wave goodbye with this Sept. '07 photo from CSHQ showing Kenny with Jimmy Makuta.
(Photo above: Kenny Atkins, at right, with Jimmy Makuta, at CSHQ, Sept. 2007. Photo courtesy of Will Maguire).
Until next time.....
"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com
Legend:
*** = Ridiculous Parody Only.
Epilogue: Just in from Kenny himself, 06.15.09:
"Wow, what a party! Thanks to EVERYONE! As is usual at these things, when you want to say stuff you never can say all the things that you wish or considered saying before the event. I DO wish to thank everyone for a fantastic career...it wouldn't have been the same without every one of you! I've said this many times before, but every time I got on the freeway towards LA and looked at the people in the cars around me imagining they were heading to their regular nightmare of traffic, parking search / expense, and their individually decorated cubicle, I am ever thankful that I found this and was able to continue in it for all these years! There was no better choice for someone like me, to be at the beach, workout, play (Imean train!) but also to do something as rewarding as this!
And Randy, as for the belly dancer, I heard she was looking for your cell number...was that your phone or residence?"
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Epilogue II: All Photos below by Marla Liberty. Courtesy of the Digital Photo Retrieval Skills of Karena Liberty Gurr. Thanks Karena ! Uploaded, 07.22.09.
Enjoy !
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That's All Folks !
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