I was going to wait on this a few days, but under the circumstances, I decided to post this up now. Wes, AKA Hondo passed away late Saturday night. He was like a brother and this one hits pretty hard.
I had a nice talk with his sister yesterday about everything. He was one tough guy and he hung in there for several months longer than the doctor's claimed was possible.
We shared a lot of shooting, beer's ATV rides, and a love of the Chiefs over the years. He was the kind of guy that if he liked you, he would give you the shirt off his back. (In this case literally, I learned he left me all his Chiefs gear) Hondo was the kind of guy to put everyone else first.
I'll have to double check the area for snow level. I'd like to take one last wheeling trip up Bridger Creek this year, dodge the grizzly's that are out trying to get their last meal and stash a bottle of Pendleton at a place on top of the mountain where we used to stop and just BS. I will hoist a shot to the heavens, say a few words and toast him, every time I head up there.
I'll post more stories along with some pictures in the the thread as it moves along.
RIP my brother, you were one of a kind and you will be deeply missed. [Reply]
Yeah we met at a tailgate in person. Started talking on Facebook from time to time. He lived a great life. Was a really cool dude. Appreciate Bwana giving him the RIP thread worthy of him. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lzen:
I only met him at Joe's party the first time in the mid 2000s and at a chiefs tailgate a couple of years ago. He was a great guy. Love the stories, Bwana. Keep 'em coming. Here's me, 007, and Rocky mountain chief at a tailgate right about 2 years ago.
I was just about to go looking for that pic. Hondo was such a nice guy. So glad I got to meet him in person. [Reply]
So I had always heard stories about this guy, Hondo used to rodeo with back in the day, a black guy by the name of Cooter Hill.
On my birthday a couple of years ago, a buddy of mine drove down to Billings from Great Falls to hang out and go to dinner on my birthday. We end up jumping an Uber to a local western streak house/bar. We are sitting at the bar BSing with the bar tender, drinking beverages, when this guy walks in. Really friendly guy all smiles and about everyone in there seemed to know him. About that time, his cell phone rings and his ring tone is the "Where the white women at" from Blazing Saddles. Everyone was cracking up.
Shortly after that, I heard someone call him Cooter. I walked over and asked him if he knew a Hondo. He gets an ear to ear grin and says "He's a good buddy of mine, we used to bull ride together." Cooter came over and sat with my buddy and I and starts telling some Hondo stories from back in the day.
Hondo was supposed to come down and join us, but he ended up being on call and couldn't make it.
I decided to give Hondo a call and was giving him crap about some of the stories I just learned about. Hondo explains that one night in their rodeo days, they were trying to check into a hotel and the only room left in town was a single bed unit. With that being it was the only choice, they had to take it. I guess at least it was a king bed. Hondo says, "Cooter is the first guy I slept with, ask him". I lean over and said "hey Cooter, Hondo claims you are the first black guy he slept with, any truth to that?" Cooter about fell out of his chair, he was laughing so hard.
I handed the phone to Cooter so he could say hi to Hondo and after about 30 seconds, he starts cracking up again and handed me back the phone. I asked Cooter what Hondo said and he said Hondo told him, "Greg doesn't like black guys." You had to know Hondo's sense of humor. We all had a good laugh over that little deal and sat around killing off many cold beverages the rest of the night. [Reply]
