I’ve been SO unbelievably swamped recently! Only good things, but damn!!! I wish I could have the chance to breathe sometimes. LOL, I don’t know which is more exhausting… wrestling or appearances! I guess what I am trying to say is I’m REALLY sorry that it took me so long to get this and the last two BrimBLOGS up and running. I’ve been running on empty for days and thank G-d I had a little time to sleep this morning… Refreshed!!!

Yesterday was the Long Island Arthritis Foundation Event, “Salute Your Staff Luncheon” over at the Huntington Hilton, Melville New York. To be quite honest, I was not really expecting the event to be as big as it was before I got there. It turned out to be fantastic. I’ve been to many charity events in my time and I was impressed by the way everything was set up. The Grand Ballroom was packed with tables and a plethora of sponsors. Before people began to get there, I had a little time to get to know Joe Rock from WBAB. Joe was a really nice guy and we joked about how people mistake him for Bill Goldberg almost all the time. It could be worse and he could be mistaken for Gilberg!

Brimstone & Joe Rock of WBAB

The Ballroom started to fill up pretty quickly after my arrival. I bumped into Bud Harrelson formally of the New York Mets. Bud is now in the Mets Hall of Fame and is currently the owner of the Long Island Ducks Baseball Team. His World Series Championship ring was quite impressive and he rightfully showed it off proudly.

Brimstone & Bud Harrelson (New York Mets Hall of Fame)

I introduced myself to Jil and Drew from the WBLI morning crew as I mingled with the guests. Drew and I discussed a potential Brimstone appearance on the show so I’ll keep everyone in the loop.

Brimstone with Jil & Drew of the WBLI Morning Crew

I really enjoyed speaking with Tom Westman of the hit Survivor: Palau. Tom told me how much fun he had while on the show living in the jungle and such. I asked him how many immunizations they had to give the contestants prior to being shipped out and he rattled off way more then I would be able to handle! I told him my father sent an audition tape to Survivor years ago. I’m actually a little shocked that they did not pick him because I think he would have done really well!

Brimstone & Tom Westman of Survivor: Palau

The Arthritis people have this particular thing that they ask the celebs to do which to be blunt none of us could really understand! I’m not going to get into it, but it has to do with having the guests sign OUR books for door prize raffles. A group of us including Soap Opera heart-throb Joe Sernio, a couple of the NY Fire Dancers, WWE Legend Mick Foley, and the 1st Lady of Wrestling Missy Hyatt. all sat around and talked for a little while trying to again figure out the reasoning behind the book thing. Missy and I being the fun people that we are actually hammed it up for the guests arguing over who was going to have the most signatures in their book! LOL, I think she was cheating DAMMIT!

JoeSernio, Brimstone, NY Fire Dancers, Mick Foley, & Missy Hyatt

During the speeches, Mick and I were introduced and asked to say a few words. Mick started off and had a lot of great things to say. It was a tremendous honor to be up at the podium with Mick because he has been an inspiration to me throughout my career. I’ve gone down a similar path and I look up to him. I have an enormous amount of respect for him and we’ll leave it at that!

Mick Foley & Brimstone at Podium

After Mick was done he handed me the mic to address the crowd. I wanted to make sure to get the point across that this foundation is one that is extremely important and close to home for athletes like us. It’s something that we will really have to suffer with throughout old age due to the nature of our business.

Brimstone at Podium addressing guests

I saluted the Arthritis Foundation staff on all their hard work that they put into the event and for the cause they are supporting. Before handing the mic back, I had to take a quick stab at Missy and tell everybody to sign my book and not hers LOL!!!

Brimstone & Mick Foley at Podium

I was approached by NY Islander Mike Sillinger who’s kids happen to be huge wrestling fans! Mike was a really nice guy and it’s always great to be appreciated, especially from people in other sports.

Brimstone & Mike Sillinger of the NY Islanders.

I had a blast with my new friends from the New York Dragons John Hamm, John Walker, and Angel Estrada. I put my sights on all of them to come over to wrestling when they are done with football! These guys are huge… made ME feel small! They invited me to be their guest for the game at the Nassau Coliseum on Saturday night and hooked me up with a few tickets. It looks like I’ll be attending.

John Walker, Brimstone, Angel Estrada, John Hamm of the NY Dragons

Another great couple who I had the pleasure of getting aquainted with were Jimmy and Dawn Carfora of HBO’s Family Bonds. Really nice couple and we are going to get together soon to do the dinner thing whenever there is at least a little bit of time!

Jimmy & Dawn Carfora of HBO’s Family Bonds, Brimstone, & Missy Hyatt

I think that Lyndsay Fontano of Starbucks should get a HUGE pat on the back for all the work she did in preparation for the event. She really worked twice as hard to make sure things happened the best they could. She knows they can count on me lending my time for years to come! Oh, and keep that Passion Tazo Tea coming!!!

Lyndsey Fontano of Starbucks & Brimstone

David Weiss was hilarious and I enjoyed the way he and Joe Rock MC’d the event. David is one of the personalities from 1010 Wins Radio as well as the new weather man for TV 10/55 WLNY.

David Weiss of NY 10/55 & 1010 Wins with Brimstone

Later on before leaving, I was interviewed for the 11 o’clock news for TV 10/55 WLNY by reporter Christina Regnault about the event and the cause itself.

Brimstone being interviewed for TV 10/55 WLNY

All in all it was another great day and I am proud that I was able to be a significant part of it! Looking forward to next year!

Brimstone with Christina Regnault from TV 10/55 WLNY after interview

The piece about the Salute Your Staff Event ran on the news last night and included ole’ Brim. Here is a screenshot from the broadcast.

Brimstone on 11 o’clock News for TV 10/55 WLINY