SONS OF THE DESERT 24th INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION

 

The 24th Sons of the Desert International Convention was held from June 20th to June 25th, 2026 at the Legacy Resort Hotel & Spa in San Diego, California.

It was a memorable experience for me since it had been 44 years since I attended my last SOD Convention which was in 1982 at Detroit MI!

 

With Cassidy Cook, granddaughter of Lois Laurel and Great Granddaughter of Stan Laurel.

Marcia Opal from the Chicago Bacon Grabbers, a dear friend from way back!

Kevin Mulligan, another dear friend from many Conventions ago!

Mr. Jamie McKenna and Mr. Bill Leavy, excellent Laurel and Hardy impersonators

 added a fun touch to the proceedings

With Bob Satterfield and Marcia Opal having lunch at San Diego's Rudford's restaurant. 

We hadn't seen each other since 1982!

Gary Cohen caught me doing my editorial cartoon for the day at the Convention Dinner Cruise

 with City Experiences (formerly The Hornblower).

   

 

With Tracy Tolzmann from the Block-Heads Oasis #3 of St. Paul, Minnesota, recreating our pose from the 1980 Hollywood Convention!

The next convention will be held in Minnesota hosted by the Minnesota Block-Heads headed by

 Tracy Tolzmann in 2028.

And hopefully, I'll be able to make it there too!

WORST TRIP EVER!

 The trip I try to forget but keeps haunting my nightmares:

One week in Los Angeles with my decrepit old father, who still insisted on sitting at the driver's seat in spite of being obviously unfit to drive. The times we almost crashed, ran over pedestrians or hit stationary objects were too numerous to recount. And when I was not having a heart seizure inside the car, we were wandering aimlessly inside every 99 cent and bargain store the old man could find. 

I never went on another trip with him until he finally kicked the bucket.

ONE WEEK IN LOS ANGELES AND SAN DIEGO WITH MY DAD...

November 7 to November 14 is a week that will live in infamy...
That is the week I traveled with my 90 year-old father to Los Angeles for what was supposed to be a fun-filled excursion, visiting the great tourist attractions and doing some leisurely sightseeing around the LA/San Diego area.  The trip took a turn for the worst when dad insisted in doing all the driving himself and, after several heated arguments, the trip became an exercise in endurance. The final result was: one hour in Long Beach, one hour in Coronado, one hour at the Kodak Theater Shops in Hollywood and the rest of the trip spent inside cheapie stores like Big Lots, DD Discounts, The Thrift Store, Dollar Tree and Fallas. But, I figured it was my dad's last trip with me so I decided to just grin and bear it. Hopefully, my dad enjoyed the trip immensely.  I sure didn't!