Joshua is seen in the back just after talking to Steve. Walking around to find Mark’s office, when he arrives Mark is busy with someone else so Joshua writes a note and pins it onto the door and walks off. As he walks away the camera catches what the not says.
Mark,
I want Steve in a match for the belt. Make it happen.
Joshua Acquin
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Joshua is seen in his office reading the paper where the headline reads that the pig farm in North Las Vegas is moving from where it is after people have been complaining about it more and more. Joshua thinks to himself about the day when he made his first deal and it was to the farm. But in order to get it Joshua had to do some work for the owners. He sat there and started to write an editorial about it.
Ten years ago, right around this time, I wandered onto a pig farm in North Las Vegas to meet a guy named Bob Combs. As always, I didn’t know the precise nature of what awaited me, which is partly why the ensuing 12 hours were among the most delightfully disgusting and unforgettable I’ve ever experienced. So when I learned that Bob and Janet were pulling up stakes, I must confess I was overcome with a sudden feeling of sadness
I’ll never forget that massive cooker in Bob’s backyard - a towering, Rube Goldbergian
contrivance cobbled together with random parts from various junkyards. Conveyor belts traveled in every direction, transporting an unholy smorgasbord of food scraps into a giant stew pot three stories high where they were brought to a slow and aromatic boil. Bob said the smell reminded him of a “bakery.” Opinions vary, but the machine itself was undeniably brilliant, and Bob built the thing himself, by hand.
Also unforgettable: the pick-up truck from WWI, the silos filled with rancid ice cream, the hospitality of his lovely wife Janet, the diabolical feed cart that redefined conventional notions of “right” and “left,” the mud, the smell, the expression of wonder on Barsky’s face, the perpetual soundtrack of squealing and slurping, and of course, several hundred ravenous pigs that ate like kings, thanks to the ingenuity and dedication of a man who takes his vocation very seriously.
Bob Combs is also a genuine steward of the environment. I’m not talking about a traditional proponent of all things “green,” or a champion of the latest codes and compliance - God knows, Bob is not a poster child for the EPA, and over the years he’s stepped on the toes of more than a few elected officials. But you’ll not find a more perspicacious or persuasive advocate for commonsense recycling than Bob Combs.
For 50 years, Bob has brought his pigs to market with Vegas house money. As other farmers pay more and more for grain, Bob controls expenses by collecting countless tons of uneaten buffet food from casinos and feeding it to hundreds of pigs. Hard work to be sure, but over the decades, it’s impossible to overstate his impact on the local ecology by working smart as well as hard. No shortcuts. Bob’s approach to conservation is so rooted in practicality. It was Bob who showed me that Brown was a far more sensible better color to rally behind, for those serious about sustainability and meaningful conservation.
Wherever Bob and Janet are headed next, I can only wish them browner pastures, and all the luck in the world. Feel free to join me.
Joshua
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Nightmare hits the PA in the Rialto Theater in Tucson Arizona. The fans boo as Joshua walks onto the top of the ramp. He walks down the ramp and gets into the ring quickly walking over to the edge to grab a microphone.
“Cut my music. Mark I asked for a title match aginst Steve and this week you slap me in the face and give me a match aginst Matt Spears? Come on Mark I thought we were cool. Remember HIS, where I did all your dirty work in this ring? Is that what I have to do? Do I have to come down here and beat Matt to a bloody pulp to get this? If that’s the case then Matt I hope you have great insurance that will take care of your family while you are in the hospital. I don’t hate you I am going to step on every throat and break every knee cap to get what is rightfully mine. Steve has a match one on one that he will give me. I still owe him for that belt hit he had when we lost our tag championships. So Mark until I get that match I am going to destroy everything you place in front of me. I will interfe in Steve’s matches in the Blast from the Past events. Sorry Alexis I know you don’t care for your partner in the tournament anyway. So I will destroy anyone you place in front of me starting with Matt Spears.”
Joshua drops the mic and walks to the back.
