Title: Master Story Teller
Story by: Our dear friend Dean
Location: Imperial Dam LTVA - Yuma, Arizona
Date: February 20, 2026
Narrated by: Bob Drenning
This is a tale about two friends, annual wagers on the Super Bowl and a chance
encounter between one of the friends and a legendary quarterback in the NFL.
This story revolves around long time friends Dean, Erika, Bob and Sharon. Dean
and Sharon are the main characters in the story with Erika and Bob participating
in supporting roles.
Dean and Sharon share a friendly rivalry betting on the outcome of the Super
Bowl each year. One can tell, Dean enjoys gently goading Sharon into placing a
wager. Once the wager is solidified he has this sly grin on his face, like a fox
let loose in a chicken coop. Unfortunately for Sharon, she has never won a
wager. This infuriates her to no end and she vows to never make another bet with
Dean. But, come the next Super Bowl, the sly old fox entices her into that
chicken coop again. Dean begins to gently bait Sharon into placing a wager on
the outcome of Super Bowl LX between the New England Patriots and the Seattle
Seahawks. Dean continues his pursuit to acquire a wager on the game. Finally,
his persistence has paid off. Sharon reluctantly agrees to place a wager with
Dean on the outcome of the game.
Bob is selected to facilitate the coin toss to determine who gets which team.
The problem is no one has a coin for Bob to toss. So Bob has to improvise with a
water bottle cap. The top of the cap is designated “heads” for the New England
Patriots and the threaded portion of the cap is designated “tails” for the
Seattle Seahawks. The toss is made and the bottle cap lands on tails. Dean could
not help himself by goading Sharon that the toss could not have been more
appropriate since he lives in northern California, closer to the Seahawks, and
she lives in the Midwest, closer to the New England Patriots. Sharon was having
none of that garbage and through her facial expressions and posture, pretty much
conveyed a silent message to Dean to “stuff it.” You see, Sharon is a loyal,
avid fan to one team only. If that team is not in the Super Bowl she could care
less which teams are playing in it. Against her sound judgment she allowed
herself to be cajoled by Dean and Bob into placing a wager on a game she had no
interest in.
Super Bowl LX was played on February 8, 2026. To Sharon’s chagrin, the New
England Patriots lost to the Seattle Seahawks 29-13. Once again, Sharon would
endure the humiliating experience of paying off her wager to Dean, in person,
while he savored the moment and expressed his appreciation for providing him
with a crisp new bill as payment. With a sly smile on his face he told Sharon he
would savor the victory and his new-found wealth by purchasing a beverage at
Starbucks.
True to his word, Erika was ever so gracious to provide Sharon with a picture of
Dean, that sly smile on his face, consuming a Starbucks beverage purchased from
his winnings. Sharon felt dumbstruck at the time and was still in a “loser”
recovery mode. However, a few days later, Sharon was overwhelmed when Dean
presented her with a “gift,” a Starbucks green coffee stirrer. How thoughtful
and so compassionate of Dean to remind Sharon of her loss in such a touching
way. Sharon has it displayed in a place of honor within our desert dwelling,
right above the commode.
Just when Sharon thought her devastating loss to Dean was over and done with,
she received a call from Dean on February 16, informing her he has another
“gift” for her. Since Sharon was on her a way out of town for a few days she
told Dean she would contact him upon her return.
On February 20, Bob received a call from Erika (remember our supporting roles?)
inquiring if Sharon and I were available for a visit with them at our desert
dwelling. We confirmed a time and anxiously awaited their arrival with Dean’s
“gift.”
When Dean and Erika arrive we notice Dean has a small shiny package in his hand.
Now both of us are really intrigued and excited to learn the contents of the
package. It was evident Dean and Erika had spent a considerable amount of
thought and time in preparing this “gift” for presentation to Sharon. How
thoughtful it was for them to gift wrap it in aluminum foil. It made for a
wonderful shiny presentation and it was protected from the harsh elements
present here in the desert.
After visiting a while and exchanging pleasantries, Erika turns to Dean and says
to him “tell them the story.”
Dean takes a deep breath, that sly smile on his face, and begins to recite “the
story.”
“We were shopping on Friday at the Yuma Palms Regional Center in Yuma, Arizona.
During our shopping spree we were walking by Just Sports, a sportswear store. I
spotted him first and could not believe it was him. In my excitement, I grabbed
Erika and told her “look, that’s him!” Sure enough, walking into the store was
none other than Patrick Mahomes, legendary quarterback for the Kansas City
Chiefs.”
“We scurried into the store. There stood Patrick Mahomes, supporting his
surgically repaired left leg with a crutch in one hand and holding a Kansas City
Chiefs shopping bag in the other hand. I cautiously approached Patrick and said
Mr Mahomes, my name is Dean and a good friend of mine, Sharon, has been an avid
Chiefs fan her entire life, even though she lives in Chicago, Illinois. On game
day, she proudly wears your jersey, she wears the Chiefs hat, she has her
husband raise the Chiefs flag on the flag pole outside of their house, in
Chicago of all places. In all of my years of following football I have never met
a more devoted fan. At that exact moment, without hesitation, Patrick reached
into his shopping bag and retrieved a small package. He handed it to me and said
please present this gift to your wonderful friend and tell her I greatly
appreciate her devotion to the team and her trust in me to lead this team to
victory in 2027.”
As Dean completed his recitation of the story, he reached over and presented
Sharon with the “gift,” wrapped in the shiny aluminum foil. Sharon eagerly
unwrapped the aluminum foil and lo and behold, what a wonderful gift from the
“MAN” himself. There, for all to see were two Kansas City Chiefs 3D beverage
coasters, featuring a picture of the stadium. As tears welled up in Sharon’s
eyes she thanked Dean for being such a dear friend and wished she had been there
to meet Patrick in person and give him a big hug.
During Dean’s telling of the story Bob asked Erika if she had taken a picture of
Dean and Patrick together. She replied no. Bob thought that was peculiar, but
let it pass. You see, Bob initially bought the story, hook, line and sinker, the
whole bit. Then Bob thought to himself: “what the hell is Patrick Mahomes doing
in Yuma, Arizona?”
However, Sharon caught on right from the start and played along with the telling
of the story. I told Sharon later, the older I get the more naive I get. She
replied: “That is just one of the things I have always loved about you.”
So the moral of the story is…
When listening to Dean recite one of his stories: TRUST BUT VERIFY!
But wait… there’s more!
Just when Bob and Sharon thought this story had ended, Bob received a call on
Sunday, February 22, from an unknown caller with an area code 707. Bob does not
answer unknown caller numbers. Sharon googled the area code and informed Bob the
area code serves northwestern California. Now Bob is curious, so he checks
Erika’s number in his phone’s contact list and by golly there it is! Her area
code is 707. So now Bob checks his voice mail. Sure enough, there is a voicemail
message left by that unknown caller at area code 707. A chirpy male voice
announces: “Bob, when you get a chance give me a call back.”
Well… Bob has heard those kind of solicitor voicemails probably thousands of
times in his life and now ponders whether to call that 707 number back. After
giving the matter much thought and prayerful consideration, Bob calls the 707
number. Immediately, a male voice answers the phone. Bob recognizes the voice as
his good friend Dean and breathes a sigh of relief. But Bob’s relief is
short-lived. In a stern voice, Dean announces he has something important to
discuss with us and wants to know how soon we can arrive at their desert
dwelling. Bob replies “we’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Bob’s mind is racing with all kinds of thoughts about what is this “important”
matter and why did Dean’s voice sound so stern, like he was really upset about
something. Bob was apprehensive and then began feeling ill. You see, Bob had
posted the Master Story Teller on his blog: “Bob & Sharon’s Travel Adventures.”
The blog posting included Dean and Erika’s names and a reference to their home
being in northern California. The blog also included a picture of Dean. Now
Bob’s mind is in turmoil. What if they were upset over this posting? Bob is
really chastising himself for being so stupid as to not ask for their permission
before posting their information on his blog. So with all of this turmoil
swirling around inside of Bob’s head, they arrive at Dean and Erika’s desert
dwelling. Bob is prepared for the worst!
Dean greets Bob and Sharon at the front door of their desert dwelling and
invites them in. Sharon asks “don’t we want to sit outside?” Dean, in his stern
voice, absent a smile on his face, says “no, it’s too windy outside.” Bob is
thinking to himself, “this is much worse than I thought.”
While we are all seated in their desert dwelling, I notice Erika stand up and
begin to record on her phone. Bob is starting to get lightheaded. Bob begins to
fantasize, “maybe if I feign a fainting spell, this will all go away.” At that
moment, Dean retrieves an envelope from the table beside him and hands it to
Sharon. Sharon opens the envelope and pulls out a picture and immediately breaks
out in laughter with a look of amazement on her face.
Sharon hands Bob the picture. Remember that TRUST BUT VERIFY statement Bob had
made at the end of Dean’s story? Well, to Bob’s horror, there indeed was a
picture taken of Dean and, the "MAN" himself, Patrick Mahomes together at the
sports store in Yuma, Arizona. A flood of relief encompasses Bob. He cannot
believe his good fortune. Bob dropped to his knees, on the floor of their
dwelling, and bowed down to the Master Story Teller in a show of great respect,
muttering the words “I’m not worthy!” No need for Bob to panic after all.
Unfortunately, the damage was already done. Bob had wet his pants!
As it turns out, the manager at the sports store had indeed taken a photo of
Dean and Patrick together. The manager had informed Dean he would have a copy of
the photo for him in a few days. So Dean received the treasured momento of a
personal encounter with the legendary quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs and
Sharon received the treasured Kansas City Chiefs 3D beverage coasters!
So, the new morel of the story is…
I’M NOT BUYING ANY OF THIS CRAP!
Dean enjoying his Starbucks beverage!
First "Gift": Starbucks Coffee Stirrer
Second "Gift": KC Beverage Coasters
Dean and Patrick Mahomes
Sharon opening envelope received from Dean