Time Travel to the 90s...just for a little sushi!

A.I. Image from Adobe Stock

Each "team" had plates like this!

by Skip Cohen

​I know I've shared some of the stories in the past, but it's Throwback Thursday, and this morning I found a folder of additional photographs, not previously shared.

The Backstory: I don't know how it started, but it was in the 1990s, and AOL was pretty much the only forum where photographers were active. For some reason, in the Kodak Chatroom, Tony Corbell and I were challenged by Wendy Saunders and Calvin Hayes to see who could eat the most sushi. That led to a never-ending volley of trash talk over the next few months.

That year, the PPA convention was in Orlando, and that's where these crimes against all creatures from the sea took place. Now, if you know Tony or me, you know that neither of us ever does anything halfway! So before the event, we prepared:

• I bought us matching Yukatas, Japanese-style robes, so that we could look the part.
• Tony and I spent hours in a trophy shop designing the belts for the first "World Sushi Federation (WSF) Texas Death Match". You name it, if the shop had something to do with trophies for fishing, it wound up on our belts.
• At a flea market, I bought a pool cue in a professional-looking black case. I remember giving the cue to a ten-year-old kid walking by and keeping the case. I then filled the case with various styles of chopsticks, all held in place with Velcro, and included a supply of Pepto Bismol.
• We talked Ed Pierce into being the official judge. It was his job to moderate the event.

When the smoke cleared, the group had consumed close to $2,000 worth of sushi, of which Wendy, Calvin, Tony, and I had eaten 80% of it. My Dad was at the convention with me that year, and I remember him saying, 'Wow, when I was your age, all I had to do extra in business was play golf!"

What still amazes me is that Tony and I are not little guys and were convinced we would bury the competition. I remember being at 63 pieces and asking Wendy how much more she thought she could eat, "Probably another order or two!" That was it, Tony and I threw in the towel.

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The fun of Throwback Thursday comes in two parts. First, it's the hunt for old photographs you want to share, or just enjoy for your own private walk down Memory Lane. Second, are the people in the pictures. For example, Alison Cotton, then Alison Pierce, was working with Clay Blackmore. I had forgotten she was one of the photographers who joined us that night. She's standing in the background.

Ed Pierce, the referee at the event, decided to give extra points to any team member who could eat a salmon skin handroll without using their hands. Calvin jumped right in!

With every Throwback Thursday post, there's always a point or two. First, take photographs from the special events that help create memories in your life with friends/associates at each workshop and convention you attend. Second, print them...if these were on a jump drive somewhere, I never would have found them. Third, there's an incredible value in the friends in your network, and they're part of your life to help you make those memories, whether for work or play. Just appreciate them.

Looking back, I suppose I should feel just a little guilty for spending Hasselblad's money...NOT! While the final check came to just under $2,000, Wendy and Calvin were both spokespeople for Hasselblad, and most of the guests that night had something to do with supporting the company's marketing efforts. So we rationalized and decided it was part of sponsorship!

Happy Throwback Thursday!

​PS Click on any image to enlarge and view in the SCU Lightbox.

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