Back in the late 2000s, this writer was lucky enough to meet and spend a little time chatting to Bob Hardcore Holly. In fact, by virtue of pure, dumb luck, we ended up running into each other several times over the course of one day. In person, Bob was nothing like you could reasonably expect him to be. In fact, he was kind, polite, patient and considerate, which is strange when you contrast that with his uncompromising ring presence and reputation for being one of the stiffest workers of all time. During an autograph signing, Holly sat smiling as a large Indian family clamoured for autographs and photos with him. The kids sat in his lap and the parents shook his hand vigorously. Holly posed for a photo with each one of their children (they had about 6), smiling and chatting amiably the entire time. He couldnt have been nicer. Later, during an indie show held that same evening, this writer got chatting to one of Bobs opponents for the night, an affable young British wrestler/manager, who had done really well as a heat magnet in front of such a small, family crowd. Is Bob really as stiff as Ive heard he is? I asked, already knowing the answer by the pained expression on the guys face. What do you think? he said, lifting his blood-splattered shirt to reveal a scythe-like, hand shaped gash across his chest, complete with stringy, haggard flesh hanging from of both sides. I wrestled him every night last week he explained, It was just scabbing over, but then he busted me open again. Does that hurt as much as it looks like it does? I asked, politely trying not to wince. Oh, it hurts much worse than that he said, smiling. The worst part though, is that I just started a new job two days ago at a bank none of my colleagues know I do this with my evenings and weekends. Theyre going to know now though, arent they? The fresh, dark blood, now seeping through his shirt like stained blotting paper, simply served to highlight his dilemma. For my part, I made up my mind, then and there, that the next time I met Bob Holly, I would be polite and either wave to him or shake his hand warmly, as I had done several times that day, but never, ever, would I p!ss the guy off...
I am a professional author and lifelong comic books/pro wrestling fan. I also work as a journalist as well as writing comic books (I also draw), screenplays, stage plays, songs and prose fiction.
I don't generally read or reply to comments here on What Culture (too many trolls!), but if you follow my Twitter (@heyquicksilver), I'll talk to you all day long!
If you are interested in reading more of my stuff, you can find it on http://quicksilverstories.weebly.com/ (my personal site, which has other wrestling/comics/pop culture stuff on it).
I also write for FLiCK http://www.flickonline.co.uk/flicktion, which is the best place to read my fiction work.
Oh yeah - I'm about to become a Dad for the first time, so if my stuff seems more sentimental than usual - blame it on that!
Finally, I sincerely appreciate every single read I get. So if you're reading this, thank you, you've made me feel like Shakespeare for a day! (see what I mean?)
Latcho Drom,
- CQ
