Ellis

 

Recently we heard that a very good friend of ours named Ellis will be off the grid for a while. He is married to a fine lady named Brenda and we spent a lot of time clogging and playing with them over the years. This story describes some of the good times we had with Ellis and Brenda.

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Ellis

 

Ellis is one of those guys that you can depend on doing what he tells you he will do. I always trusted him explicitly. He has a great sense of humor and is fun to be around. Ellis and Brenda danced on our Rhythm Ace clog team and we spent a lot of time together over the years. We took a lot of pictures during our activities, so perhaps the best way to discuss Ellis is through a series of pictures.

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Ellis is signing up for the Rhythm Aces when we first kicked off our great adventure. If I remember correctly he signed up as Annus Wiper. That’s Gary in the chair and Casey, April, and Tamara in the background. Let the fun begin.

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Ellis with his distinguished look in his new glasses at my daughter Kristi’s wedding party. He always tried to be at the top of his game at parties. Love those bedroom eyes.

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That’s Bill, Ellis, Gary, and Fred doing the Fred Shuffle in my basement. Looks like Ellis and Gary got into the sombreros. I do believe Ellis even broke a sweat. We all seem to be getting into the moment and appear to be right together.

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Ellis seems to be standing flat footed while the rest of us are dancing our little hearts out at the Bartlesville Mall exhibition dance. Maybe he stopped to read the sign he seems to be staring at. Come on Ellis get back in the game.

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This is Captain Ellis navigating the Rhythm Aces around on a Poontoon boat we rented on an all day outing at Grand Lake. Ellis cooked up some hamburgers and hot dogs out there on the water that were really good. Look at that wind blowing through his hair. He really looks contented being the Captain. What a fun day that was.

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Heres Rob, Ellis and Tamara at one of our celebrations at the Lions Club hall where we clogged. Ellis seems to be a little embarrassed about something. He’s likely up to mischief again.

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The Rhythm Aces having dinner after one of our exhibition dances. Ellis has his bib on and has one of those looks on his face so the meal must have been very good. That’s Gary and Paula on the left and Fred and Paulette on the right. Carl and my daughter Kristi are just behind Ellis.

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Ellis with a cute little hat on dancing with his daughter April at one of the Rhythm Aces outings at B. T. Bones nightclub in Branson. 

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Here’s Ellis talking to the lady horse while Brenda listens in on one of our outings to the White Horse Saloon in Nashville, Tennessee. Ellis seemed to speak the horses language as she’s smiling back at him.

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Here’s Ellis and I singing the “Lovesick Blues” at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Believe it or not we got a standing ovation from the six other people in the place at that time.

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The Rhythm Aces posing for a picture at Ozark, Mo., after a successful competition there. L – R Gary, Paula, Ellis, Brenda, Bill, Pam, Paulette, And Fred.  This was one of our finest hours.

 

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That’s Paula pouring the last of the Hot Damn down Ellis’s throat in the motel at Ozark. I think she dumped about a half a bottle in him. Paulette is in the background.

 

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We met Tanya Tucker going into a five star Italian restaurant in Nashville and Ellis got a big hug right off the bat while I was taking the picture. That’s Brenda, April, Kristi, Tamara, Pam, and lucky old Ellis hugging Tanya. I did get to dance with her later in the evening however. Tamara is holding Tanya’s signature which she still has.

 

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That’s Ellis and Brenda dancing to a song Tanya sang Just for them to dance to. Ellis seems to be in hog heaven. What a way to top off the evening. This was one of the best nights we had in Nashville.

 

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Although we haven’t seen Ellis and Brenda in several years, we still consider them some of our best friends.
Ellis is a fine man and we hope he is able to resolve his current problems and get back to living a normal life again soon. We still love you Ellis.

 

 

Thanks for reading Ellis,
Bill