The new Atlanta show schedule

Pretty simple if you ask me. Just take two pieces. Eat one now & save one for later.

LOL...I live in the south..no surprise we hear things backwards so they make no sense...but anyway...yeah I want to eat my cake and have it too. Other than the fact that I'm diabetic and shouldn't have any cake at all...is it so bad to want more out of life than half of something? I want to vend at as many shows as I can find time to regardless of who's draws the bigger crowd. I'm not getting rich on these shows. Most of what I make goes back into supplies to get ready for the next show. If it was all about the money, I would lose interest fast. I just like doing it. Talking snakes with tons of people and seeing a lot of cool animals. I say let the promoters duke out their own battles. I'm not picking sides and I'll resent anyone asking me to. So far it hasn't happend but there is a lot of side picking going on on both sides...and i really just don't get it. Even if Tony lies, cheats and steals, he didn't hurt me and in the end, I went, I sold hooks and I came home. Other than sending him my registration info and money, I didn't have to sleep with the guy or anything. Cathy however does make me sleep with her and she snores and stuff...but it's pretty much the same deal. Why all the drama over who set up the show? Why not try and make the best of all of them? That's what I'm trying to do.

So now your accusing Cathy of cheating on me & Danny? Perhaps you need to take another trip down the yellow brick road. Yeah, I remember stuff. LMAO

Oh, and Danny snores also.

I was joking people!!!!

I haven't even read the responses yet, but I cannot believe you would actually think that Tony would blame Cathy for his car burning! He said, the other day - "I know what happened! It was Cathy!" It was funny as hell, and tongue in cheek. I told him I'd post it here,, he thought everyone woudl get a kick out of it.

Just a few weeks ago, in the thread (or the other one) you guys were joking that Cathy was to blame for the problems of the other show, and she did this and that - I thought you guys would get a kick out of it.

I apologize, I seriously didnt' think any of you would take such a thing seriously.

Take care
Eric A

Jesus man, was I that convincing? "In confidence" and "Elroid" were pretty obvious hints. I mean, if it was in "confidence", would I post, in a public forum frequented by not only Cathy, but her friends, family, and the rest of the reptile industry, an accusation of arson and attempted manslaughter? Think about that for a minute.

Roark, Audrey you guys know me - I'm no idiot.

Tony, for all his faults, has been nothing but nice to me and has always treated me and my wife with respect. Though I have worked for Tony, on and off, since his very first show in Raleigh, I am noticably absent from most of these discussions. I go to his shows, I get stuff done, I work hard, and he pays me well. I do not involve myself in his personal life, hs personal problems and I certainly do not want to involve myself in the feuding and other BS - there's no point in it. When something is said that I believe is incorrect, or bull$hit, I'll respond - (like the rumors of him spending the vendor table money for the May Raleigh show on a new car. He didn't, he simply lost money at Tampa, and figured Raleigh would bring in 10,000 with or without advertizing - it didn't) When something is said about him that is truthful - you will not see me jump up and reply.

To me, Tony's been nothing but good and generous.
I certainly am not blind to see that he does not treat everyone as such.

So everyone, chill out. Tony has had issues with not wanting to accept personal responsibility for poor show performances. He's said all sorts of bad, naughty things about all sorts of people. But he certainly was not serious about Cathy doing that!

Saturday morning, I had to run to Walmart to buy him a new outfit(I'm kind of like his "odd Job" guy, though not a "henchman", he needs something done, I'll do it - as long as it doesn't involve driving the van - not doing that no more, no-sir-ee), as all his other clothes were in his suitcase, which, as you guessed it, was in his envoy. As he was getting his coat on, he said "Eric, I know what caused the envoy to burn up!" I said "What, a fuel line leak?" He says, "it was Cathy!" probably the only time he laughed all weekend.

I actually thought Cathy would think it was funny, I have emailed her a few times recently, she knows I'm a nice guy.

We all wish Tony would get his shows back to spec. They were so enjoyable back then, now they've been depressing and stressful.

I think, after the past shows, that Tony's trying to fix things from the top down, when he needs to do it from the ground up. The snakebabe, wheel of fortune, contests and jazz are nice extras. The problem is (and this is my opinion as a hobbyist) that he's putting too much faith in these things, and neglecting the REAL draw - vendors. The people like the snakebabe, the wheel, etc. A few actually come just for that. But the core, his real BASE, are the hobbyists that come for the vendors and educational lectures and speakers. Most of these people coudl care less about magic shows, clowns, prizes and all the extras on the schedule. Without them, without satisfying the base of hobbyists wth a plethora of vendors and animals - all the semi nude snake covered pretty ladies in the world aren't going to cover yor expenses. When your base is covered, THEN you go for the other draws, the kids and the newcomers.
I think if he went back to the begining, he could be back at the top in a year or so.
PErsonally, I think it's hard for Tony to contemplate doing that - he's very prud of how big his shows became. Going back to something smaller than a big event type show is probably not even an option for him.

Again, my opinion only.

Originally Posted by eric adrignola

We now know what caused the fire. Tony relayed to me, in confidence,
that some evidence has come to his attention strongly suggesting that the
party responsible for this act of arson is none other than Cathy Elroid
herself. For shame!

That isn't very funny. I was not humored in the slightest. And Tony thought it would be a funny joke to post about Cathy? I don't think so Eric. Cathy is #1 on his list of "Most Hated". He can hardly stand the mention of her name. Cathy has made several honest attempts both publicly & private to put a bridge over their troubled waters. But Tony always gets out his wrecking ball & smashes the bridge to pieces. She's done her part. Now it's up to him. I feel that they'll never be actual friends, but need to get along for the sake of the reptile industry. Viciously sabotaging someone else's show will not make other shows any better. We've all seen this with the last 3 shows he's put on. I wish the best for Cathy & Tony both. We need some great shows without all the BS.
You are right about one thing. He needs to once again swallow his pride & start over small. There were 100 vendors at the Hamburg Pa. show all crammed together in a building. No birds, mammals, clowns, petting zoo, etc. Just a building packed to limit with nothing more than reptiles & feeders. And the show only lasted for 6 hours. Over 1500 through the door during that 6hrs. Shows like that make money for the vendors & promoter, plus gives the attendees their money's worth once they step through the door. This keeps everyone involved coming back. The building is not fancy at all. Most people don't care. It's what's on the inside that counts.

I seriously didn't think that it would be taken so SERIOUSLY. I think
that's got a lot to do with me being just a hobbyist, and not a strict
businessman. Since my livelihood is independent of the hobby, I don't
get caught up in the bickering, nor am I offended by such jokes. Some
of you, who depend on the shows to feed their families, HAVE to take
things seriously.

I still think, that, as a whole it's a pretty funny joke, however, I think I
may have overestimated my perceived neutrality. Had the joke been
posted by someone who was not being paid by Tony, it might not have
been taken to be serious. Miscalculation on my part.

I thought using the "Elroid" misnomer, and ending it with "For Shame!",
would have been enough. Opps.

I apologize for getting people upset. I also apologize for making people
MORE pissed at Tony. God knows he doesn't need that.

Eric A

I don't think anyone got pissed at Tony for your joke. You are the one that posted it. And I still don't see the humor.
However, I have noticed that the SC show page is being updated. Man, he sure went up in the space prices & electricity for Jamil Temple.

You are right about one thing. He needs to once again swallow his pride
& start over small. There were 100 vendors at the Hamburg Pa. show all
crammed together in a building. No birds, mammals, clowns, petting zoo,
etc. Just a building packed to limit with nothing more than reptiles &
feeders. And the show only lasted for 6 hours. Over 1500 through the
door during that 6hrs. Shows like that make money for the vendors &
promoter, plus gives the attendees their money's worth once they step
through the door. This keeps everyone involved coming back. The
building is not fancy at all. Most people don't care. It's what's on the
inside that counts.>>>>

One thing you need to remember: Tony started the shows as an exotic
animal breeder/dealer. It was, from the start, not "just" a reptile show,
but an exotic animal show. Do not expect him to exclude exotics and
birds, as they were his initial interests. Some have complained about
Tony's shows, with all the "non reptiles". Many do not know that he
owned animals exotique, an dsold quite a few animals himself in the past
- that's why I started workign for him. I was selling sugar gliders fo rim
until after he sold the company to Cliff in Texas.

The Petting zoo and other stuff is fine, and it is worth it every time fo
rhim. It draws lots of parents that would otherwise not come. Great for
ticket sales and increasing the advertizing budget of the next show. It's
just that he gets caught up in these extras, and the real part of the show,
the vendor quality/quantity/diversity, gets pushed aside.

Personally, when I see Armstrong's crickets, Twin oaks, big name
vendors and reputable breeders, I WANT to go to the show. When I se
it advertized as a casino, with door prizes, bird shows and magic acts -
not so much. I enjoy all the other things, and they are great, but
advertize yor VENDORS first and foremost.

I'm not afraid to let Tony know where I think he can make some
improvements. Tony is very stubborn, and is resistant to change. His
show got to be very popular, and he's not the type to change his formula
when he knows that it DID work.