In 1965, I was working the all-night shift at a small FM station in Los Angeles.  One night, I was getting a bite to eat before I headed for the station.  I was sitting in a rather large booth enjoying my "Big Boy Hamburger" when into the place came a friend I had met the previous year when we worked at the same company (I had just left the USAF).  He was with 4 other guys and when he saw me, they all came over to my booth.  Randy and the guys were one of the local "surf bands", the Challengers.  They joined me in the booth and we had a lively visit talking about the local music scene.  As I was getting up to head to work, Randy mentioned that the next Saturday night, they were performing at the "Orange County World Teen Fair" and I should come on out.  It sounded good to me so I made my plans.

I arrived at the fair about 7:30 and made my way to the concert stage.  Randy and the guys were in the middle of their set and laying down some solid hits.  When he saw me, he motioned to me to get over to a side door where I could get into the backstage area. When I got to the room, I found out that the Challengers were backing up the featured performers of the night and there they were.  I was backstage with the Dixie Cups, Jay & The Americans, Sam The Sham & Pharaohs and the Righteous Brothers.  I walked around, shook a few hands, listened in to some stories and just enjoyed the moment.  Nothing major happened, good or bad, just artists hanging out.  Randy and I visited for a few minutes and then I headed out to be in the audience for the show.  I had to leave right after the show since it was an hours drive to get to work.  It remains one of my favorite memories and I've thanked Randy every time we visited after that.