From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Joliet, IL

to everyone in the bp.com community:
as some of you may have read, i freaked out the other
night when i went to start my seeds and my 842 sounded
hollow. i then made a post asking if anyone elses'
842 or any other seeds sprouted even if sounding hollow.
then i got a lot of support and some bashing
(which i now deserve) from others on the bp.com
community. i then went on to say i will never
purchase another seed from a seed auction.
this was all the wrong way to go about it. i should have
just waited to see if it sprouted, and if it was empty, i should have just simply emailed or called the club
president that i purchased it from and handled it like
a mature adult.

it may have sounded hollow, but there was an endosperm
inside it because today it pushed out a radicle.
after creating such a commotion over nothing, i feel stupid
and embarrassed. my apologies go out to all involved
and the club i purchased the seed from. i have emailed
al eaton after he read this post and was concerned
stating to him how sorry i am. i emailed the club president
i purchased it from and again apologized.

once again, i am sorry and i feel so stupid.
i am going to stay off bp.com for a while because
i am a dope. i never intended for it to cause
so much concern to so many good people. this has
been one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.

i can go on and on (like i usually do) about how sorry i am,
but i will now just shut up, put my tail between my legs,
and take my medicine that i undoubtedly deserve.

sincerely
jeff shenoha aka shazzy the fool

4/30/2005 2:33:14 PM

NEPA [email protected] KB3QKV

I am not anyone to decide if an apology was necessary or not. That would be between you and the offended. I was not offended. I for one did not know there were filled and part filled and hollow seeds. I never gave it a thought. Actually I say "Thank you" for teaching that to me and I find it very interesting. Maybe even interesting enough for a subject matter some day. I cannot speak for anyone else but we are mature enough even the younger ones here at BP. I was not offended. In fact if I spent $300 and I thought it hollow I would have perhaps been just as upset. I do not think that anyone is mad, resentful or hateful to you. Sure everyone here has different opinions and seems like most on that post were supportive of you. And those that were not supportive of you are just as nice of a person as you. They just have a different opinion. There is no need to stay away from bp.com for any length of time and you are not an a$$ or a dope. You said it yourself that you never intended for it to cause so much concern. There was no intent, and you have apologized. Now we do not need you to stay away at all. One of the things that make this community so great is the group itself. And if parts of the group go away then even part of the community dies. We don't want or need that. You do not need or deserve any medicine and you are not a fool. In fact, you and the others that replied taught me something and I am glad that you did.

4/30/2005 3:06:59 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

Take two aspirins and go to bed. When you get up, work on growing a big pumpkin from your seed. We have all, at one time or another, done something dumb. Have you ever heard, "To err is human." Wouldn't it be something if you broke the world record with that seed??

4/30/2005 3:48:15 PM

Webster, NY

I guess I didn't think it was a big deal. You paid a lot of money for the seed and (if I remember right) really all you asked was, did anyone else have one that was hollow. It might have triggered a big discussion, but was probably a reasonable question to ask. Aside from that, you have done what you thought was appropriate, apoligized to everyone you can think of. I think it's now time to forget about it and think about the pumpkin that seed will produce. Good luck with it.

Dave

4/30/2005 4:06:10 PM

ontario

not to worry....I have one that won't germinate .....luck of the draw, just going to try another one.....

4/30/2005 5:11:38 PM

Hayes, Virginia

Hey Jeff as far as i know no one in BP.com
can walk on water.
Was big of you to admit you were wrong.
Happy Growing Jeff..

4/30/2005 5:55:37 PM

Butler, Ohio

Shazzy, please dont go away! As a new grower last year, I personally learned so much from you and your diary and put it into practice this year. Please stop beating yourself up over this. I'm sure just about everyone here has over-reacted about something in their lifetime. If they havent, then, well, they just havent experienced life to its fullest I guess. So, take good care of that little guy and get him out in the hoophouse when he's ready and grow a biggun!!! Cause I plan on givin ya a run for yer money this year!! Thanks for your help in the past and for returning emails when some people wouldnt. Mike

4/30/2005 5:56:05 PM

Somers, CT

I learned how to bounce seeds. I guess that useless drinking game from college where you bounce the quarter into a glass was not so useless after all. Thanks, Rob

4/30/2005 6:33:52 PM

Long Island,New York

Well....for your punishment you now need to take a scissor to the 1247 Handy.

4/30/2005 9:29:08 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

Yikes! Don't beat yourself up for lamenting over a bad deal that turned out to be good..300 bucks is a lot of money if ya thought ya got beat at the time of the first post It wasn't like you were pointing fingers.just crying over spilt milk...Hey that's what were here for..believe me as the season goes on there will be a lot of guys/gals that will want to give it up...I've been there..sometimes you just gotta "talk" to someone who goes through the pain...Just don't worry about it....GrowEmBig!

4/30/2005 9:45:02 PM

New Hampshire

Jeff, I measure my shoe size by measuring my mouth. Welcome to the human club. I didn't think what your original post said was all that off base. I think "ify" seeds should not go on the aution block. We would all feel the same way you did if we were in your shoes. Move on and make Illinois proud.

4/30/2005 10:03:05 PM

Puyallup, WA

Should you grow a 1500 pounder from that seed, the painful memory would be soon eased! :>)

4/30/2005 10:11:31 PM

[email protected]

I'm psyched!

No one is more pleased to read this post than I am. We sold two 84 Eartons at auction this winter. One to Brooks & the other to Shazzy. I donated one of those seeds & I now know that both germinated.

It was with mixed emotions that I messaged Shazyy 2 days ago. Part of me wanted to remind him of the "no warranty" statement & part of me was dusting off a relacement.

I personally would never trade or donate a seed I wouldn't try to grow. As in all things, our faces are all we really have.

I hope that seed grows you a new personal best Shazzy. 1500 lbs would make me very happy & proud.

For the record; I've destroyed an 845 Bobier & a 1068 Wallace already this year. And I usually have no trouble germinating seeds.

Grow well Shazzy.

Sincerely,

Steve

President of the CT GS&PGA

5/1/2005 12:36:30 AM

South Bloomfield, Ohio

What a great community to be part of.

5/1/2005 1:48:05 AM

Ohio

Tremor, I cooked my 1068 wallace along with a 1420,lucky I have a extra 1068 LOL,I feel your pain!Im in mourning right now.

Brooks

5/1/2005 5:16:54 AM

[email protected]

Brooks,

Dave handed me another 845 at our District Pinewood Derby yesterday.

This really is a great community giantpumpkindude. Words to live by.

5/1/2005 9:02:22 AM

Waquoit Mass

we all have brain farts takes a good man to admit one and apologize maybe some others could learn from your character

5/1/2005 10:18:01 AM

Joliet, IL

thanks everyone for the support. even al eaton has
emailed me back saying not to beat myself up too much.
everyone i know always said i have good ears. the reason it sounded hollow to me was because its embryo was less than
half of the size of its seed shell. i have posted tonight
pictures in my diary of its discarded seed shell next
next to the sprout for size reference. its just a premi-
baby and hopefully it will grow nicely and produce a big'n.
i thank everyone for their kind words. its still a lesson
to be learned by myself. i do get over excited easily,
but this has been an experience i will never forgot.
patience and humility. these are 2 words i need to beat
into my thick skull. so, tonight i will sleep good for the
first time in 3 nights.

it is so nice to see the good friends i have made on this
site give me their support.

so all i can say is good luck to all in 2005 and may you
all top your personal bests, and that includes al eaton
maybe breaking the 1500 pound mark.

sincerely
jeff shenoha aka "shazzy the humble"

p.s. sorry about the 818 G. i chose it as my backup for the
reasons of its great crossing. its a beauty of a plant
for certain and i was not sure if the 1247 would pull out
of its original leaf burn. send me one next year if
you have extras and i promise i will grow it to
fruition. and keeping promises are one thing you can put the bank on.

5/1/2005 10:40:20 PM

Sioux Falls, SD [email protected]

i like that you shared how you felt
i like that friends were ready to advise you both ways
it gets typed up and documented. . .
but its really just friends sharing feelings and ideas
cool apology. . . nice people

5/1/2005 11:39:28 PM

Joliet, IL

i forgot to mention G. that i already took the scissors
to the 818 about 3 days ago. thats why i said if ya send one next year i promise to grow one to fruition.
it was a hard decision to make because both the 818 and
the 1247 are beauties of a plant in the first 28 day
stage. but i went with the proven seed seeing that its
offspring that jack larue grew went almost 20% heavy.

5/2/2005 12:11:45 AM

Cologne / Germany

Hey shazzy, you got nervous about an expensive seed that didn´t germinate in the usual time and your reaction was emotional - pretty normal. At the same time you came up with a very interesting subject: no warranty for seed buyers - are seed auctioneers responsible for what they offer? Maybe it´s better to auction seedlings not seeds...LOL
The person missing here for sure is Poppy - entering a thread without reading it, making unqualified statements and starting to stir a pot that doesn´t even belong to him. The apology is on his side - you´ll probably never see it.

5/2/2005 7:59:57 PM

[email protected]

This post does bring up a valid concern for all clubs who auction seed. We go out of our way to obtain seeds only from the growers or from reputable growers who we know did obtain them directly from the grower. Indeed the few second party seeds we auctioned were done so only with the original growers permission. I know the exact chain of custody of the seed Shazzy is growing. I've seen both heavier & lighter 842s.

That said, we also sent back one seed to a donor (who was the grower) & received a replacement for it when someone thought it was "light". I even let my son drop it since his young ears have a knack for hearing the bad ones. He agreed it was light. It was not an 842.

But what of the seeds that sound solid & still don't germinate? It may sound crass, but there is nothing the clubs can do about this. I know our association wants nothing more than ALL of the seeds we sold to grow their owners a new personal best. Imagine how happy we'd be if a new world record was grown on a seed we sold? WOW!

But we sold over 120 seeds this past December. And there is no way that all of them could possibly germinate. The odds of this are impossibly small.

Anyway...enough rambling...I'm glad Shazzy's 842 germinated & the CT GS&PGA is wishing him all the best with it. Make us proud Shazzy!

Steve

5/2/2005 10:19:26 PM

Edwardsville, Il

Just a thought, one thing that is missing from our discussion is a chemical that can produce big pumpkins; beer, aka fun, aka weekends at the patch. I think we all need to plant seeds and grow the biggest pumpking we can from what ever sprouts. It's ok to have a portion of the patch for the "big one". If you don't have a bunch of kids picking pumkins from a plant near you prize plant, maybe you should. I hear the air from their excited breaths makes plants grow big.!!!

5/26/2005 12:05:49 AM