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Thousands line up for Livestock 12
By BRADY DENNIS, Times Staff Writer
The collection of cars, trucks and vans -- even school buses -- snaked along from Chancey Road in Zephyrhills south to Hillsborough River State Park. Thousands of people waited for the gates to open to Livestock 12. But the party already was in full swing. "People here are so cool," said Eric Antonucci, 31, of Tampa. Antonucci was at the front of the line, drinking a Bud Light, shirtless in the morning sun, a pearl earring through one nipple. He said he has missed one Livestock since he was 19, and he doesn't plan on missing it again. "This is my vacation. I dream about this," Antonucci said. "I tell my boss every year that I'm . . . taking Livestock off. Where else can you go camping with 20,000 people?" Judging by Friday's procession, it seemed like all of them showed up early. They came from as far as California, Washington state and everywhere in between, such as Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Georgia and Michigan. Among the sights: trailer loads of firewood, colorful tents, water guns, Confederate flags, a Jeep with a black coffin tied to the top, a bus painted like a cow. Roving men carried video cameras, pointing them at women in bikinis with beads hanging from their necks. One man revved up his dune buggy, while another passed nearby on a 10-foot-tall pink bicycle. Campers that didn't have speakers tied to the roofs usually had people sitting on top in lawn chairs, sipping from kegs. The throngs cheered for Mary Beyer of Wesley Chapel when she cruised by, stopping periodically, in her traveling "Munchie Mobile." "I said, 'Why not capitalize on this?' " said Beyer, as people lined up to buy everything from soft drinks to sardines. "They're all drunk. They need to eat. They got to put something in their bellies. I'm like the Pied Piper." Livestock 12, headlined by such acts as Kid Rock and Stone Temple Pilots, mostly gears itself toward the younger generation. But that didn't stop former Army soldier Martha Hudson, 50, who earned herself the nickname Granny Grunt among the youngsters. "This is my fifth time," said Hudson, of Tampa. "One year I got to go crowd surfing for three hours. I couldn't walk for two weeks." Across U.S. 301 at Tropical Acres Estates, a retiree mobile home park, Joyce Cook and Jackie Abrams stood watch on one of the two-hour shifts that residents take from 4 p.m. Thursday through 4 p.m. Sunday to make sure no unauthorized traffic gets in. The two women said the traffic, crowds and the noise can be a nuisance, but even they enjoy the distraction once a year. "We look forward to it. It's a break from the norm," Abrams said. "Lots of them come over and say, 'Pose with us so we can tell our mother what we really did.' " Wearing a red Budweiser "Whassup!" visor, Cook looked like she could fit in with the revelers on the other side of the road. But when a reporter asked her if she planned on joining the weekend party, she just laughed. "Are you kidding?" Cook said. "I'm a fairly brave person, but I wouldn't go in that gate for anything." -- Brady Dennis covers the city of Zephyrhills and crime in east Pasco. To reach him, call (352) 521-5757, ext. 23, or toll free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6108, then 23. His e-mail address is dennis@sptimes.com.
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