Circus wrote:
There can also be bad legendary persons as well as good.
Are you suggesting a certain wise-guy wannabe whose handle has been banned from this and other websites might qualify as a legend?!

Fuggedaboutit!
We all have our own ideas on this subject so I thought I'd go "look it up" so to speak. A legend is defined as "an unverified story handed down from earlier times, especially one popularly believed to be historical, a romanticized or popularized myth of modern times or one that inspires legends or achieves legendary fame." "A legend can also be a person or achievement worthy of inspiring such a story - anyone or anything whose fame
promises to be enduring."
Going by this one type of legend could be someone who is no longer with us but whose acheivements or exploits are of such fame that they have been passed down to this day. In the early days before the wide disemination of monger knowledge via internet discussion forums, those who participated in this hobby were true pioneers. To the extent their exploits are known today some of them would certainly qualify as legends. Others are remembered solely by the other pioneers that came up with them. DD's mentor was certainly a legend to DD, but not to the rest of us.
However, there are several others who for a variety of reasons are no longer with us and yet whose names still are often repeated by those still active today.
Tampa Gringo is certainly one such person. Other possible candidates that might fall into that category include
Lump (for his pioneering monger map),
Flander (so well beloved that he was eulogized on this board),
Mexpat (for his guide to living and eventually leaving the dream) and, as much as I hate to say it due to our differing philosophies,
Astroglide (for his GFE (sic) Guide and the "Crystal, braces and subsequent Assault" soap opera that kept all of us so fascinated for so long).
Then there are others who, IMHO, definitely qualify as living legends (ie their fame promises to be enduring). Guys like
Don Gordo and
Circus are living proof you don't have to die or disappear into the woodwork to become eligible for the future hall of fame. Both were among the original pioneers. Both went on to be active posters on this and other boards passing on the knowledge that they had gained to future generations. Don Gordo is the only guy I know whose birthday is celebrated as an annual monger holiday in CR. And tales of Circus, his jangling fanny pack, his warped sense of humor and, of course, the famous Huggy are all definitely the stuff of legends (we love ya man).
There are a few others that are still highly active and if they don't quite qualify as living legends are well on their way to becoming ones. My hat has to go off first to
Gamlingman and
Tman for starting this board. I suppose by the same token
Rico should be included in this group for his pioneer work with CRS, but his ultimate fuck-up with that board may have made him the Pete Rose of CR Mongering, banned for life from the Hall of Fame. Another nominee would have to be
RBC100 for his down and dirty tico Bar and MP List. He is a contemporary pioneer exploring and discoverying off-the-beaten track places for all of us to enjoy. He's also a personal favorite as a nominee since he exemplifies to me the true whorticulturist, savoring the country as much as the women. One more nomination for the future hall of fame, a personal favorite of mine since I consider him a true friend is
VegasBob who is always there holding court at the BM guiding newbies and vets alike with his on-the-spot intel.
There are many others who are legends to the larger monger community if not so much exclusively to CR. That category might include some who have appeared here such as
KosherKowboy (for his unique style),
JimmyDR (for his DR expertise) and
NibuRaphael (for his travels to every little backwater in all of Latin America). These guys maybe legendary but they're not particularly legendary as CR Mongers.
I'd also nominate myself if I weren't so modest.

I'd like to think my map will have as much lasting impact as Lumps did before it, but that determination is not really for me to say. Besides its going to be hard to acheive the status of legend if my name doesn't even appear on it. Maybe I oughta fix that. Oh well, I guess I'm only a legend in my own mind.
Seriously though, I think we really should have an annual poll on this topic. Just as we had the Tica of the Year (TOY) selected by all the members of the board, we should select a monger or mongers to be added to the the Hall of Fame each year. The results could be announce as part of the annual CR anniversary celebrations. So far I count 12 nominations for the CR Monger Hall of Fame that I've made above. Does anyone want to second the nominations and start a poll?