Back in Eastern Tennessee.

Before we move on to the Volunteer State, here's one last shot from Kentucky.



Denise's daughter Lynn took it while her husband Dale and I were sewing one evening. Yea, that's right. Sewing. I was fixing my watch band, which is beaded with blue and white trade beads and is always shedding beads and needing fixing. I made the thing, years ago, when I was deep into a Native American thing. Last time we were up there one of Chantell's dogs pulled it off a table and chewed on it, so I had to rebuild it.

I'd only recently put it back together again, with a new clasp and some new bead work, but then I'd slammed it against something, like a desk or a door jam, and one of the lines of beads snapped. So, it needed fixin'. Dale was working on his old Boy Scout uniform, arrangin' and sewin' patches. I think he's gonna set it up in a shadow box or something. So, we're both a coupl'a creative mother fuckers. End of story. Anyway, it's a great picture. The look on my face says it all. "Yea, I'm sewin'. What about it?"

So, after leavin' Denise at the airport in Nashville on the second Mondayof the trip I got back into the car and headed East on I-40. I was giddy, headed to Harriman again to see my good friends, and with Denise gone, I could finally crank the classic old Hard Rock stations I love on the satellite radio and light up a fat, smelly cigar.

Of course, I could've done all that with her in the car, but I try to act like a gentleman when she's around and she doesn't like the smoke, or the tunes at my usual ear splitting volume. It felt really good to have the sunroof cracked and the smoke signals wafting up again, like they always are when I'm drivin' to work in San Saba. The scenery got steadily prettier as I got closer and closer to my destination.

I swear, Eastern Tennessee is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. I stopped once to pee and gas up just outside Harriman and was taking the Harriman exit in no time. I tried to get a room at the Holiday Inn Express, where I always stay, but there was no room at the inn. So, I moved over one and got a room at the next place over... a Comfort Inn, I think. It turned out to be almost as nice and about $30 cheaper, so maybe I'll change my routine from now on.

I called Mushy when I got into the room and found out that they were in the middle of a visit with his mom. So I hung out in the room for a bit before headin' over to their house. Well, I tried to. I was too excited to sit there long. Plus, I was worried that if I laid my head down on the pillow I'd crash and not wake up again for hours. You know, 5:15 had hit both Denise and I hard that mornin'. So, I got back in the car, lit another little cigar and slowly drove through town, checking out all the sights I've come to love in the last few years.

The drive took me down the hill into town, over the old bridge that crosses the Emory River, past the Princess Theater and up the road out of town, towards the palatial Mashburn country estate. I got there and saw that Paul and Judy were still gone, so I did some exploring, driving up the winding one lane road that takes you over the hill and back to the road that runs out of Harriman.

It was fun, but I kept thinkin', "If some bastard comes zippin' around one of these corners and I die here it's gonna suck!" He didn't though, and after makin' my way back to the garden spot, cul de sac, I decided to just park and finish my cigar. Sure enough, seemingly just moments later, that big King Ranch Ford drove up and the good times began to roll.

I followed them down the drive and parked, there were hugs and squeezes all around, and then we headed into the house. Before long I was thinkin' it was time to spring my little surprise. I'd brought a few toys from home with this picture in mind.



It shows my buddy Paul, innocent as hell, about 19, posin' with his M-16 while serving his year in Vietnam in about 1966. I had a chance this last year to get a rifle just like that one in the picture. It's an AR-15 made in the early 1970s, with the same configuration as that early Air Force ARs, only in semi-automatic. Being an old Air Force Brat, and having a few buddies who served there in the Air Force, it was a no-brainer. Best $1300 I ever spent.

Thinking about that old picture, I wondered whether or not Paul had an old helmet. I couldn't ask. It'd give away the surprise, so I just tossed mine in the trunk with the rifle and drove East. I told Paul at some point that I had a surprise, and we went back outside to the car. He never knows what the hell I'm gonna try to do. You should have seen the look on his face when he saw the helmet. Then he saw the rifle and started to handle it, I could tell the years, the decades were trailing off in his mind. We were both gigglin' like kids. It was hilarious.



We spent some time with him posing, trying to think how he looked in the picture, with both of us getting a hand full of shots. I think this one was the best. Then we took the rifle into the house and he showed me how to break it down and clean it. It all came back to him in no time. The smiles on his face were HUGE, and that made me very happy. He thanked me later, tellin' me how much fun it had been to relive it all. That was all I needed to hear. Mission accomplished.

That's a much different guy there in the second picture. Of course, only he can really tell you how different. But I can tell you that he's been through a lot, lived a full life, which has left him with that fuller figure, and those lines on his face, and a huge well of wisdom that I've tried to tap into ever since getting to know him. In that process I've grown to love this guy like a big brother. I think I've felt it ever since I first started reading his stuff about four years ago. The fact that I get to come by each year and hang out with him, get some porch time, makes it all that much more special.

See, this guy's been a great friend to me for a while now. He'll never admit it, but he's been very important in my life, imparting some of that hard earned wisdom of his, helping a kid to grow up a bit more. So anything I can ever do to pay him back is gonna be my pleasure. I think I came up with somethin' good this trip. Hope I can top it some day.



After a while, time spent playin' on his computer and lookin' at some of those pictures, Paul and Judy took me out to lunch at a cool, old timy place called The Good Old Days Diner. It's one of those places that's set up to make you think you're in a classic old diner back in the early 1960s. It was really cool. When the food arrived, both of the camera geeks at the table took time to get shots of the food. Judy's seen all this before. That's one patient woman.



I chose the mushroom burger and these fried corn thingies. I LOVE those things. I've had them many times before. Some of the Chinese Food buffets dad and I used to go to had them. When they arrived we asked the waitress how they made them. She said they didn't make them there, but that they'd asked the same question. Apparently the manufacturer freezes the cream corn and breads it before freezing it again in preparation for frying. However they do it, it was GOOOOD, and the burger was good too.



After lunch we piled into the truck and Paul drove us out to Ozone Falls. The scenery there was beautiful. I'm always amazed at how many of these beautiful little spots there are within an easy drive of their house. They truly are blessed.



Having been a bit accident prone this last year, falling and breaking a few ribs a while back, Judy decided to take things in hand before Paul moved too close to the edge of the falls.



Having the advantage of a six foot wing span, I just walked over to the edge and stuck my arm out with the camera. In the end I was able to merge two good shots to give you this view of the falls. Purdy eh?



As we walked up the creek, takin' pictures and dodgin' the poison oak that dotted the area, I got this shot of Judy, patiently waitin' for us up on the trial.



We handed her our cameras and she got some great shots of the two of us. That's my little buddy there.

Then we drove on to check out Black Mountain, which I'd read about on his blog. I think he'd visited the place last fall, when the trees were thinner and the view was better.



Personally, I loved seein' it, even in the hotter, humid weather we had that day. It reminded me of all those summer days in Missouri in the early 1970s when my friends and I would walk through the woods and not think twice about jumping into the weeds and underbrush. I can't remember ever getting poison ivy or oak, and I can remember only a few snakes that slithered into view. I guess we kids were immune to to the fear of most of that.



I remembered reading about the place as soon as I saw these huge rock formations. They're amazing, reminding me of the stuff we see when we go to Enchanted Rock in the Fall.



There were ferns growing in the shaded areas under the tall trees...



And Moss growing on the boulders that were shaded from direct sunlight. It was beautiful, but it was friggin' hot, and we had other places to go and people to see.



After our short hike (Judy stayed at the car and waited for us in the shade... Smart woman), the three of us drove into Oak Ridge to meet up with Judy's sister Terri and her husband Steve. They met us at Big Ed's, which has become a regular stop on these road trips of mine. If you'd ever had the pleasure of one of their pies, you know why.



I tell ya, this is some good stuff. Now, we've got good pizza here in Killeen too, but Big Ed's has so much more history, atmosphere, excellent music playing loudly on the system, and as we found to our delight on this trip, they're now selling Yuengling! Wooohoooo. That's just almost a perfect evening.

After the dinner we headed back to their place and relaxed for the rest of the evening. I think I started to drift off some time around 9PM, while we watched something on their big flat screen TV. So, we made plans for breakfast the next morning and I made my exit. I tell ya, that bed felt good to me that night.

I called Denise on the way to the hotel and found out that she'd gotten home safe. We'd played phone tag all day, with me ether on the top of a mountain or in Paul and Judy's house, which is a dead zone. Bottom line, she was home and everything was cool.

The next morning I woke up before the alarm, showered and got myself out to their place just in time for us to pile back in the truck and head out again.




We ended up meeting Judy's sister Nina and her husband Ron at a cool little place called Mimis Cafe, on the outskirts of Knoxville.



That's something called a Chipotle Breakfast Burrito, with shredded beef, scrambled eggs, cilantro, green onions and black beans, all covered with melted cheese and chipotle sauce, with fried potatoes on the side. Mmmmm, good! I was so hungry I forgot to get a picture of it until I'd killed about half of it, but you get the picture. Hell yea, I'd order it again. I plan on it!

Then, after we'd all eaten, the guys and gals split up and went their separate ways. Judy and Nina headed over to terrorize the shops at Turkey Creek, while the guys headed off to Sevierville to check out the Smokey Mountain Knife Works, and later the Bass Pro Shops.




This is the only shot I took that came out at the Knife Works. I was too busy lookin' at all the cool stuff and tryin' to find a worthy replacement for my lost pocket knife. In the end, I found one that was cool enough, and another one that was just too cool to pass up. I think the other guys just walked around, waitin' for my curiosity to be exhausted. I tell ya, it's a cool place. If you ever get the chance, check it out. I think I left the camera in the truck by the time we walked into the Bass pro Shop. Those places are always amazing.



After we exhausted ourselves with the shopping, the guys and gals met up again at the Wild Wings cafe in Knoxville. We were surprised to hear that Paul's son Corey was gonna be able to join us for lunch. That was exciting for me, since I'd been hearing about him for years but had never been able to meet him before.



We ordered our usual, which for me was six of the Honey BBQ and six of the General Tso's. Mmmmm, that General knew a thing or two, fer sure. Along with Big Ed's, Wild Wings is one of those places I look forward to visiting before each trip. Again, we have something close to it here, but nothing to top the whole package you get at Wild Wings.



In the end, Paul and Corey decided to split a dessert. I wanna tell ya, that stuff looked good. I think I must have had a bite, but can't remember. You can tell from the look on Paul's face though, it was good.



While we were there eating, the clouds finally broke open and it started to rain cats and dogs. We'd made plans the day before to take my AR-15 to Steve's place and shoot it, and Ron had a new pistol he wanted to shoot, but the rain ended those plans.



In stead, Paul and I spent some good, quality time out on his porch, relaxing, listening to the rain, and the great tunes in his party collection being piped through from his computer.



I went out to my car and brought in my cigar gear, including my special ash tray, cutter and torch, sat back and basked in the peace and happiness of the porch. I tell ya, my next house will have one of these, and a view to compare to his. It's wonderful, like you're sitting up in one of those cool tree houses in a Tarzan movie.



To be honest, Paul and Judy don't ever have to truck me around and show me anything on these trips. I mean, I love the hell out of it. There's so much to see. But the best time I have in Herriman is sittin' on that porch, smokin' a fine cigar, talkin' about everything under the sun with my big brother. It's the best therapy anyone could ever have. I'm blessed to get to share some of that time with my buddy and his sweet wife. They've enriched my life in so many ways, it's impossible to fully quantify.



It's just so relaxing, sitting there, watching the hummingbirds flit by, listening to the rain patter on the roof, and listening to that wonderful music being piped in to his Radio Shack porch speakers. He's been collecting and refining his collection for years, and it's pretty good stuff.



And, of course, the two camera geeks inevitably get going, with him trying to find the timer on his fancy SLR and me doing a few shots with my arm all the way out to the side. Again, that six foot wing span comes in handy all the time.

By the end of the evening we were back in front of the flat screen and I was slowly falling asleep on the couch. I made my exit and we agreed that I'd show up again the next morning at about 10AM. The Harriman part of my trip was ending, and that's always sad to me. But the Paul and Judy part was just gonna move West on I-40 for a few days.



We'd both booked rooms at the Westin, Beal Street, and planed to spend two nights checkin' out the sights, listening to good music and trying out some cool BBQ places. At the last minute, another blogging friend, Chuck, had found out about our plans and we'd made arrangements to finally meet up with him. So, there was gonna be way too much excitement packed into the next few days .



By the time we made it to Memphis and got into our rooms, with a few pee stops and an interesting encounter with a local cop along the way, it was getting to be dinner time.

Shit, I was gonna try to tell you the whole Tennessee story in one post, but there's just too many pictures and too much to tell! Well, stay tuned and I'll try to get the Memphis leg of the trip up here in a day or so. Cheers.

Ok people, here goes.

Road trip 2009 began on a Sunday night, seemingly about six months ago now (July 19th), with a concert in Dallas at the Superpages Center. Denise and I packed all morning for the road and gave ourselves about two-and-a-half hours to make it to the gig.

Now, in retrospect, we should have given ourselves a bit more of a cushion. But it usually takes that long to get to Dallas, and when was the last time a concert started on time? Well, this one did, after we spent an extra 45 minutes in some of the worst traffic on I-35 on a Sunday evening that ether of us have ever experienced.



The result of all that was us arriving at the gig just in time to hear ZZ-Top do their last two numbers. Sure enough, they'd opened the concert right on time at 7: 30. Damn! I'd seen them before, not too long ago, so it wasn't a DIASTER to miss them, but still... Shit!



So, after taking the first few shots of them as they finished up and walked off, I headed out to the concessions to look at t-shirts and get my wowman the makin's of her 'Shandy". That's a beer and a large cup of some Sprite like drink... No ice. That and my beer kept us goin' for most of the remaining evening.



A while later, when Aerosmith hit the stage, the arena erupted into applause. I'd never seen them before, so it was pretty exciting to see what they'd come up with.



I was amazed at what a great show they put on. The hits just kept rolling through, and the light show was the best I think I've seen since Roger Waters.



After about an hour of playing, with very little time taken to talk to the audience, Billy Gibbons of ZZ-Top came back out to jam with the boys. They played together, rollin' through some bluesy jam for about fifteen minutes. It was wonderful, and a classic consolation prize for having missed ZZ's show earlier.



In the end, t-shirts in hand, our adrenaline rushing from the exciting evening but exhausted from the heat (it was up in the humid 90s at 11PM when the concert ended), we walked back to the lot where I'd had to park and piled back into the car and headed East. I think I got up on I-30 at 11:30PM, and we didn't stop more than once till we were in Arkansas. We spent the night in Texarkana, at a La Quinta that we've stayed at several times before on earlier trips.

We had breakfast at a Denny's near the hotel the next morning and were on the road again by 10:30. The drive through Arkansas was uneventful until we got close to the "Big Muddy". We stopped at a rest stop about 50 miles west of Memphis.

If you recall, last year we found a stray dog at that stop. The dog wouldn't let anyone near enough to catch her, but some local trucker had named her "Sugar". We stopped by to see if Sugar was still there. Sure enough, As I'd feared, the restroom attendant told us that she'd been run over by a truck several months earlier, her back legs paralysed. He said he'd tried to keep her going, but in the end he'd had to have her put down.



That's a shot of Sugar from last December... The last time we stopped to lay food out for her. Of course, Denise was tearing up as we walked back to the car. It was all very sad. I can't say I'd had too many hopes of seeing Sugar there after all this time, but it was still very sad to hear how she'd met her fate. Poor baby. I tell ya, anyone who'd dump a dog out at a rest stop needs to get their fat asses beat, period!

We drove on through western Tennessee, through Memphis and Nashville, then up I-65 to Kentucky. We finally made it to Denise's daughters place in Bowling Green by about dinner time. It was about 7ish, on Monday, the 20th.



Lynn is very pregnant these days, expecting in late September, so it was great that we could head up there and spend a lot of time with her and her husband Dale. We were too beat to do anything that first night, but the next night they took us out to eat. It was a Mexican food place called Pepper's that's local to Bowling Green. It was GOOOD! Well, it wasn't good like we're used to around here. I mean, this is Texas, by God. But for road trip Mexican, it was damn good.

We stayed there at Lynn's place for a few days, then headed up to Radcliffe on Wednesday morning. The plan was to spend the next few days with Denise's older daughter Chantel and her two boys, and then head back down to Lynn's on Saturday.

As we drove up into town, Denise decided to make a quick stop on Ft. Knox to see some of the folks she used to work with. She lived up there for eighteen years and started working for Central Texas College there. She took a promotion and moved to Texas to work here on the main campus of the college about five years ago.

Anyway, so, as I'm drivin' up to the front gate of the base, I'm thinkin' is good that we're in my car this time, with my base sticker and ID from Ft. Hood. And then I remember the loaded pistol on the pocket behind the passenger seat. And wouldn't you know, as we drove up to the gate the security folks decided to do a random check. SHIT!

We went through the whole thing, with them asking me for my ID and papers, and just as they were about to lift the barrier and wave me through the dude asked "Do you have any weapons or ammo in the car?" In a split second, all my options were laid out for me. I could lie and say no, and then the guy could wave me through and everything would be cool. But, he could also say "OK buddy, drive over there and we're gonna do the real check." Then I'd really be fucked! So, I was honest. I dunno, I guess it's just the way I was taught. The best policy, and all that.

So I 'fessed up about the gun. Boy howdy, that's when all the magnificent bureaucratic machinery went into action. Questions were asked and forms were filled out. I showed them where the pistol was and they took it out of the car. Thing is, the main security dude there at the gate didn't know how to unload a revolver! You could have knocked me over with a feather. I had to get out of the car and walk over to where he was tryin' to take the bullets out of the gun and show him how to do it myself. He mumbled nervously, something about only ever working with semi-auto guns, but I had to stop myself from laughing out loud. Hasn't this dumb ass ever even seen a Western? Shit.

So, in the end, everything was cool. They gave me the bullets and put the revolver in the trunk and turned us around. They told us that we had to take the gun somewhere and store it and then we could come back. So that's what we did. We just headed over to Chantel's house and waited to come back to the base till the next day. No sweat. Just a bit more drama for me to tell you all about later. Yea, yer thinkin' "What about the AR-15 in the trunk?" Well, I'd left that little toy at Lynn's house in Bowling Green, so it wasn't an issue.



When we got to Chantel's, we found a new member of the family. This is Sara, and new German Shepherd that Chantel was given a little while ago. She's a sweetie. Gutsy as hell. Sadie, the big Golden Retriever, still rules the roost, But the tide is gonna shift quick when Sara grows into those ears.



I spent much of my time there hangin' with Colin. We visited the base and connected with some of Denise's old friends in Radcliffe, but the evenings and mornings were spent playin' with the dogs and watchin' Colin play his computer games.



On Thursday, Denise, Bryce (the eldest grandson), Colin and I piled into my car and I drove us up to Dayton Ohio to meet up with Pat Houseworth and his wife and walk through the Air Force Museum.



I'd been there with my folks in the mid 1970s, and couldn't wait to see it again. It lived up to my expectations. You can click over here and see the pictures I took there. I'm still working on some of them, but the rest'll be posted soon.



We met up with Pat and his wife in the lobby and started in the WW2 hanger.



I think we made it through that hanger together, but then somehow got split up as we moved on to the Korea/Vietnam exhibits.



You see, Colin and I got sidetracked in the exhibit on flight, where they have lots of interactive displays showing how planes really work and the force of the wind, etc. Colin was in his element, and I didn't have the heart to push him along. They had one display where you got to land a little wooden plane on a carrier, with the plane sliding down a line, controlled by a joystick. You manipulated the lever to raise and lower the plane to try to hook the arresting line. Colin did it the first time. All that time on the video games was obviously coming in handy.



By the time we got into the exhibit on the 1950s and 60s, Pat and his wife were way out ahead of us and we didn't see very much of them after that. I felt bad about that, but the kids were having a great time checking out the exhibits and taking a turn at a flight simulator they had set up there.



We continued through the hangers until we finally met up with them as they were about to leave to head over to their son's place. So, before Denise and the kids and I were finished looking at all the planes, we joined Pat and his wife out in front of the museum and took a few parting shots.



One of them was a timed shot, with the camera placed on top of a trash can (I think). It worked out really well.



And then I wouldn't let Pat get away without taking the traditional "grab ya by the neck and stick the arm out" shot. It turned out really well too.

It was great to see my buddy again and meet his lovely wife. Maybe next year, road trip 2010 will have him driving down to Harriman for a little Sky Cop porch time. That'd be cool. I'd love to sit in and get some shots of that.

In the end, after seeing the whole place and taking time to eat a little something in the cafeteria, we piled back into my car and drove back down to Radcliffe.



When we got back to the house, the dogs were as rambunctious as ever. I got the idea to set up some kind of dog run in the back yard. They don't have a fence, so they can't just put Sadie out in the yard and let her run. Notice the gouge she's put there in the living room carpet.



We delighted in watching as Sara would sneak up behind Sadie and steal her bone. I tell ya, one of these days the tide will turn. It's gonna be hilarious to watch, but I'm glad I don't live in that house full time. I'm tempted to call the Dog Whisperer.



The last night we were there, Denise and I went out to Lowe's. While she was looking at Washers and Dryers, looking to buy a set for Chantel, who is in the middle of a divorce and doesn't have a set, I was going around looking for the parts to set up that dog run. Two sturdy steel poles and a fifty foot plastic covered cable to run between. I even had to get a good sized mallet so that I could drive the poles into the ground.

When we got back to the house I set up shop in the garage, puttin' the whole thing together. In the end I took it all out into the back yard and set it up, showin' Bryce and Chantel how to clip Sadie's leash to it so she can run from one end to the other. Turned out, the friggin' dog would just sit in the middle of the run and stare at the back door. Bast laid plans, eh. And in the process of building the damn thing, I lost my favorite pocket knife. It's ether out there in the grass or in the dogs stool. Ether way, it's history. THAT pissed me off, but what can ya do? Serves me right for not sittin' on my ass and watchin' TV.



We drove back down to Bowling Green Saturday afternoon, spending two more nights down there. Lynn made us lasagna one night as a treat. It was great stuff. When Sunday night rolled around I started to load all of our stuff in the car for our early morning trip to the Airport in Nashville.

We got up at 5:30 and were on the road shortly after that. It takes about an hour to get to the Airport from Lynn's place. We made it right on time. I took Denise in to get her ticket and we waited by the security for her time to get to her plane. It was a bummer, seeing her go through security and know that she wasn't going to be able to continue with me to Harriman and Memphis, but she'd been unable to get more than a week off from work.

Having said that, when she'd gone through the line and walked out of sight, the excitement began to build in me. It was as if her vacation was coming to an end, but mine was just getting started. I was gonna drive further east for a few hours and spend a few days with Mushy and Judy and their family, and then the two of them were gonna drive west with me and spend a few nights on Beale Street in memphis. It was gonna be a great time, and I couldn't wait to get back in the car and point it East. I cranked up the sattelite radio, lit a big, fat cigar and I was off.

Two hours later, after one stop for gas and a pit stop, I was rollin' into Harriman and finding a room at one of the local hotels. The Week ahead would prove to be some of the best fun I've had with these folks, but you'll have to read about that in the next post. Cheers!

Nope, not yet.

Shit, it took all afternoon to post these shots to FlickR and label all the friggin' things. There's more to come. SOOOON!

Well, close, but no cigar.

I had all the pictures from the Tennessee/Missouri leg of the road trip done and almost in the can this morning. I was gonna get them resized and load them onto my thumb drive so I could post them from the library here in Saba. But the resizer was still chuggin' along when I had to get up and go to work this morning. So, I'll probably start posting stuff tomorrow morning. Maybe tonight. I still haven't worked on all the shots from Kentucky and the Air Force Museum. They're all dark, so it's gonna take FOREVER. I'll probably just pick the best shots and do them. Maybe by this weekend I'll have everything done.

Anyway, yesterday turned out to be pretty busy. I drove out here to Saba to teach my noon class. About mid way through one of the guards, John Hoenow, who's become a good friend in the last year, told me about a concert that was set to happen later that day in Round Rock, about 45 minutes from my home. Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Bob Dylan, all at the Dell Diamond, a minor league baseball field in Round Rock that was built by the local computer billionaire. He told me about it and then printed off a page from the web site telling me more details. he wanted to go, along with several others there at the jail, but they all had to work.

John sparked the idea in me, telling me that the show still wasn't sold out. By the time I was leaving I'd decided to see if Denise wanted to go. Otherwise I was gonna go without her. As I walked out the door, Hoenow said "Now if you go, you have to bring back two t-shirts"... one for him and one for another lady there who wanted to go but couldn't. I asked him what size, and he said "Extra large!" I knew from the big grin on his face that he was just shittin' me, but I decided then that if I did get to go I'd have to pay him back for tellin' me about the whole thing by investing in some shirts. No big deal. It's only money.

I told Denise about it over the phone, and for a brief time I was gonna go by myself because there was no way she could get out of work in time. The show started at 5:30. Well, I got home at about 4Pm and checked the web site for the Diamond and found out that the real show didn't start till 6PM. It was gonna be a gamble on who started the show. We'd end up missing something, but we'd still end up seeing at least two of the three headlining acts.

I changed into my concert attire... shorts, Teva sandals and recently purchased souvenir t-shirt from Beale Street, and used the time waiting for Denise to get home to work on pictures. By the time she got home it was almost 6PM. We sped down 195 to where it connects to I-35 and were within' spitting distance of the Diamond in no time. As we drove up, having to park WAY back in the field west of the Diamond, we could hear Willie finishing his set. By the time we got our tickets (mine from a scalper for $50 and Denise from the window for $63), or beers and were down on the lawn in front of the stage, John Mellencamp was coming on and the show commenced.

I have to admit, I wasn't really interested in seein' the old "Cougar". I like most of his music, but I was really bummed that we'd missed Willie. I've seen him before, in a small little honky tonk dive in Temple, so it wasn't THAT much of a tragedy that we missed him. But I would have traded up in a heart beat. As it turned out though, Mellencamp put on one hell of a good show. I was diggin' one tune after another, but Denise was really lovin' it. She's a huge fan of his. Which is why she was really pissed when his show ended without them playing Jack and Diane. She looked up at me with a scowl as the roadies began to disassemble their gear and all I could do was shrug my shoulders and plead my own innocence. "Honey, I have NO control over this thing. Damn!"

Anyway, by the time the sun was goin' down, the lights were turned off and Bob Dylan's band took the stage. There was a huge roar as he walked up, his white hat giving away his identity among the other band members. They went right into Everybody Must Get Stoned, and I started to laugh as I realized that nothing Dylan said was in any way legible. It was all the stories I'd ever heard about him coming true. A few of the younger people around us were saying that their parents were huge Dylan fans, but they just didn't get it.

I think that's why it was all so funny to me. I'd look at them (and Denise too) and see them smiling and saying "What the hell is he saying?" Or they'd say "I just don't get it," and I'd bend back over with a huge belly laugh. Meanwhile, the rest of us are singing the lyrics to the song along with the music, keeping better time than Dylan. It was... it was a magical evening. I don't think I've had as much fun at a gig in a long time.

About half way through Dylan's set a guy standing next to me, dreadlocks bundled back in a bandanna, handed Denise and I a cold beer and smiled. It was like a big family reunion. Denise looked up at me and told me to never say anything in future about her accent (referring to Dylan's illegibility, and my jokes about how she should "speak English") She said it'd be nice to have subtitles scrolling across the screen so we could know what the hell he was saying. It was all hilarious. In the end, after playing lots of new stuff from his most recent CD, they finished with Like a Rolling Stone and All Along The Watchtower, which blew everyone away.

A few tunes into the set, Charlie Sexton came up on stage and played the rest of the evening with Dylan's band. he lives in Austin and apparently he's been playing with Dylan ever since he was about 12. It was cool to see him up there. At the same time, there was some hippie kid, and I do mean kid, doing a wild hippie dance just in front and to our left. He looked to be about ten. As he jumped and spun around, his below-the-shoulder length hair spinning and his arms waving, I joked to Denise that he looked like some wild feral child who'd been raised by wolves. It was all wonderful. A wild mixture of people and music.

In the end, despite the illegibility of most of the lyrics, Dylan's music was a wonderful groove. I haven't danced and boogied that much in ages. I wanted more. Maybe to hear something like Forever Young, but it wasn't to be. the lights went up and I took Denise up so she could watch me buy t-shirts. I got myself a Dylan, Denise a Mellencamp, and then got three more for the folks at work. When I came in there today they all got very excited and I had to retell the whole story for them. Of course, I didn't make them pay me for the shirts. I was just grateful that they'd told me about the concert. That was enough. I was paying them back. maybe next time we'll all get to go together. On the walk to the car I saw about five of the kids from my class in Florence. It was hilarious to see them there. We stopped at a McDonald's for dinner on the way home and were in bed by 1:30. It was a long, good day.

Oh, and you might be wondering, why no pictures? Well, I'd never been to the Diamond before and everything i read said NO CAMERAS! So, when i saw how far out in the field I'd had to park, and how far I'd have to walk back to put the camera away if they really wouldn't let me in with it, I decided to leave it in the car. Of course, they didn't check pockets alt all, and with the daylight shining till 8;30, I could have gotten some good shots. We were really close too. But, what the hell. I've got enough friggin' vacation pictures to deal with now.

I took a few with my phone, but those are all a waste of time. Thank goodness for Youtube. Dig this. If you turned the camera around and look at the stage from the right you'd a been standing on my toes.



Uh, what the hell did he say? I dunno, but I don't care. I loved it. Here's the one I wanted to hear last night, but it wasn't to be. I hope you like it. Cheers!

Dick's handlin' it.

Well, I'm home.

Got back very early Saturday mornin', around 5:15AM. Spent most of Saturday and part of Sunday detoxin', and now I'm back in San Saba.

I taught a class at noon and then went to the Dairy Mart for my usual Monday ritual... the jalapeno sourdough bacon cheeseburger, fries and a diet Dr. Pepper. Now I'm back at the local library, killin' time before my 5:30 class starts. I've got three classes up here startin' this week, with about 70 "students" (jailbirds). In a few weeks I'll have two more evening classes startin' on Ft. Hood, and then I'll have about three more morning classes startin' the week after that in Florence. So, I get to ease back into my old busy schedule, and the fat paychecks that come with it. believe me, I'll be glad when those bastards start rollin' in again.

I must have taken about 600 pictures over the two week road trip, so it's gonna take me a while before I can start showin' them to you. There's shots from the concert, then more from the Air Force Museum, and then all the shots form the week hangin' out with Mushy and his gang and visitin' Bruno. I started culling them the first week, in Kentucky, but the fixing only started Sunday. I got the merges done this morning, so progress is being made. Maybe I'll have something to post by about this time Wednesday.

Anyway, the trip was great. If you want to read a great run down of the second half of it, check out Mushy's two posts. We spent the first week in Kentucky with Denise's kids and grand kids. During that stay we took a trip up to Dayton to visit the Air Force Museum and see Pat and his lovely wife. Then, a week ago, I drove Denise down to the airport in Nashville and she flew home. Then I drove on East to Harriman and spent a few days with Mushy and Judy and their bunch. We had a blast, as always, and then the three of us drove West to Memphis to spend a few nights on Beale Street.

By the way, Mushy's made mention of a certain event that took place along the road to Memphis, when a local cop decided to check out what kind of smoke that really was driftin' up out of my sunroof as we sped West down I-40.

I looked up at one point and saw the SUV in my rear view, about one car length behind me, and assumed he wanted by. I was in the left hand lane behind Mushy and Judy as we passed a slow moving truck that had blocked the right hand lane (Ok, that's how I remember it, but it all happened very fast). It had been raining, so the road conditions weren't prime, but nether of us were speeding, having passed unscathed by several police SUVs that were parked along the highway. So when I saw this dude on my ass, I wasn't really concerned.

Mushy moved over into the right hand lane when he passed the truck, and then I gassed it to get over ahead of Mushy and let this dude by me. Then I was amazed to see him slip in behind me flashing his purdy blue lights. I was like "What the fuck? Shit!" I brought the Silver Bullet to a stop, tossed my nub into the ash tray, got out the appropriate paperwork and rolled down the passenger window.

He walked up and rested his arms on the door, wanting to know if those folks were with me (Mushy and Judy had stopped about 30 yards up the road to wait for me), and how did I meet them. I told him "Blogging," and he was amused, saying "Well, I know that's very popular." It was all very cordial, with my attitude calmed by the knowledge that there was an assault rifle in the trunk and a loaded revolver in the back pocket of the passenger seat. Who was I, who were they (Mushy and Judy), how did I know them, where had I been and where were we going.

In the end he asked me what kind of cigar I was smokin' and told me not to pass people so closely in this kind of wet weather. I wanted to say something like "Well shit, you dumb bastard, I wouldn't have done it if you hadn't been right on my fuckin' ass with that police truck. Shit!" By my AR-15 was whispering sweet nothings in my ear, saying stuff like "Shut your fuckin' cake hole you dumbass!" I get no respect from the AR. Too many AKs in the closet. You know... penis envy.

So, we parted ways and I lit up another stogie. I called Mushy and we all had a big laugh over it. Within and hour we were all slapped up in the lap of luxury at the Westin Hotel off Beale Street and life was GOOD. But, that's another story.

Stay tuned. More fun and pictures to accompany the words will appear here in future.
And guess what. That wasn't the only sweaty, funny drama related to a gun on the trip. I'll tell you about it in the next post. See ya Wednesday. Cheers.