Typical Day on the Road

February 2006

< - January - February - March - >

Feb. 1

Jacksonville, Florida. Since we were close to a movie theatre, we decided to catch "Brokeback Mountain", which we'd been wanting to see for some time, but had difficulty finding in theatres. It lived up to its hype; a superbly done film with fine acting, especially by Heath Ledger. We would have smelled Oscars even if we hadn't already read the nominations.

Feb. 2

Started driving north to our next performances in South Carolina.

Feb. 3

Beaufort, S.C. Took a workout at the YMCA. Drove past the Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island and thought about the Billy Joel song it inspired ("Goodnight Saigon"), one of his finest.

Today provided a couple of excellent illustrations of just how bizarre the news has become these days. In Denmark, Muslims are protesting because of a newspaper cartoon - yes, a CARTOON - that depicts Mohammed, and implies that he has inspired violent actions; so some of his followers are expressing their outrage over such a thing - by threatening violence against those responsible! And in a Colorado town, parents are up in arms because a school teacher showed her students a film introducing them to opera; the film included a clip from Gounod's "Faust", so she was accused of promoting "devil worship"! (Note to any future historians who may uncover these archives: we solemnly swear that we are NOT making up either of these stories.) With headlines like these, why does Saturday Night Live even need writers anymore?

Feb. 4

Myrtle Beach, S.C. Wanted to return to the wonderful miniature golf course we played at a year ago, but virtually all the miniature golf courses were closed. Apparently, they close for the season after Christmas, and we were here a little before Christmas last time.

On to Ripley's Aquarium, which is not particularly Ripleyesque, and not very big, and a pit pricey, but still worth a visit. In addition to a fine collection of marine life, there was an exhibit about the Titanic that provided some interesting tidbits of information most folks may not know. (Were you aware, for instance, that throughout the ship's voyage, there was a fire in the coal compartment that was never brought under control; that the captain and the company executives were aware of it, but hid the knowledge from the crew and passengers; and that it may have contributed significantly both to the reckless speed of the journey - they perhaps were trying to get to port before it got worse - and to the scope of the damage by weakening the hull?) This display, and some of the others struck as being a bit more subjective, and even didactic, than those in most museums. We don't really object, and we certainly don't object to the values they strive to instill, but we just think it worth noting.

Feb. 5

Left Myrtle Beach and headed for Columbia, capital of South Carolina.

Feb. 6

Two early morning performances at a school in Lexington, a suburb of Columbia. We had a special guest in the audience: Reggie (Reg) and Brenda, whose daughter teaches at the school, and arranged the booking. (Brenda is also a substitute teacher there.) We met him last summer camping in Ohio (see 6/13), when they brought their grandkids to a show at the library in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. After the performances today, he treated us to lunch.

Feb. 7

Caught up on laundry in Columbia, then started driving to North Carolina. As we approached the state line, we started seeing billboards promoting South Of The Border, which we figured was just a Mexican restaurant with a large advertising budget. But when we arrived there about 10:00 pm., we were astounded to see that the place is an entire block of restaurants, shops and amusements done up with a Latino motif, with a high level of kitsch. We pondered sticking around to see what it's like in the daytime, but decided nothing could surpass the spectacle of seeing it lit up at night (where else can you see a giant sombrero atop a 200-ft tower), so we moved on.

Feb. 8

Pulled into Franklin, Va., near tomorrow's shows. Spent the afternoon computering at the library, where we've performed a couple of times in the past. Spent the night at the home of the teacher who booked us at the next two schools. She has a daughter about Zephyr's age who also plays electric guitar, so they did some jamming.

Feb. 9

Two performances at a school in North Gates, NC. Then Zephyr presented two "young author" programs to fourth graders, telling them about how he wrote his two books, and giving them some pointers in doing their own writing. Mom and Dad and the teachers were quite impressed by how well he did.

We spent the night at a campground in a state park nearby and we had the place to ourselves. Rather chilly temperatures, but we had plenty of firewood.

Feb. 10

A repeat of yesterday's activities, but this time at a different school - in Gatesville, NC.

Feb. 11

Drove into Raleigh-Durham, and encountered a bit of a snowstorm on the way. Toto, I have the feeling we're not in Florida anymore.

Feb. 12

Arrived in Greensboro and dropped Zephyr off at the home of Daniel, the drummer in his band. He'll be spending the night, and the other boys will be over to get in as much practice and recording as they can.

Feb. 13

Zephyr and the boys are still having marathon band sessions. And Mom and Dad are having a little peace and quite. Actually, we had a marathon session with our laptops at the local Panera. At this particular location, there is a window washer who is a sheer joy to watch. We witnessed him in action the last time we were here, and lo and behold he was back this time. He wears a cowboy style hat and carries his squeegee in a gun holster (which even has bullets on it) but his style of window washing is not at all like John Wayne, but more like Mikhail Baryshnikov. Every motion is deliberate, stylish and expressive. Just goes to show you can make an art form out of just about anything!

Feb. 14

Valentine's Day. Zephyr spent the first part of the day working with the band, while Mom and Dad did computer work. In the evening, we met up with the boys at a movie theatre. They watched "Pink Panther", while the parents saw a more appropriate movie for Valentine's Day: "Something New". It was a bit of predictable fluff, but rather entertaining at times. After dinner, we assembled a very large group of homeschooled teens for dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Feb. 15

Picked up Zephyr and pried him away from his recording studio. We gave two of the bandmates, brothers Wylie and Nash, a ride home. Had lunch with them and their mom before saying goodbye to Greensboro for quite some time. Spent the night in Asheville, home of Thomas Wolfe - not the contemporary author of "The Right Stuff", but the brilliant novelist (1900-1938) of "Look Homeward, Angel".

Feb. 16

Knoxville, Tn. We spent the day doing computer work at our current "office", Panera.

Feb. 17

Arrived in Crossville, Tn., where we picked up mail at the post office, then settled in for our yearly treat of a week at a resort. Crossville is, we gather, the golf capital of Tennessee, and we certainly see plenty of golf courses around. In fact, there's a course running through the center of the property, which is split in an odd fashion into East and West facilities, with private homes in the midst of the two. We are staying on the East side, but the workout facilities and laundry room are on the West side, about half a mile away. After settling into our quarters, Dennis and Kimberly rode their bikes over to the West side, to do a little laundry and take advantage of the sauna. Dennis, who has been suffering from the flu or some such infection for the past 5 or 6 weeks, has been hoping for some time to encounter a sauna at one of the YMCAs we visit, but has had no luck. This is the first one at which he's been able to sweat out the bug a bit.

Feb. 18

Today we received the first real snow we've seen this season - not the 6 inches the weather forecast promised, but enough to cover the ground thoroughly. It was a good night to put a log on the fire, and we did just that - our vacation unit does have a fireplace!

Feb. 19

Spent the day "at home" in our vacation unit. Unable to take care of any business in the office building today (such as sauna, exercise room, laundry, or Internet) because it was closed. Or, as one young lady working in the office noted when we checked in, "of course we are closed on Sunday."

Feb. 20

Presidents Day, which used to be a couple of separate holidays back in the old days. The snow is all melted away, the weather having turned warm as suddenly as it turned cold. Watched the movie "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", the type of old-school movie musical they just don't grow anymore. We especially were awestruck by the big song-and-dance number, superbly choreographed and dazzlingly executed. It's all the more impressive when one considers that it was done long before the days of digital effects and editing.

Feb. 21

Another day at the resort. But rather than just relaxing, we're working on a number of mundane business tasks: stuffing envelope, bookkeeping, etc. We did, however, take the time to watch the Winter Olympics on TV, as well as the movie "The Last Time I Saw Paris", in which Elizabeth Taylor and Donna Reed portrayed sisters.

Feb. 22

Today, Mom and Dad availed themselves of the services of a masseuse who works on the resort property, and even provides a discount to guests. She got rid of a few kinks and knots and aches in grand fashion, and chided Dennis for carrying a wallet in his hip pocket, which she said can contribute to hip deterioration.

Feb. 23

Still in Crossville, Tn., living almost like normal people. Zephyr has completed writing and recording another song all by himself, playing guitar on three tracks, overdubbing his voice, etc.

Feb. 24

Checked out of our vacation home, after getting a jumpstart from the security guard. For some reason, our battery went completely dead after sitting for a week; as the guard said, it was "deader than two o'clock", which was a new colloquialism to add to our collection.

On to Nashville, where we did our much-accumulated laundry in a laundromat in which the walls were lined with headshots of (natch) country music stars. Then we hit Panera to catch up on some computering. Next door was a movie theatre, and of course Zephyr was under the impression that someone was twisting his arm, so he went in to see "When a Stranger Calls". Also next door was a Davis-Kidd bookstore, a large reading matter emporium somewhat similar to Borders. There was an author appearance, a fellow writing about experiences as a cross-dresser, and the event was quite well attended.

Feb. 25

On to Franklin, Tn., where we dropped in on the Grau family, whom we met at the FOTR rally in St. Augustine. After dinner of vegetarian lasagna, we watched the Olympics on TV, and saw Apollo Ohno win his thrilling gold medal, and lead the U.S. team to the bronze in the relay event with a dazzling come-from-behind effort.

Feb. 26

Went bowling with our hosts, and everyone had a couple of good games except Dennis, who set a Guinness record for gutterballs. In the afternoon, we headed toward Memphis.

Feb. 27

Memphis, Tn. Kimberly and Dennis finally made it to a dentist. Kimberly got her teeth cleaned and was sent on her merry way with no problems. Dennis, on the other hand, was informed that he has periodontal disease, and may have to have surgery - not very cheery news.

Today, we finally took a tour of Sun Studio, the historic recording facility where Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and many other pop music pioneers laid down tracks that really left tracks. We stood in the same spot where The King once stood, and where the microphone still stands into which he sang. We learned some fascinating tidbits of music history, including a story about how distortion was first used in recordings: a musician on the way to a session here lost his amp off the back of his truck and it smashed when it hit the ground. He tried to repair it by stuffing newspaper into it. The resulting sound was something fresh and unique, and paved the way for Heavy Metal. And then there was the story about blues artist Rosco Gordon, who used to bring a pet rooster to the studio and set a dish of whiskey on the piano, from which the rooster would sip until it became so intoxicated it started dancing. After the tour, Zephyr chatted with our young guide, who is himself a musician (and a recording engineer), and he gave Zephyr some contact information to find out about arranging some gigs for his own band in the Memphis area. There are many venues offering such opportunities, because, as the young man pointed out, "everybody in Memphis is a musician."

Feb. 28

Started the day with a free breakfast at IHOP. Well, sort of free. The franchise was giving away a stack of pancakes today, with the request that patrons simply donate something to charity in exchange. Being incurable liberals, we had no problem accommodating this request.

This evening, we returned to the Collierville Library, where we performed during the summer.

< - January - February - March - >