My calculation is that Wallace should be showing up any day now. If nothing else, this place has forced him to plan ahead better, and since I know the rules, I can predict the schedule as well as anyone. The cooler weather seems to be sticking around which is when folks should arrive here anyway. Hot weather isn’t fun in Florida and there is nothing to do when it broils outdoors. That’s good, because some issues need to be finalized. I have all my friends, lawyers included, saying to move on things now, but they do not understand I don’t dislike Wallace or entirely blame him for things that went wrong. There is emerging a third option that may work but I’m waiting a few more days to gather the pieces.
By complete fluke, Bob (a semi-radical media spokesperson) and I were sitting down for coffee when in walks Kim, the lady friend of Wallace from whom we once borrowed a ladder. Her hair is much longer and I didn’t recognize her at first. Of course, we chatted about the situation and after a few minutes it was clear she had only heard one side of the story. She suspected all along that the talk I was a disobedient flunky just didn’t add up.
It turns out Kim is the groundskeeper for one of my clients. That client’s children are my music students, I designed and built their homework computer network over a period of six years. One of their daughter’s boyfriends is my guitar player and the husband is my real estate lawyer. Kim reports she was beyond astounded to learn these facts considering what she had been told about me. And she’s only scratched the surface.
Kim rented a place in Miami for six months; it was not all it was supposed to be. Now back in the area, she is looking for another place of her own. Hey, I know where there’s a room for rent. Seriously, once my income is secured, I will never share another place as long as I live. The exception, naturally, being the talented and rich girlfriends I meet from time to time, now in such short supply.
Bingo at Buddy’s was a success. The crowd is slowly coming around to the idea that Monday is different. The open mic guitarist didn’t show up again, so I ran my old solo act from 8:30 to 11:00PM. I’d say there were a few converts. The staff was more than impressed, a triumph considering their total resistance to the bingo concept three weeks ago. Then again, winning cash money has a positive effect on most people.
I’ve mentioned the low cost of a bingo show being something around one-fifth the out-of-pocket compared to running a music show of equal duration. Most music work is behind the scenes, so it becomes worthless in “asking for a raise”. The rationale is that I’m tailing the bingo show with music and the equipment is already set up. Yet sooner or later if the money isn’t there, you move along.
These are without exaggeration the most difficult times I’ve ever seen for trying to operate a profitable band. I deduce that most musicians, if they kept fair accounting records which allowed for the true cost of equipment, plus moving and storing it, are working for less than minimum wage. Hardest hit are the solo guitar acts, where supply is a good twelve times the demand. What lack of competition exists is due to so many having just given up and gotten day jobs.
That is part of the reason I’ve devoted such study to miniaturizing my act. If I had enough money, I could put together gear that could be moved by bicycle, though it is doubtful things will come to that. It is the only aspect left of the business where I could economize and compete. If there is less money out there than when I was fourteen, at least my setup and takedown time can be reduced to four minutes.
In a music-related sideline, another possible hit song. I’ve been searching for that modern yet irresistible Spanish version of a crowdpleaser along the lines of “You Never Even Call Me By My Name”. Here’s something. La Venia Bendita, by Marco Antonio Solis. I’m working on the translation to minimize Kennedy-esque surprises like “I am a jelly doughnut.”
Last, some sort of trivia. I compared the ingredient labels on canned vegetable today to the same labels from twenty and thirty-five years ago (available from HyTop and Libby’s). I had been impressed by the fresh flavor of some canned corn and guess what I’ve found? The food canning industry has positively learned a thing or two in all that time, no doubt influenced by health-conscious consumers. Or plummeting sales.
Canned food used to be over-salted slurry. Take another look next time, or as I did, make a comparison between fresh and canned. The canned is not only cheaper and more convenient to store, these days it contains virtually the same nutrients and vitamins. The quality control of canned food seems to be running at 100%. Best of all, you can check this out for yourself.
