This is a “Tomos”, a motor scooter I saw downtown today. The irony is that if I had decided to buy smaller than a 150cc, this is what I would have gotten. But you know I did 6 weeks of research before deciding, and never once did this brand come up. It has the larger wheel diameter (smoother ride and easier to repair) and what seems to be an 80cc motor. Advertising is just not the best way to discover new products. I was looking for facts, not advertising.
Here’s a word to advertisers. In my entire life I don’t think I have ever bought anything because of a billboard. I’ve gotten information off them, but that isn’t the same thing. In fact, I have probably avoided products seen on billboards.I’ve got company in the kitchen. No, not the babe of my dreams, but a little brownish-black field mouse. He has to go, for in tropic areas mice carry too many strains of everything to be left alone. Seems he’s dining at the only place you’ll find scraps around here, in the sink strainer. Y’day he had chicken Kiev.
Dave-O and I are planning a road trip, just around the Everglades, nothing major. I’ll make sandwiches; this is not a luxury cruise. The plan is out to Mile 80, down to Everglades City, and back along Tamiami Trail. This is around 200 miles, he supplies the truck, I supply the gas. The southbound leg takes us through the “Outback”. I’ve been through that area more than anybody I know from around here.
It is pavement all the way, but I won’t ride my scooter through the swamp roads. I remind you of the time back in ’86 I almost hit a “Tokuat” [say TOE-koo-at] lizard in Thailand, sunning on a jungle roadbed. They are vegetarian lizards around the size of a small alligator, small alligators being around the size of a vegetarian lizard. (Do you think I should write for National Geographic?) There are breeding populations of Burmese pythons in the Everglades. They’d be well-fed, but hitting one at forty miles per hour can ruin your morning and front fender.
Taking stock, I’ve got me a conundrum. It’s around the size of . . . oh, never mind. Here’s the facts. I need the money but I cannot afford the present musical situation myself. I have Staci, the singer, 13 miles away. Jagger is nearby but not that motivated and does not embrace the same music. I can do a half-baked show with either person, but getting together as a trio is not an option. Neither have transportation or adequate instruments.
The show with Staci would be better and ready sooner, but the problem of moving the PA system is not resolved. Even if her husband said he would move it in his truck, I could not place myself in a situation where my PA (or any equipment) is dependent on another person. That’s why I wanted the Fishman so badly.
This is a tough decision. I’m thinking my old gear is still set up at Jimbos. Unlike the others, I can do a solo act, and I may find myself doing that until I can afford the Fishman. Either way, I can afford it in November, but that is such a long time from now. I’m not going to bother looking for another guitarist, I would not care if they shut down the local guitar player factory. If you put a Florida guitarist in a symphony with 125 other musicians, he will still think he’s the only important one because the others are just his "backup band".
[Author’s note: oooh, did I read that scooter wrong. It is a model last built new in 1977, and the size of the cooling fins is misleading, it is larger motor blocked down to 49cc. And the price tag is nearly twice what I paid for my 150cc. It is interesting to spot that all scooters on the Internet, regardless of year, make, or model, all have the identical base price of $1,299.00. Coincidence? Perhaps.]
Return Home
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
