This photo is the Mississippi, I lost the folder and here it is this morning because I intended to publish it long ago. In the background are the two bridges just below the confluence of the Yazoo and the Mississippi. This crosses from Mississippi into Louisiana at Vicksburg.
Ah, a week already in Colorado. I’m considerably impressed by things so far, but then again, I’ve got a free place to stay. Without that factor, I’d be really shelling out on a daily basis. Forming now is a plan to see the foothills. So far the mountains have only been a blue smudge on the horizon through the urban haze, yet the locals tell me the foothills are just a 15 minute drive. It won’t be long before that happens. Unit 22 is running smoothly despite an annoying short in the right turn signal I can’t troubleshoot.
And I have the measure of the sidecar now. I know to find the smoothest part of the road, a much more delicate matter than in a car. I can take left and right turns easily even when changing gears, which is challenging. I’ll stand up on the pegs to get a better view or spot a parking space.
I next went back to the Thrift on Iliff to buy two books I left because I was not yet sure I’d have enough cash for the guitar. Sure enough, in that entire mass of shelves they’ve got, guess which two books were gone. Instead I found an Ann Coulter, whose views on politicians are astonishingly similar to my view on certain types of people. However, she knows more about politicians and their names than I could ever sink my brain into. It’s her perspective that keeps me interested.
For example, she notes how Liberals have only a limited number of memorized talking points, which they try to shoehorn into every argument no matter how irrelevant. I forget how she worded it, but my version is that losers have no policies or positions formed until after you make the first move. They fear commitment to a firm rule of law. They know they will lose if they can’t make up the rules as they go along—which explains the massive amounts of wasted time in their lives. They are watching for you to do something, anything, before than can pounce.
Good for you if you read this far, because I have something to tell that could be momentous. I followed up with that country open mic at Sheabeen’s mentioned last day. It was totally successful, right from the crowd, the band, the management, and the money. I received a firm offer to play bass, not to be confused with a firm offer of money.
The good parts are on video, so I’m going to balk a retelling anything not factually shown there. I overplayed a few times and got some scowls, twice a patron walked to the stage and addressed me like I was the band leader, and I was tipped separately from the band, I won’t say how much. All this was duly noted by those that matter. I hope my performance didn’t shoot myself in the foot—but that Sinatra tune “These Boots” was a classic in that joint. I’m invited back next week.
Later, I tried to peel some stills off the video without much luck. Where the fiddle player stood, I got some excellent footage of the back of his left shoulder. It was a nine-piece group including myself, all seasoned local musicians of variable talent. But as far as the country music scene, I hit the jackpot and it is less than two miles from here. I sang Jambalaya and Folsom Prison as well, also getting compliments on that. Colorado is getting more tempting every day—and hey, it’s been exhausting work trying to get even one Florida musician to try country music. It’s wait and see for me until at least next Thursday.What’s this then? A western style hamburger with fries. It has been so long I could not resist, I broke my diet and for the first time in months, I felt full. Look at that beauty, with pickle on the side. A mug of coffee. A local magazine. The sidecar outside surrounded by admirers. And a real blonde waitress, not the Miami blonde variety. It don’t get no better. I don’t even mind that the tab came to $9.57 and I left a buck tip. Enough calories till tomorrow, but it had to happen sooner or later: REAL FOOD!
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