October 26, 2014

MORNING
           It looks like I can still function after five hours of sleep, you just can’t make me like it. This is the new club welder, the MIG (Metal Inert Gas) I know nothing about but had learned the principles by late evening when Trent was over for music practice. Like myself, he’s never welded, but we had it working—in theory—within a few minutes. We’ve decided the operation of the machine must be similar to playing guitar, that is, a large component is practice.

           My robot club has “plenty” of money backed up for supplies, so the logical spot for this is over at the clubhouse. As a tradition, I give myself six weeks to gain two years of experience. The machine is from Harbor Freight and is around the size of a suitcase. It feeds a single strand of special wire off an internal spool, the wire is around 22 gauge.
           The instructions and package don’t say or don’t say until too late, the package includes a spool of 0.030” wire to practice on. There are two “tips”, the other being 0.035”. They are fed via a traction disk around the size of a quarter but thick enough to flip over to which of the two wire sizes you are working with. The tips, by virtue of being so easy to remove, must be something that eventually wears out. That’s all I know for now.

NOON
           Finally, a relaxing Sunday with Alaine at the St. Jude festival. She even brought me the Sunday crossword and the grandkids were there. But no JZ, even though I told him it was on me. This is a festival, not a religious service, so there is food and entertainment. It is middle-eastern food, remember we’ve attended this before, and it is not for the diet conscious. Since I know you’ll ask, yes, Alaine was being the hostess, I’m telling you, it is in her blood. So over the several hours visit, we didn’t get that much time to chat.

           But she had plenty of company, being the most sparkling personality of the family, you know. What, you hadn’t figured that out on your own by now? Well, now you know for sure. Here is a rare photo of her sitting down and unwinding. She takes personal interest in making these festivals a success and puts in much more of her own time that she’ll ever get credit for.
           Example, she invited in the best entertainment of the afternoon. I say afternoon, because I’ve never been at the church hall for the evening, where they bring in professionals from what I hear. So Alaine arranged for a friend of hers to sing. This is similar to how she had me do a bingo show, it keeps the early arrivals in the hall for longer than they might otherwise stay.
           Trent saw pictures of the hall interior, partially shown here, and was impressed. I did not know he had Catholic influences while growing up. It is an impressive hall, with chandeliers, I must introduce him to Alaine if there is an opportunity.
           The weather is ideal for motorcycles. I actually made it to Miami in 25 minutes at 65 mph, the posted speed limit most of the way. That is how traffic is supposed to flow, in theory, but allow for an hour to go the 22 miles. Because there are no laws about people doing things that block or slow down the procession, same as everywhere in America. Or as Dave Barry on Florida as, “Where you are free to practice the driving habits of your country of religion.”
           Heading back was equally fine, as uncouple from the weight of the cPod, I now have to confidence to blast the sidecar up to 75 or 80 mph, which I can tell infuriates the macho types stuck in the slow lane or who think they can show off to me. I love my sidecar. There was another note on it when I walked out of church, somebody else wants to buy it.

NIGHT
           Before I head back, though, here is a scene of the brunch tables at the church, with Alaine on the right. I’m still using the $18 camera, which I happen to like for these type of scenes, as they show just the right amount of detail for my purposes. Note in the foreground my trademark. A crossword puzzle and a binder of notes, which I read in the quiet moments. Don’t overlook that the purpose of the festival is to unwind.

           Back home, I instantly proceeded to pop a breaker with my new welder, so when Trent arrived, we had band rehearsal al frescoe. Out on my tiny stoop. But we got in a solid two hours without noticing the time elapsing. Do not underestimate the significance of this dynamic in music, it can only happen when the musicians are enjoying the music. It is momentously more important than ability. If you’ve ever heard a droll “professional” guitar player, you know exactly where I’m coming from.
           The tunes we’ve got are also “showy” bass tunes, techniques which I’m certain Trent will latch on to. The bass is still a new instrument for him, so you be patient now. We know we will never win any awards, so isn’t this an opportunity to show whether or not I’ve learned a thing or two about the right way to work a duo? Since we cannot do lead breaks, I’m thinking about doing snatches of other tunes.
           No, these are not medleys, but rather to pick the best part of some other song and intersperse it or use it as a fancy ending. Only if the situation permits, mind you, but arranging things for that situation isn’t that much extra effort for me. For example, after a successful dance number, why not take on the ending of David Allen Coe’s, “If That Ain’t Country”.
           With my ex, I have considerable experience doing this, so even if I am 23 years out of practice, I have every confidence it will work just as well today. I’ve just never had a band since then even willing to give it a whirl. Trent and I retired to Jimbos for one of the last nights they will be open.
           And we were the only patrons in the place.