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APRIL 2005 NEWSLETTER (Covering January 1 through April 7, 2005)
So, lots of people give stuff up for Lent. Part of their spiritual discipline to force themselves to go without something for 40 days. I'm not sure how much it helped my spirituality, and I only see in hindsight that this is what I was doing, but I gave up writing newsletters for Lent this year. However, with Easter having passed, I figure it's time to "get busy," as they say.
Following the New Year observance, Michael and I got back to work, starting with a trip to Colorado Springs, which is in Colorado, of all places. We went there to play an event called NCYM, which is a really fun event to play if you ever find yourself in a band. Then we flew home for a minute, before going to Texas two days later. Troy kindly drove our van there for us, and we were pleased to see it, and him, and our friends CPR, who were doing something of a reunion show with us in Double Oak. As some of you know, CPR has gone their separate ways, so it's just mouth-to-mouth and the Heimlich maneuver from now on. Then we drove to The Woodlands (with a capital article) where we played a church Saturday night and then a church Sunday morning. From there we drove east and played in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Our friend Briget did a great job setting up this concert, even serving us a King cake. Troy got the baby. If you don't know what a King cake is, well you haven't been to Louisiana then, have you? Suffice it to say, it's sugar and stuff, and it has a baby in it. Yes, I know. There were photos of all this stuff I've written about so far, but when I reinstalled Windows due to major malfunctions as Windows is want to do, I lost them along with a lot of other stuff. So, you'll just have to draw your own mental picture of what a baby ensconced in sugar cake looks like.
Then, Michael and I flew home and Troy drove the van to Colorado. We were happy to see it again. We returned to Colorado Springs to the same hotel as last paragraph to play a synod gathering for the Rocky Mountain folks of the ELCA. Had a grand time, and then went back home. Then Troy drove the van to South Dakota, and we went there for the weekend, because everyone knows that there's nothing like South Dakota in January. First up, we played Presho, which is a town in South Dakota. The opening band was considerably larger than our little duo, and they did a fine job. From there, we drove to Sioux Falls and got up the next morning to drive to Lincoln, Nebraska, where a large crowd turned out to witness the event. Then we drove back to Sioux Falls because we were afraid it was lonely, and the next day drove to Moorhead, Minnesota, which was cold and snow covered. However, the auditorium was warm and the hosts were welcoming. Saw lots of old friends and were treated to a delightful dinner and tour of the Old Lutheran World Headquarters. After dinner, we drove to Minneapolis to get flights home in the morning and Troy picked up the van. (He's pretty strong that way.) When I got home, there was snow in Ohio, so Lily and I built a snowman, who—judging by his height—is probably not a man at all and is actually kindergarten age.
Goodbye, Old Friend!
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Then along came February. I flew to California and attended an interesting conference called the Emergent convention. I emerged from that to meet Michael in Anaheim where we were once more the MC's, laying one down at the Extra-vaganza, which is a gathering of youth leaders from the ELCA. Had a really great time, and enjoyed ourselves mightily. Then we went home for a couple days until we flew back to South Dakota, because everyone knows that there's nothing like South Dakota in February either. Here we met up with our friend Nate Frambach at Augustana College where we played in the unnecessarily large field house. We were going to drive to Sioux Falls, but realized we were in it. The next day, we drove up to Brookings, which is a town in South Dakota, where we played in a beautiful sanctuary. That night marked the final performance for my beloved PC-88. It wasn't necessarily broken, but you could see it from there. Just a few too many miles on the hammers and moving parts. The replacement is the newer version of the same keyboard so, from your perspective, it probably won't look or sound any different. Still . . .Ahem. Anyway, then we drove back to Minneapolis to get flights home in the morning and Troy picked up the van. (He's pretty strong that way.)
Then we took a break. My family and I drove to New York to look at schools and visit some sites. The daughters enjoyed the Natural History Museum, and we happened to be in town while Home Depot had taken over Central Park for two weeks.
Rocketman!
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Ten days later, I drove to Georgia, picked up Michael, and we drove out to Athens, where the famous bands live. Not being famous, we had to leave after the concert, and drove back to Atlanta to get some sleep. In the morning, we drove out to parts unknown and played a fun gathering of Lutherans from all over Georgia called the All-Georgia Lutheran Youth Gathering. Sunday night we headed for Greeneville, South Carolina, and had a great concert. (I didn't even make us start late by getting lost on a coffee run at the church this time.) We headed off into a snowstorm in the mountains of North Carolina. I dropped Michael off in Knoxville, and drove home. We took a couple days off, and then I drove us west so we could meet our Waterloo, Iowa. Had lots of folks packed into a small room, and the opening band was fantastic! Afterward, we drove and drove so as not to miss our early afternoon gig in Joliet, Illinois. Before we played, Michael donned some fashionable eyewear from a local, and we thought of that singer who swears at airport security guards. That same evening, we set up for and played a concert Lisle, Illinois, where the young folks decorated the stage for our concert.
Also, next to the stage I found a really curious control of some sort. I'm not sure what it does exactly, but the important thing is that it goes to eleven!
Afterward, we drove and drove so that we could make the concert the next day in Tawas City, Michigan. Once again, the opening band was good, and we played from the stage in the gym that was just about the same height as the Jackson Victory Tour stage. A good evening all around, and then we drove south to stay in Detroit so that we could make it to the morning appearance at a high school in Westland. Had a really great time. Then a kindly teacher drove Michael to the airport and I drove home.
Yum!
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Four days later, Michael and I were on airplanes headed for Alaska. Yep, that Alaska. What can I say about Alaska that hasn't already been said? Basically, nothing, right? However, a few things of note by way of narrating the photos here. Sometimes the door to the lunchroom tells you more than you wanted to know. Also, if you ever wondered what a musk ox looks like, you can just look at the picture on the sign.
Sometimes, while driving in Alaska, some of the passengers need to get out of the car to move the boulders that have just fallen on the road. Which reminds me, when renting a car from Avis in Alaska, be sure to upgrade to the four-wheel drive model so you don't get stuck on a dangerous mountain road in Alaska FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF!
Also, if you're going to stop and take pictures, you probably don't want any photos that say "Avalanche Area Do Not Stop." However, even if you do face all those adversities, you would do well to form a band and play at the All-Alaska Lutheran Gathering, because they will provide you with lots of warm beverages, good food, fun times, and characitures of your band.
After that adventure, we drove back toward Anchorage and played a concert in Chugiak along the way. Had a nice time and met some swell folks who gave us soup. Then we drove back to Anchorage and flew to our respective homes. Then we had a couple of weeks off, and it was relaxing all around as you know. Tanned rested and ready, we gathered up our quarters and reduced the un-played states to one. That's right Wyoming, you alone are the state in which LOST AND FOUND have not yet played. We went to Vegas.
That's in Nevada.
Michael met Elvis. We played a concert for some youth directors from all over the west coast. And in the morning, we got up and played at a huge Lutheran High School. We had a blast there, and then hightailed it back to the gathering of youth directors where we played a few more songs and then headed to the airport to fly home. The airport in Las Vegas is different than the ones in other states. For instance, when I'm waiting for a flight in Detroit, I might buy a newspaper or magazine. However, the folks in Nevada have one thing on their minds. Yep. Pac Man.
Anyway, that brings you up to just about tax day, which reminds me that I've got to get busy gathering up receipts in order to prove I didn't spend all my money in Vegas. (Though I've read that you can deduct gambling losses.)
If you'd like to see the crowd shots, you can click on the Photo Phrenzy. In case you haven't heard, we're setting things up to allow folks to download music directly from our website, just like the bands who live in Athens might do. And now I've got to get some sleep, since I have to drive all the way to Nashville tomorrow.
Chow,
george
Read more of George's monthly newsletters.
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