Proud to be an American and to be in love with Balki

I am reminded of the cost of my freedom when I read the headlines of a young man giving his life for me, for you, for us. I have been all over the world, and I readily say that I am thankful for my country and grateful for where I live.
Touring with Biceps has afforded me the opportunity to see my country’s most valued treasures up close and personal, always grounding what I otherwise might take for granted.

I stood underneath Lady Liberty, our size comparison was that of:
me=flea, she=oak tree. From the bottom of her base to the tip of her torch, she is 305+ feet tall. That’s one huge statue. Those little white things in the bottom of the photo are sea gulls.
Given to us by the French in 1886; Lady Liberty has literally become the face of America.

She has seen many wars, diseases, presidents, terrorist attacks and pop stars.
Lady Liberty is a constant reminder to us Americans, that we are a strong and united country, craving our freedom and our Justin Bieber.

My ancestors, Biceps ancestors and many others held their breath, hoping to see her face as they approached New York and the New World.
I believe it was at this moment, Balki Bartokomous knew he had arrived, ready to find his Cousin Larry.

To every man and woman that has sacrificed their lives, their jobs, and their reputations to maintain my country’s freedom-thank you. Thank you Dad, Uncle Bill, Uncle Kelly, Keith, Jacob and countless others for joining the Armed forces and keeping me safe. And thank you, Balki, for changing the lives of my family every Friday night when you performed your dance of joy or your Bibi Babkas song.

America, Land of the Free and Home of the Brave and Balki.

A Tale of a Snow Goose and a Windshield

Bus drivers like to outdo each other with tales of their bus bursting into flames, losing a trailer while going 65 m.p.h., backing into the side of a building, pushing a dumpster through a restaurant, or going under a bridge that was too low for their bus. You know, the usual.
(photo courtesy of Malcolm Schuyl at http://www.wildvisions.co.uk)
I don’t have any of these tales. I am an ultra cautious driver.
In fact, one driver kindly reminded me that the gas pedal could be found on the right side.
However, do you see this cute bird above?

He’s not so cute when he flies straight into your windshield on a lonely stretch of the Canadian highway in the middle of the night.

This happened on the very last night of a very long 5 week tour. I was so ready to go home.
And then the kamikaze bird came into my life and scared the living daylights out of me.

 
I pulled myself together on the side of the road while picking glass out of my hair, eyelashes and house shoes. Yes, I drive in house shoes. Not very rock ‘n roll of me, is it?

Once I had calmed down, I drove several hours with my windshield like this, hoping to get everyone to the airport on time.

I dropped my group off, and instead of going home to Cowboy, my bed and a washing machine that didn’t require quarters, I spent the next several days at a Canadian truck stop with Biceps waiting for my window to be fixed.
And to be honest, we had a blast together decompressing after the long tour; biking throughout the scenic industrial park, walking the gravel path back and forth to the showers at the truck stop, meeting new and interesting people.
I suppose I have the snow goose to thank for this.

(photo courtesy of Malcolm Schuyl at http://www.wildvisions.co.uk)
May he rest in peace.

Artsy Fartsy Marfa, Texas

In the middle of nowheres-ville, smack dab in the desert, lies Marfa, Tx. On the never ending drive to get there, I wondered, ‘What the heck kind’ve destination is this?’. There was nothing, NOTHING, on the way to this tiny town. It looked like this for hours.

We kept hearing about Marfa from other musician types, artist types, and generally the artsy fartsy’s that we like to hang out with.

We experienced why people were drawn to Marfa. This town is a haven for artists and those who enjoy being a part of the art community-sans the attitude. Gigantic warehouses are found on every corner that are either displaying amazing artwork or are venues for live music.

The ‘Food Shark’ was THE place in town to eat. I am sure there are other places, but once you’ve had a ‘Marfa-lafel’, you will never be the same.

We would have tried this place, but it wasn’t open the day we visited. It looked pretty cool, but I can’t vouch for it. I just loved the clouds so much I couldn’t resist snapping this.

This town is old, by US standards. Established in the 1880’s, the charm of the adobe structures made me want to buy a revolver and strap it to my leg, stroll down the middle of the street and give bad guys the ‘stink eye’.

This straw bale house needs a little work, but I think I could turn it around. Right, honey? Honey?

I loved this sign advertising the ‘Thunderbird’ motel.

There is a grouping of airstreams that make up a hotel community-El Cosmico. (This hotel was just featured in ReadyMade magazine). I highly recommend you click on this link. It will blow your mind. Leave me a comment and tell me what you think of the place.

There is something relaxing, serene and inspirational in Marfa, Tx.

Marfa has a history.

Unique beauty…

And a little part of my heart.

Forgive me for twisted ways

Crap happens on tour that you have no control over. A sudden snowstorm can cost you thousands of dollars, a bad promoter can cost you more than that, and then there are the bands that you have to work with that have girly emotions and eccentric lifestyles. There is little that you can do about this.
Other than fight back in a weird way…

This lovely little skull was present for several of the tours we had recently been on. It irritates me for some reason. The stupid skull was connected to the steering wheel of the bus and stared at me every day. I thought the smug little thing should be decorated. I call this one Skull-a-haunt-us.

And here we have Skull-patch. The band hadn’t said a word about my decorations. Yet.
I found a cotton ball in a new bottle of ibuprofen. I had struck gold.

Why not get historical and educate the band with Skull-zart? Still no response from the band. However, they did remove it delicately and place it in the ash tray. That was thoughtful of them.

One of my favorites-Skull-stache. At this point, I think the band just thought we were weird. I had gotten past what they might think of us and realized decorating the skull had given me something to look forward to doing every day.

Skull-dito really made me laugh. Still the band was silent. But my little creativity was breaking up the monotony of driving, hotel rooms, show, shower, driving, hotel rooms, show, shower….It was what kept me going.

I pulled out all the stops for Mr. Skull-Muffs. I think Mr. Skull-Muffs looks quite distinguished. I wish I would have made a pipe for him, too. Or a monocle. The tour was over at this point, and it was perfect timing. I had run out of cotton and tape. And new ideas….
Maybe you have some ideas for me the next time I go out?