One More Kick

Thursday March 1st, 2012 - Christiansburg, VA

   And the hits just keep on coming. It’s absolutely unbelievable. I haven’t had a string of luck like this in a while, but then again I must consider the source. If I’m going to be Mr. Lucky, I might as well be all in. I just wish I could keep the bad luck part to on stage only.

   Apparently, the guy who books the show I thought I was booked for this Saturday night in Johnstown, PA tried to call me twice during my hellish drive through the mountains of West Virginia yesterday. When I didn’t answer, he gave the gig to someone else. I didn’t hear my phone ring, and often I don’t. If I’m not near a cell tower, it goes to voice mail.

   That happens to everyone, doesn’t it? I thought the gig was confirmed, but I got it from a third party and apparently it wasn’t. Not apparently now. I’m out. This is the last thing I needed to hear, as it was my way of salvaging the week and earning my gas money home.

   Now, for sure I’m going to lose my ass financially and I’m 755 miles away from home with gas prices shooting up by the day. I can sit around feeling sorry for myself, or choose to move on and let it pass. That’s the smart choice, but not the easy one. This really hurts.

   I’m trying to figure out the reason this is happening, and all I can think of is that I’m not making the right choices. One questionable decision leads to the circumstances that make me to have to make another, and it all eventually spirals into one gigantic flaming mess.

   That’s where I am now. My life is on fire, and not in the way I pictured. But it could be worse. I’m not wacked out on drugs (yet) or in trouble with the Mafia. I’m just mired in a slump, unpleasant as it may be. It’s fixable, and I’m focusing on ways to get myself out of this temporary rut. I’m stuck for a few days, but next week I’ll be back home to try again.

   I know I’m not the first person to have a run of bad luck in life, and I sure won’t be the last. The hard part is keeping the big picture in mind when bombs are going off all around my immediate situation. It seems like the world is ending, but eventually it will get better.

   If I can offer one thing, hopefully it’s hope and encouragement to someone who follows my daily adventures to see what happens next. I have no idea who reads any of this and/or when they’ll see it, but I do know my situation is not unique. Everyone has obstacles they have to overcome, and hopefully my problems will give someone else a little inspiration.

   I’m about all out of inspiration myself right now. This situation totally rots, but what do I do except keep fighting? I wish I had some miracle message from above telling me what to do or why I’m mired in this situation, but I don‘t. I’ve had troubles before. I’ll survive.

   I don’t want to just survive though, I want to LIVE. Right now, I’m just hanging on to a tiny thread of a dream that’s unraveling before my eyes. I have a skill that took decades to develop, and all I want to do is entertain people and be able to earn a decent living. That’s not happening right now, and it disturbs me. Time to dust myself off and start over again.

Posted via email from Dobie Maxwell's "Dented Can" Diary