First Day Of Spring

Thursday March 20th, 2008 - Superior, WI/Vernon Hills, IL

Today was the first day of spring but I missed most of it. I drove all night and got home around 10am and then slept until 6pm. I really don’t like doing that but I was tired from a long drive and that wasted the rest of the day. The cost of last night’s gig just got higher.

Not only did I have an all day drive yesterday with sky high gas prices now I lost today as well. I really have to think it over before I take gigs like this again because they are not doing me much good. It used to be that I took anything that came along just to keep busy but those days are fading fast. I don’t need more experience now. I need to make money.

I could have spent yesterday and today working on Uranus products or writing my script or sorting baseball cards and getting ready for a card show or anything other than having a long and dangerous ride through Wisconsin late at night. I am lucky to be alive actually.

Several times through the night I found myself nodding off behind the wheel and almost heading off the road into a ditch or guard rail. I caught myself just in time and jerked back into my lane just before impact. I cut it way close a few times and that’s just plain stupid. I am too old to be doing stuff like this and after a lifetime of long drives this is dangerous.

I didn’t want to stay the night because then I’d have to drive all day and be even later in getting back home so I decided to play cowboy and drive all night. Mistake. I felt myself getting tired a couple of times so I pulled off the road and slept for a while but that never is satisfying. It is a temporary relief but then waking up and driving again feels awkward.

This must be a sign that I’m getting older. In my 20s I would drive all day and all night and never get sick of it because I was going to new places. I used to love seeing how far I could drive in one day and all the things I could see along the way. Now I just want to get there and do the show and go home. The shows are still fun but the travel part is way old.

I can see why places like Branson are so attractive to performers. They can still perform but can also have a life at some kind of home. I never had that and now I’m starting to get hungry to experience it. The last few months I’ve been keeping it close to home and that’s starting to get appealing. Doing shows an hour away and driving back is attractive now.

There has to be more stuff like that in the Chicago area. If we can get Jerry’s Kidders on WLS to be a draw that would help us a lot. I’m sure we could find a lot of places that will have us once or twice a year and there are enough people in the area where we could have a nice local following and still make a living. That is a goal very much worth striving for.

I think there’s a way to go though. I got to Zanies in Vernon Hills and there were about 20 people in the audience tonight. This is a slow week because of many things like Easter and the NCAA basketball tournament and bad weather predicted and who knows what? If terrorists strike it could wipe all the shows out and with my luck I wouldn’t rule it out. To get upset about it won’t do me any good. I’m glad to have the booking so close to home.