And the beat goes on....

Ok, so I'm back in West Palm Beach. It's 5:28 friday evening, we played a 1:30 show today and have a 7PM to go tonight. I'm sitting in little place called Greenberry's Coffee & Tea company sipping a mocha latte, watching the sun go down and typing to you all. Ok, enough for the scenery here. Last time I typed, I had just arrived in West Palm Beach (here after reffered to as WPB) Got situated, they didn't have power so I had to run the generator for the night, which was really alright since it was warm enough where I didn't have to run the space heater. The next day I spent routing through all the things in sight in order to figure out what needed to be mailed, thrown away, or packed for the 3 weeks ahead. I was packed in just the nick of time (and NO mom, the bus did not have to wait for me) In 3 separate waves, we took our scheduled bus down to Ft. Lauderdale where we spent the night at the Best western there, it wasn't the nices one I'd ever seen, maybe not even as good as the one I worked in Hershey way back when.....but that's another story. It was a bed to sleep in, and there was a Denny's next door (which usually turns out to be the unofficial food sponser for the the hometown edition tour......."a moons-over-my-hammy for the please" ) The next day we checked into the airport with out incident, no bombes were found on any children, and I was quickly reminded of how pricy airport food/water/smiles/anything really is. The flight left after dark and was about 2 1/2 hours. It went by fairly quick, I watched my Bolshoi ballet DVD until my battery died, but we all lamented the fact that we couldn't see the islands or the triangle of the bermuda triangle outside the window. We arrived in a steamy 76 degree san juan and we checked in and settled by midnight. What an unexpected joy it was to discover this place that would be my home for the next 3 weeks. Never before had I experienced "living" in a hotel and having it be paid for by someone else. It was also quite exciting to realize I was once again out of my element. Where in a place where US money is used, and the USPS sends the mail, but everything else was a new expereience entirely. Our schedule for that three weeks was basically this....... week 1: relax, enjoy, don't spend too much money or get thrown in jail week 2: Ringling owns you, work your little but off and top it all with a 9 pack weekend week 3: You thought last week was bad, well we thought we'd give you a 2nd week of 9 packs. So, in the face of the most intense playing I'd ever done looming ahead, I decided week 1 was relaxation time in order save my strength for the 2 heavy weeks ahead. I've realzed while trapsing around the globe that travelling an site-seeing is exhasting and I was determined not to start week 2 already tired. So basically that week, I slept a lot, took long walks on the beach ;-) and survived on bread, cheese, sausage, and wine. Actually, I did find some time to get around the island. After a few days of loafing, Ted (ringmaster) and I decided to get off our dairy-airs and see something, so we elected to do the bioluminescent bay kyak tour. So, we cought an evening shuttle and drove the 6 of us about an hour away. After some crazy PR traffic (is there any other kind in PR?) and some angry bumpy roads, we arrived in this little village that had a small boat port. We got out, it smelled like fish, but looked promising. We signed our life away, they gave us life jackets and then set sail in our 2 person kyaks alongside our fearless guide nestor. We paddles across the lagoon and were immediately entered a narrow canel lined with mangrove trees. And then, with out announcement or alarm, it hits you........there's no sound except for your kyak part the water, the coqui frogs, and your breathing. You it's toally dark, and you look up to see a heaven bursting with sequined-velvet. It's one of those moments in time that Thoreau alluded to at walden pond. Everything makes sense and you want to melt into the fabric of the creation that's around you. ok.......coffee time over, time to go do a show, na razia

Merry Christmas!!!!! (from detroit?)

Ok, so you’re reading this and saying to yourself, “why has it been so long since he’s updated” Well, it’s because I’ve been a very busy boy in the past few weeks, as you’ll see if you keep reading. Continuing where I left off, I spent thanksgiving in Sarasota with my great aunt pearl and great uncle doyle. It was a nice thanksgiving with Amish food and beautiful weather (70’s every day) While I was there, once I found out that the Ringling circus museum was near by I made sure that I left time in my schedule to see it. So, on sat. Morning my friend Justin (the drummer on the show) rode his k1200 up from his folk’s place and we went to the John Ringling estate. We had just enough time to tour his house and the circus museum. Now, John Ringling was quite a character and his house reflected everything that he was and had built. Within the first 10 seconds of when I walked in the house as part of the tour, it all made sense, the plush, flashy, fantastical sensationalism that embodies the word and event that is the circus. The first room was a receiving room with art on the walls, a silver tea set on a fancy table, all hardwood floors, dark red velvet enrobing the large vertical panes of multicolored glass; the whole room decked out in gold trim. As we continued through the house it was opulent, even by today’s standards, but when you put yourself in the mindset of the 30’s American, this place was utterly grotesque in its lavishness. But then, the over the top sentiment in the décor and style fit perfectly the man who developed the most circus in the world. Of all the rooms, I believe my favorite was his wife’s bedroom. It was decorated entirely by her, so obviously it not only stood out from the rest of the house but also created this quaint oasis of solitude. When you walk in from the powder room the color motif, a mellow pea green immediately surrounds you. Then there’s a wood border where the wall meets the ceiling and all along this border there are various forms of exclamation marks lining all 4 sides. Curiously no one, including the tour guide could figure out what they meant. Everything was simply elegant. After that we got a bite to eat and enjoyed the view on the outside veranda. Apparently back in the day John would often have the circus band play as his yacht was arriving up to the veranda. Afterwards we headed to the circus museum. It truly was a treat learning about the heritage and legacy that I’m now a small part of. They had everything from the Lou Jacobs’s clown props to old circus wagons used in the old circus parades which were once such a memorable part of the circus coming to town. A personal favorite for me was a vintage bandwagon that was part of their museum. I thought about having my picture taken while sitting on it, but I didn’t want to be accused of jumping on the bandwagon. We also learned a few interesting tid bits of circus lore, for example back in the days of tents, they needed a lot of help for setup and take down, so they would offer free tickets for anyone who world come and work a few hours, of course this was a good way for kids to get free tickets and for John Ringling to get the rest of their family there. After the day was over I had a much better understanding of how smart a business man he really was. So, on my last evening there, I got to sample some of the local seafood fare when my aunt and uncle treated to a meal at the Anne Marie Oyster bar. It was excellent, all except for the lobster bisque. You see, I’ve been noticing that the more I cook the more critical I’ve about food; the food I cook as well as others. Perhaps my palate is just becoming more educated, I don’t know, but in any case this lobster bisque missed the mark. It had good potential but missed the mark in that it was WAY too salty. (I let the cook know; hopefully he’ll fix it for future customers) In any case, it was a nice evening before I headed back to circus life. Later that evening is when I headed over to west palm beach where I was to park my RV for the up and coming weeks in Puerto Rico (hereafter referred to as PR ;-) ) ok, layover over (echo, echo, echo) time to fly back to my home on wheels…….till next time

And so the shows begin............

So the marathon of shows has begun, about 26 shows in 1 1/2 weeks. Granted the week of rest down here helps, and the 80+ degree weather makes the long days a little more paletable. So far we've done a couple days of rehearsal, then had 6 shows so far (not counting the 3 today) So, last time I typed I left you all with my musings on pikeville, KY. The little town that it is. Turns out that it's the region where the Hatfields and McCoys had their famous feud. Anyhow, I left the muddy lot Sunday night after the show, hoping to drive as far as Virginia, so that I could visit the DMV on Monday morning. So, after going across the border into Tennesee, I found a walmart to stay the night at (and of course I couldn't pass up a late night shopping trip to pick up a few things) I mean really, how many can pull their house up to Walmart and walk right in! (I know my mom would just live in the parking and shop there if she could) Anyhow, I got up the next morning, drove back across the border into VA and get my new motorcycle tags. You see, I had them stolen in Topeka, and ended filling out a police report and everything. Definately not a highlight of that city for me. But fortunately in VA all that you have to do to replace stolen tags is present your registration and pay the $10 for a new one. Most of the rest of the day I spent driving to Augusta to visit my old roomate and his family. I have to say, (and I know I keep saying it) it was good to see familiar faces. AND, I even got to cook a little too! You see, I've been carrying around my set of srpingform pans in my RV, but truth be told I don't have an oven or anywhere to use them. So mark's wife tiera was kind enough to let me use her kitchen to make one of my fav recipies, Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake And here was the result (Caution, viewing picture may result in drooling on computer) After visiting for a few days I headed down to florida to spend Thanksgiving with my great aunt and uncle whi live in Sarasota. Well, things can never be as simple as you plan. The schedule was to arrive on wednes evening, but just after I crossed the FL border I had a blowout on my front left tire. Fortunately I didn't lose control of the vehicle but it ripped off the mudflap and did a number on the paintjob. So, it spent a couple late night hours figuring out a way to rig the jack to get it high enough off the ground to put on the spare. So, I got the spare on and continured on my way, but at 3AM I started falling asleep on the road, so since FL rest stops are RV friendly, I pulled into one and spent the night and drove the rest of the way early Thanksgiving morning. One plus was that I avoided most of the holiday traffic, although FL drivers are crazy enough to make up for any bonuses gained. So, with aunt pearl's help, I made it to their winter residence in the TriPar mobile home park in Sarasaota. I had a mild case of dejavoux. You see, this mobile park was the same one my family stayed at for our FL trip when I was on 4th grade. If someone had told me I'd be working with the circus and staying there with my RV 17 years later, I probably would've never believed them in a million, but life has a funny way of working out that way. So, I arrived on thanksgiving, visited, and since pearl had to work that evening, we went went for lunch at an Amish buffet restaurant, and I have to say, the Amish know how to do food; perhaps that's where I get my inspiration (my Schlabach ancestors that emmigrated here were from germany were all amish) Anyhow, it was a wonderful and filling meal. Turns out the that owners are from Holmes county ohio, which is where my grandparents live. As I got talking to aunt pearl she was telling me that there are a lot of amish that come to Sarasota for the winter. They run vans back and forth between ohio and FL at least once a week during peek season. And, curiously enough, a lot of the amish houses in FL have ammenities such electricity and phones (which they would never have in ohio) Upon hearing I raised my eyebrows in surprise, and aunt pearl said there's a saying they have, "what happens in florida stays in florida" Anhow, it was a nice treat to me in good company have good food for the holiday. That night I got to bed fairly early so that I could be ready fo early morning sales on black friday :-) oh, have to go play the last show for the day..........more soon