BILL BLOG
Friday May 5, 2023
And a good Friday morning from Culpepper, VA. And it's Cinco De Mayo, so I give you this Margarita song from my friend Brent Burns that we wrote "Margarita Smile". Happy Cinco!
YESTERDAY
It was up at the crack of Tennessee dark to catch an Uber to the Nashville Airport where I joined my buddy Steve Dean to jump on an American Airlines flight that took us to Charlotte then on to Richmond where we had to wait in the airport for almost 3 hours for our “Hits & Grins” partner Victoria Venier to arrive as she was on a different flight and got delayed a bit.
But over-all getting to where we needed to be here in Culpeper, Virginia last night went pretty smoothly. But then things got interesting.
We arrived at our hotel, and every time you check into a hotel you just hope it’s a “decent” room. Steve Dean found out his had no shower curtain and had to actually hang one himself after the front desk just handed him one. I tried to get him to unclog the toilets and mow the hotel grass while he was at it to no avail.
We then get to the beautiful theater we played in the Culpeper High School Auditorium and I find out that my hard-shell guitar case that I use for flying is LOCKED! And I never ever lock it. In fact, I’m not sure where the key is that would lock it. I THINK it might be inside the guitar case itself, and that maybe security checked and opened the case in Nashville and locked it somehow. I have no idea. But I had NO guitar to play. The sound guy took me to the High School music room where luckily we found a student’s guitar that worked and I played that last night.
And then if that was not enough excitement we had major problems with the sound system. In fact, they could not get the main speakers to work…period. So we wound up turning the three little monitor speakers on the stage around so the audience could hear that. Of course we could hardly hear anything ourselves, but at least they could…somewhat. It was a challenging night…but guess what? The audience had a great time. So much so that this crowd bought more CD’s after the show than perhaps any show we’ve ever played. Go figure.
And they were a GREAT crowd. So nice as was the folks who hired us.
This show was cancelled along with the one in West Point, Virginia when I came down with COVID. And the association who books the concerts here wanted us to come that they waited for another date to bring us in. My thanks to Peter and everyone who did that.
So Culpeper will be unforgettable in several ways…and we truly had a good time.
Today? I’ll be looking for a locksmith in Culpeper.
THE AREA
The entire Culpeper region is in Civil War territory. A major battle just a few miles from here claimed 17,000 or more lives in a battle the South won. General Stonewall Jackson lost his leg in the battle of Chancellorsville. We drove past the open fields where the battle raged. Where cannons still stand. He lost his leg in that battle and died of pneumonia a few days later. Over 17,000 Union soldiers dies while the Confederates lost over 13,000 soldiers themselves in that victory. It was a reminder to the three of us in the car of how stupid and sad war is. Brother fighting brother.
HEALTH NOTES
The US death rate has fallen. Good! COVID is now the 4th leading cause of death.
The FDA approved the first RSV vaccine, a shot for those 60 years of age or older.
They say, whomever “they” is that one should consume a handful of nuts daily. To lose belly fat they suggest almond, walnuts, and hazelnuts. (I’m looking at a bag of cashews on the desk in my hotel that I bought last night. They’re right. I’ve not lost a single pound this morning.)
SIGNS
There are some FUNNY signs that have been put up through the years. I like this one because I think it’s truly a “sign of the times” we live in.
TRAVELING
A new poll shows that the average parent will drive over 1,400 miles as opposed to flying or taking other transportation. We love our cars. In fact 85% of those polled prefer driving over flying. As one who travels quite a bit? I agree. I’d rather drive if possible than deal with flights and all that goes with it these days.
BALLPARKS
It’s no secret that eating food and or drinking a beer at a ballpark is expensive. Here’s the low and high end of that.
Cheapest hot dogs at a baseball stadium can be found in Miami. You can get a hot dog there for 3 bucks. On the other end…a hot dog in Baltimore’s Camden Yards will set you back $8.25.
For beer? Cheapest is in Milwaukee (where they have a LOT of beer) is $3. At Dodger Stadium in LA a glass of beer runs $16! Wow.
It’s expensive at the minor league ballpark I go to in Nashville as well. As beer is around $10 a glass or more…and the dogs ain’t cheap either.
I’m going to have to start floating a loan to pay for my food and beer bill at a danged ole baseball game.
HEADLINE OF THE DAY
Customs Officials Discover 22 Snakes In Airline Passengers Baggage.
TODAY
We have an off day near Williamsburg today before a Saturday night show in West Point before returning home.
My sister who lives nearby is coming over and we’re headed for a bar b que place she knows about in Williamsburg and then a Breuster’s Ice Cream stand. I’ll be eating a handful of walnuts later to try and help me lose the belly fat that I’ll be adding this evening.
Have a great weekend!
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