All the Redemption Was Beneath That Dirty Hood

I am back. My back yard is a hay field! Stayed in Asheville last night. I have been wanting to stop there for quite some time. It is a great little town; art, music, culture, mountains, hippy-girls…

But everything must come to an end.

Ahh the post-trip woes. It’s kind of sad to be back even though just a few hours ago I was looking forward to it. It is so hard to assess my feelings after visiting home. I don’t know. I guess the one thing that every trip home validates is the fact that I am where I need to be…It is sad and scary to know that there is nothing back home for me… I could never go back and be happy as the person I am now. I feel fortunate in some respects but also guilty that I am turning my back on my roots. I outgrew my pot a long time ago, and have been transplanted into the wild. I am grateful for my roots though. Going home kind of hits the reset button. It’s affirmation that I am doing the right thing… but that doesn’t make it any easier to leave.

I definitely needed this break. Friends and their little ones, the family, cities, music, fish, golf, mountains, the farm, the pond, the fireflies, daylight until 10:00pm, and the road.

Still chasing the hole-in-one though.

I'm No Hero, That's Understood

I feel helpless. I can't rescue you. I want to. I feel obligated to. You have to do it yourself. You can do it. You are doing it. Keep pushing forward. I am here for you when you need me... Most things come full circle. I have to leave you to your life and escape to mine, knowing that no matter what there will always be acceptance for persons we have grown in to. so long for now...

On to Asheville. Then back to the home I lead.

I Know You're Lonely For Words That I Ain't Spoken

Thankful: That I escaped. That I grew out of my planter. That I spread my wings. That I am smart. That things weren't perfect. That I listen. That I have courage. That I don't lie. That I feel guilt. That I want more. That I challenge the status quot. That I don't fake anything. That I am real, real all the time. That, in time, I am loyal. That my roots are not certified organic. That I have earned everything that has come my way. That I have secrets. That I think differently than most. That I am perceptive. That I can make it on my own.

Lonely: That I escaped. That I grew out of my planter. That I spread my wings. That I am smart. That things weren't perfect. That I listen. That I have courage. That I don't lie. That I feel guilt. That I want more. That I challenge the status quot. That I don't fake anything. That I am real, real all the time. That, in time, I am loyal. That my roots are not certified organic. That I have earned everything that has come my way. That I have secrets. That I think differently than most. That I am perceptive. That I can make it on my own.

Maybe We Ain't That Young Anymore

Slept in yesterday then went on an architectural tour of the city by boat. Forgot sunscreen again... Then met up with Jess for dinner at Lou Malnati's in Lincoln park. Got up this morning to set off on the last leg of this part of my journey. Four hours away in rural Michigan the corn has tasseled out, the trees are bushy, tons and tons of wild flowers are in bloom, the bull frogs are barking, and the fire flies flickering. I finally caught some fish on my fly rod. Gunner kept swimming across my fly line though...goof!

Home. It's what it used to be... and will always be what it used to be.

Tonight We'll be Free All the Promises'll be Broken

So I made it to Chi-town. The drive was much longer than I thought it was going to be. I thought it was only going to take four and a half hours to get here but I was looking at the wrong directions. Anyway, I made it. Met Eric’s little girl Alice for the first time. They have a pretty nice place really close to Lake Mich. We headed downtown to meet up with Jess and Eric’s sisters. Had dinner in Lincoln Park and went to the Whiskey Sky lounge at the top of the W Hotel in downtown. It is a small, ritzy bar on the top floor of the hotel overlooking Navy Pier. As luck would have it a friend of Jessica’s was having her birthday party up there so we got to tag along. It just so happens that they had fireworks at Navy Pier tonight so we had an amazing view. Good times, interesting folks.

Interesting notes from the road: driving through Gary Indiana I see a sign - “The People of Gary Welcome You” - it was painted on a huge sewage tank at the water treatment plant… no better way to welcome somebody to your town… it might have even been painted with raw sewage… Well, it is sort of sad, nothing says the Midwest like the crippled manufacturing plants. Gary and Flint are the poster children for the fading era when unskilled labor could make a good living in this country. The fallout of the exportation of manufacturing jobs is literally littering the communities that surround these cities that were once hotbeds for good jobs. What can be done?… how about a mid-course correction… go green.

Show a Little Faith There's Magic in the Night

Awesome show… Although, the sound guys kept screwing up the mics and plugs on every song… every single one! I couldn’t believe it. Scott Avett was funny as shit tonight; mocking dudes and how they can’t cry or be sensitive... NA. The guy next to me had this elaborate recording set up and he is going to cut it up and post it for me. They played a couple songs from their new album that is set to release next week (maybe?) and they were awesome. The one song was about his family… like so many of their other songs; how important and special their family is. I envy that tight bond that some people have with their family… but I guess we all do the best we can... They didn’t play my song but I hear it anyway.

...I don’t know why I have to, but this man must move on...

So one little footnote about the show, the town, the county. I noticed a sign discouraging the use of alcohol, but everybody was bringing in coolers… so I asked my chauffer (they were taxiing us back to the stage area on golf carts) what the situation was; blah, blah you can bring it if you put it in a coozy or cup. So I asked to be taken back to my car so I could make a beer run and she informed me that I would have to drive 45 minutes to find anything. Umm yea. It’s a dry county. No booze at the show, no booze at the party store, no booze anywhere in this county unless you order it with a meal at a restaurant. So I drank lemonade and remained sober. And it all worked out great.

These Two Lanes will Take us Anywhere

Sheesh! I was in a daze for most of the 431 miles but I made it to Somerset. Less than an hour til the first act goes on…

So last night we went to Dante’s Down the Hatch in Buckhead. It was a pretty sweet place; fondue and stew, a replica pirate ship with a jazz band on board surrounded by water crawling with live caymans and crocs… Morbidly obese caymans and crocs I might add… very strange, but very, very cool. We just sat at the bar and had some stew and brew. Then headed back to a place in Jenn’s hood called “the local”.

Big Guns is so high maintenance, but also soooo adowable when he gets cranky in the car…. The drive was boring until we got off the highway… from then on it was beautiful. Two lane winding road through the foot hills of Kentucky. We stopped at Cumberland Falls for a while and took some pix. Went for a little hike. Gunner got tired... Well I gots to yank out some teeth and tear off my sleeves before I roll.

Casing the Promised Land

Well me and G pulled out of T-ville yesterday morn with my day-off-staple BLT on an everything bagel from Bagel World in hand; stylin’ and profilin’ in our flaming yellow rented Chevy Cobalt… Got to G-ville around lunch time. Met up with a now-walking Cass-dog, Jen, Bill, Marty, and Jim for lunch. Left around 3:00 and got to ATL around 7:30. Jenn got called out to Cali on a fire so she left us the key to her crib. Coincidently, I arrived at almost the same time as another one of her friends who was also staying at her place. So the two of us are using her place as a hostile. G proceeded to tear up a couple of Angus’s toys… Erik had just finished up a long day of protecting the environment when he swung bye and took us out-of-towners on the Erik Spalvins’ hospitality tour… I got tanked…

Went to Georgia Aquarium this morning. Cool, cool. Saw the whale sharks, beluga whales, the sea
otters, which were adowable, and tons of other cool creatures. It was packed…It was hard to walk and look at stuff without plowing over knee high mini persons. Going to take a cat nap to rejuvenate for another night on the town…