Monday's Missives

There were a lot of people at Willie's Picnic who needed you to know they had served

• Recently a kid passed me on his sport bike going at least 90 mph. He was wearing shorts, flip flops and a T shirt. It struck me as odd he was wearing a helmet. I guess on balance it is a good thing but if you suffer full thickness skin loss over 60% of your body after you meet Mr. Pavement and skid to a stop 100 yards later you are still as likely to die as if the loss was third degree burns occurring in a fire. A connected thought: the vented and armored jackets available today are great- they really are but it is interesting to me how the gold standard and best bang for your buck for protective clothing on a bike is still leather.
• It is 06/22/2014 and it is raining cats and dogs.

  

  Yep, that is Willie behind that screen

• A funny thing about the 2003 invasion of Iraq: Everything our government said about Iraq to gain support for the invasion was false but all the same reasons were absolutely and demonstrably true regarding North Korea- belligerent threat to a neighbor who is our friend, weapons of mass destruction, gross violator of human rights...
• My Columbia rain jacket is working out great- it is light, compact-able and not swampy at all and looks great. It draws compliments and questions every time I wear it.
• Some pretty sweet footage of Neall Ellis and his gunners- a Fijian and Frenchman at work in Sierra Leone.

  

  Big hat is big

• The new tires on the truck make it ride nearly like new. The new gas shocks will complete the effect and it literally may ride better than new as the tires and shocks are both better than original equipment.
• Yesterday I bought a tool at Sears. I fussed when it rang up at twice the marked price- it had been on sale and the price wasn't changed on the rack. He sold it to me for the listed price and then pulled the price off the display. The last time that happened there I was a told a price on the phone and they again tried to charge literally double the quoted price. I didn't feel like arguing and left and didn't go back for 3 years. Sears- what an odd anachronism. Who is surprised they're going under?
• FG's dumb cat is on the back of the couch rubbing and butting my head with her head.

  

  I don't even know where to start

Monday's Missives

Retarded

• I go and explore our world with my children so we have the experience together, get some exercise and so someday they will return to those places and find themselves, me and us- maybe even long after I'm gone.
• Pedernales Falls is on the list to hit this summer (2014). Turner Falls is on the list always as it is accessible and pretty cheap.
• For most of my adult life I've gone to TF at least a few times a year.
• Supposedly way back in the day it was the last place you would take a family as it was a biker haven. It may be an urban legend but I have heard multiple times from people contemporary to me they had been told the same from people in the generation before us and I have heard the same.

  

  I like that design.  It could not be more simple, efficient nor more different than what we picture as a chair. I bet it is comfortable. I wanted to sit in it.

• I just tried to watch a documentary about Jimi Hendrix. Within 5 seconds some guy that didn't sound like he knew what he was talking about referred to Jimi as, The most important guitar player in the 20th century and then later said, He pushed the envelope... Groan.
  
• The Beemer is going to my eldest. It isn't like a valued old pickup or sports car we would like to keep in the family. It is more like something I hope doesn't become an albatross around his neck. If I hear it is causing him to much grief and breaking him financially I'll sneak over and burn it to the ground.
• Anyway, it goes into the shop today (07/11/2014) to get in shape. I'll find the title tomorrow.

  

  Her is a seepy concert goer.

  
  
  
  
  

  

  'Merica

  
  
  
  
  
• When FGs dumb cat comes skulking around I'm always guarding my coffee against him drinking it. Its a weird holdover  from a dog I had who would risk life and limb to drink my coffee. He would act totally disinterested until I left the room then on returning I would find him nose deep in my cup happily slurping away. He was a blue heeler.
• I gave him away to friends who had cows and 88 acres and he got to ride in the back of pickups every day. He must have thought it heaven. As far as I know he is still alive but would be 10 or 11 years old.
• "Here, have a picture of my butt" The last text message I sent.

Willies 41st Picnic- An After Action Report

In the parking lot- a superfan's truck

The gate: awesomeness and dehydration awaits

• I've learned the days my gratitude exceeds my expectations tend to be pretty good days- Ray Wiley Hubbard Modern day poet and troubadour at Willie's Picnic.
• It was obvious to me without prior knowledge his very good guitar player is his son.
• Willie's son Lukas sounds like somebody goofin' on Willie Nelson when he sings but man- he can play the guitar.

  

  No, not weed smoke

  
  
  
  
  

  

  As with most any music festival it was a people watchers dream.

  
  

  

  Lots of disrespect being levied toward the US flag to be found there.

• Willies Picnic T Shirts were 45 dollars. RWH's were 20 bucks.
• Charley Pride was very disappointing. He rambled, his timing was bad, became breathless, forgot lyrics and complained the bass was too loud.
  
  
  
  
• David Allen Coe was surprisingly very- very good although once reminded- I recall hearing before he looked like death warmed over performing and stood there like a zombie when a buddy saw him in some dump in Cali. At the picnic he still looked like a zombie but stayed seated the entire set.
• Josh Abbot was great. He took note of Willie standing off the side listening to him sing. It was a moment he'll never forget.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I do not regret quitting drinking and when there is a temptation I usually don't have to look to far nor long to find a reason to remember why I quit and be OK with my H2o and cherry limeades.
• Sometimes I spice it up and live large with a sweet tea.
• Besides an initial flourish when Willie's and Josh Abbot's set started, there was a lot less weed smoke than I would have guessed.
• There always seems to be a mob of douchebags and douchebagettes who fight the their way to the front of the crowd during a band's set then they push their way out before it is even nearly over. I picture them working their way to the front- just to take a selfie and update their social media of choice.
• I sang You Were Always On My Mind to FG with Willie backing me up. She acted like it was apropos.
• Man, it was hot and humid. We brought our evaporaritive cooling bandannas but you know strangely, they only work when they can evaporate.
• There were so many drunks staggering around everywhere. There was the, Oh, I'm not staggering- it was a rock I stepped on! type who would stop in place and kick the imaginary offending rock out of the way. Then there was the, I'm not staggering- I'm dancing! ones and of course the, I'm not drunk- something important over that way caught my attention so I'll stop for a few seconds and look over there...

  

  Sooo drunk.

  
  

  

  How drunk you ask? Here he is an hour or two later.

  
  

  

  I doubt she expected to be face down in the dirt when she was getting ready to leave the house that morning.

• So many drunks and you know as well as I that 90% of them got behind the wheel of a car when the show was over.
• It was a thrill to see both Willie and RWH and I can tell you RWH put on a better show. As usual Willie ended with Will The Circle Be Unbroken?  and a few others with The Family. It was nice and yes- you get the feeling you're part of something bigger than yourself and you have to look around and remember, We'll never be here again.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• A CH C47 in D-Day livery flew over. (thanks Don- it even looked weird when I wrote it)
• They had a water point where you could fill up water bottles for free. That was nice- it really was but if they were going to have one (which is all I saw) then they should have had two to three. Then they really, really could have been positioned so the runoff they created didn't make a swamp you had to wade through to get to the porta johns.
• Josh Abbott fired a few T Shirts from a T shirt gun to try and get some swag to the people in the rear.  Two just went high and still landed in the front crowd. One landed on top of the sound booth.
• There didn't seem to be nearly as many people there as I thought would attend.
• They should plant some fast growing trees like poplar around the periphery of the lot.
• The lot it was held on is called The North Forty. The surface could have really used some work. It was uneven, rocky and the mostly white limestone surface made it very glary. The lot could be drug down and leveled, the larger rocks removed and then some fine gravel be thrown down and none of this in the scheme of things would be a drop in the bucket as money goes.
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  There was great bricks though left from old paving.

• Huh, "glary" isn't a word? Well, it is now.
  
  

  

  Something tells me he never went to U of  K

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  Lots of hats

  
  

  

  All over each other- all day

  
  

  

  Here, have a cloud picture

  
  
  
  

  

  Lots of boots

  

  I just thought she was photogenic

  
  

  

  Lots of hats and few black people. Here, this lady adds to the first statistic and tries to make up for the second.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  They were all over each other- all day. I'm far from a prude but hey, at least act like you've been out in public before.

  

  Lots of hats and beards

  
  

  

  Gross

  
  

  

  He clumsily played air guitar like he wanted people to believe were it not for his tragic fish cleaning accident it would have been him up on that stage

  
  

  

  Not dead- I saw her move later

  
  

  

  Not dead either

  
  

  

  When she walked by people nudged and pointed and shook their heads

  
  

  

  Everybody wanted to remember

  
  
  
  
  

  

  Person under there

  
  

  

  Character

  
  

  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  

  Girl roadie is cool

  
  

  

   I don't know them but I'm sure I would like them and they're good people who you could trust with your life. 'Merica

  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  She took the stamp to to heart. She was so drunk. Her beaten down hubby gave up trying to get her to take it back a notch.

  
  

  

  Is she famous? She looked familiar