Did you ever see that movie, when the guy in the 1995 white Astro Van wakes up on the beach in Northern California in the heart of the Redwood Forest? He does his morning business, meditates, eats a bagel with PB and Banana's an then strums the guitar he just bought the week before for hours? I think the part was played by Jack Nicelson or maybe it was Steve Buschemi? It was a huge hit in my mind and one I would like to see again.
Yes I figured out my next career move, I'm going to be a singer songwriter? I'm writing songs about Homeland Security, Comfortable Buzzes, being a slave and other mind numbing topics. I can almost play a G chord into a C chord, so things are looking up!
Since my last entry I visited Glacier National Park in Montana. A beautiful place, amazing, I did a few day hikes and spent a whole day just watching the clouds pass by the peaks of this national treasure. On the east side of the park you will find the town of Babb. Babb is on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation. On my way I drove right through it as there is 2 Restaurants, 1 convenience store, 1 hotel and Charlies Place. Old Time Dave Talmage and the Billy Pilgrims were playing at Charlie's Place on Tuesday night. From the outside it looks like a storage facility, So I figured it would be a mellow bluegrass show for some tourists and park goers. Well to my surprise 300 people showed up at this lawless crazy place. I engaged a Bureau of Indian Affairs Officer in conversation and learned that he had no right to bother me unless I was a "member" of the tribe. This is the kind of place if you offend the wrong person you could have a Jack Daniels bottle up side your head or if your nice to the right person you will find friends for life. I seemed to have been straddling that line but departed at 3 am physically unscathed.
I woke up in the morning had breakfast with the Pilgrims and waved goodbye as they headed to Whitefish. After some more Glacier time I headed back to Missoula for a night, in the morning I did a long mnt. bike ride, got the Astro's oil changed and decided to head towards Oregon! I drove through the Mountains of No. Idaho and across the high desert of eastern Oregon. I stopped in Bend the home of Mt. Bachelor and arrived in Eugene Oregon about 30 hours later. Oregon has the highest amount of homeless folk per capita in the country. Eugene is host to a good deal of them. It is a very progressive and diverse community, lots of Burrito options, and what seems to be a thriving music scene. I went to see Todd Snider perform at a local haunt. I had heard him on XM radio. He was amazing, an enthusiastic crowd of about 200 were their screaming out requests from his 15 year career. He put on an amazing show. Folk meets Country meets Storytelling meets barefooted hippie. He agreed to let me open some shows for him on his southern tour...... just kidding
I spent the next couple of days banging around Eugene, they have great parks and bike trail network around the Willamette River. I was sitting on a park bench practicing on my new guitar when up comes this man on his bike with a backpack. He asks if he can sit with me and I said of course since it gave me an excuse to stop making a gutiar sound like a dying lizard. He pulls out a 40 oz bottle of Old English and starts slugging, never offering me any. Over the next 3 hours Mr. Les Vickers continued his day long drunk as we talked about alcoholism ( I have no qualms about admitting my own challenges with the drug), the music of Bob Dylan, the different missions he has been in and his 51 years of abuse. He was really hung up on Jesus Christ, God. Me being a fledgling Buddhist didn't have much to offer on the subject of guilt an heaven and hell. He was obviously looking for help and I felt a sense of responsibility of not making matters worse. So I played him some of my songs which made him laugh. Les finished his bottle and now had to decide whether to try and find a blanket and go to sleep or more Malt Liqueur. We went for a bike ride together and he took a nasty spill down a hill. He got up and made it clear it was time for us to parts ways. I invited him to breakfast and to be my manger and he agreed to both.
I'm not trying to pull on of those keep you in suspense dealios but I need to go..... Next up My good friend John "Jackass" Prudhomme pulls into town, Breakfast with Les, and our tour of the Pacific Northwest...
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