Capital Metro Could End Up Killing Me

“A healthy social life is found only when, in the mirror of each soul, the whole community finds its reflection, and when, in the whole community, the virtue of each one is living.”~ Rudolf Steiner

On the fifteenth of November, which is this week, there will be a board meeting by Capital Metro, which is a bus public transportation here in Austin.

They are proposing some changes to a number of routes that, if passed, would take place in June 2018. They are claiming to want to make bus routes more efficient and faster to get to those people using the service.

Out of the many routes that have proposed changes, TWO of them will be of great importance to me personally.

One of the routes happens to run just outside the apartment complex. And that has been a personal convenience. The other is in the neighborhood down the street by a few hundred feet. And it is the latter route in which I take to get to places into the downtown area for whenever I want to go see live music. Essentially the core part of my social life since 2014.

The proposed change to the route that runs outside the complex will be re-routed to where if I need to ride that bus route, I will have to make a walk of about a half of a mile up a steep hill and then down the other side. Depending on how much stamina I have at that time or how fatigued or not fatigued I am, that could take me up to twenty minutes just to get to the bus stop.

It is not a route personally often, but it causes a great deal of distress and loss of stamina if there came a time if/when I need to use it.

All for the sake of making wait times shorter.

The other route that I use VERY FREQUENTLY and is my link to the social life that I have created for myself (from what I am reading) will go into effect at the same time.

IF YOU KNOW ME FROM LIVE MUSIC, THIS WILL BE IMPORTANT!!

If I am understanding correctly, that bus route that connects me from my neighborhood into the downtown area will NOT RUN during times that public school is not in session. So, essentially during the summer there will be NO bus!!

These two routes are the closest to where I live and if they are gone (seasonal or permanently) then I honestly will not be able to maintain what social life that I have today. Unless I want to travel distances up to a mile just to get on a bus, or to get off of a bus and return home.

My physical health over the past two years has deteriorated, and I am unsure if I will have the strength and stamina to make such a journey.

The two routes in this neighborhood will effect over 1,500 city residents in this neighborhood. With a daily ridership across the ENTIRE CITY of 130,000 people, these changes will most likely cause that number to drop significantly. And usually that will mean that bus fares will go up again in price.

When I started riding in 2014, I could go downtown and back for $1.00 but in recent past, they did change the fare to go up, and now going downtown to catch a live music show is a round trip cost of $2.50, so even if you are in a band and there is NO COVER to your show, there’s always a cost of transportation, at least for me.

So I do have that concern or fear that if these changes are approved by Capital Metro, then my social life as far as enjoying live music and entertainment will die. And those relationships that I have made will eventually fail. And without having the stamina I once had, this board meeting has me completely on edge.

Ride share programs and taxis are either expensive or not an option in my personal case. And that stinks!

Yet I am unsure of any proposed changes for the Night Owl routes, which I actually discovered just over a year ago which run six nights out of the week between midnight and 3:00 AM. And since I learned about it, it has allowed me to actually stay where I am at, without having to leave or bail early to catch a bus back home. I do not know if any of those night time routes are a part of this or not. I am hoping not. If I am out and about and these night time buses are a part of it, I won’t have much choice but to call for a taxi.

I am facing a very harsh reality however that if these changes are approved that life as I know it will cease to exist. I will either have to find another way or find a totally different social life. And hope that I do by the time these changes kick in by June 2018.

German Speaking Woman

Dear German Speaking Woman who was on the bus over the weekend:

I have to say that the moment that I spotted you that you were quite attractive. But I didn’t really want to say anything to you because … who wants to be approached like that while sitting on a city bus?

And perhaps I was surprised by you as you were by me. But nobody can say for sure. I was not expecting you to answer your cell phone in German.

And I’m pretty damned sure that you were not expecting me to talk to you in response in German. If at all.

I honestly did not mean to startle you, if I am going to be honest. But I do speak over fifteen languages. None of which are really fluent.

I hope that you weren’t cold while riding the bus because I did see you shiver a little bit when I spoke. I’m sorry that I did not have a coat or jacket to cover you with, if you were cold.

How’s your right ankle by the way? I saw you twist it like a mofo when you rang for the bell to get the bus to stop and attempt to exit off of the bus. That really did look like it hurt.

By the way, you may want to check with your physician about other problems as well. Perhaps you could get answers as to why you became so incontinent when you stood up to run off the bus like that. You left quite the trail behind you, and the seat you were upon, it looked like a grease stain inside of an auto garage.

Any ways, I hope you are doing well and I hope to see you again soon. Perhaps I’ll try again…. this next time in English.

Auf weidersehen.

Try To Mind Your Own Business

“Don’t spend so much time analyzing me and my life. Worry about your own, that is obviously where the real issues lie.”~ Brittany Marcum

So now here’s a listen for all of you boys and girls out there.

On my back home from SXSW Festival today, we were traveling through the area of the University of Texas and I spotted this jogging female seen here in this photograph.

She was pretty much hauling ass! I mean she was really going. And I couldn’t help but note how very little she was wearing. Being that in the area of town that she was in and the time of day and all of these factors where these safety people tell you NOT to do, she’s breaking down each and every rule. The only one she didn’t break was don’t jog after dark.

Without a thing on her body in the clothing department of life, I took this photograph to share with someone that I was conversing with via text messages.

A different bus passenger noticed that I took the photograph and immediately began to harp and shout and call me names… telling me that I was dirty, perverted, and a pig.

Well, I could see how she could come up with that mistake. But that’s exactly what she made- a mistake.

It was because of that fact that I originally ignored her.

I slipped on my earphones and blasted SIX MINUTE CENTURY’s newest album into my ears. But the woman on the bus continued on and kept calling me names. It got to the point where she would get up from her seat just to tap me on the body to get my attention. And it was the tapping that pushed me over the edge.

Her insults and vulgarity continued. And I just attempted to stay in the conversation that I was having via text message because you know, I’m funny…. and this woman would keep telling me to “STOP IT! STOP IT!” because she assumed that I took the photograph of the female jogger and was sending it to my guy buddies to oggle her body.

And that was wrong of her too.

Finally when she went through her streams of yelling “STOP IT!” the bus driver looked up to observe the situation as to why one of his passengers was getting unruly and loud. He then continued to drive.

And at long last I opened my mouth when she kept yelling “STOP IT!” and I went in the for the kill by insulting her and her grandparents.

Everyone and anyone and their dog can go after someone’s momma. But nobody really thinks about doing it with shaming the grandparents.

I nailed her grandpa first and she sat there with her jaw hitting the floor. Then I attacked her grandma and that’s when she stood up to do something about it.

Yeah, you don’t need to tell me that what I had said was wrong. I got that part. It was intended to piss her off and it worked. Game over for  Dambreaker.

She stood up in the aisle and the bus driver noticed it again and about the same time the bus driver applied the brakes to slow down, this woman took a swing at me to punch me. But the bus losing steam and momentum caused her to trip, stumble, fall, and lose her entire balance to where she swung at me but missed. Then her body went with the flow and landed on someone who was sitting there peacefully and taking a cat nap.

The bus driver had seen enough.

He told the woman to get off the bus and of course she had to argue her case that she didn’t do anything. But these bus drivers, especially now that they are dealing with patrons from all over the world here for SXSW Festival… they are taking no crap from any one.

He removed her and I learned how to get rid of annoying people who are bugging you on the bus.

People need to re-learn how to mind their own business.

Bus Driver Castration

 

City bus drivers must have the worst jobs in the state.

I used to use them all of the time. But now, they’ve changed their rules and its no longer free for me to ride any more. So in general, I quit riding the city buses to get where I need to go.

This morning was a different situation. I figured that I would make an attempt to ride a bus to get to the grocery store before the  heat of the day kicked in.

A bus that actually drives up in front of the property and I can get on and get dropped off with relative ease.

So when I got on this morning, I was not prepared for the three hour detour from hell that commenced.

From where I got on the bus to the store should have taken about 25 minutes. It took almost an hour. The bus driver was brand spanking new, and always referring to a clip board rather than watching the traffic on the road. He was worse than a 15 year old texting and driving at the same time.

More than once the driver would slam the brakes on. More than once would I go flying out of my wheelchair and land on the floor of the bus HARD. The bus has no lap belts, and the wheelchair wasn’t built with a seat belt. The bus driver never looked back when I would go flying and land hard. Even though the other passengers were more than willing to be vocal about how many times the driver was making mistakes and going the wrong way.

They were insisting that he listen to them in directions from point A to B, but he would disregard them. And that only pissed them off even more.

One of the passengers was a two war veteran.  Yep, fought in two different American wars. And he was the most vocal of all of them on the bus to let this bus driver know that he was a severe dickhead, as he kept calling him.

When at last we finally reached the store, the bus SHOULD have stayed for about 20 minutes before moving on since it was at the end of the run. But he had gotten so far behind that he dropped off the passengers on the bus, picked up the passengers waiting for him, and took off.

I was simply done with my shopping excursion in under 15 minutes. I SHOULD have been able to get back on the bus and go back home. But no.

I missed the cycle too because of the inexperienced driver.

The bus swings by every 60 minutes. We were there in 50 minutes. It took 15 minutes to shop. So do the math and realize that I sat there in the early afternoon heat with my food melting in the sun waiting for another bus to come pick me up. And that took almost another hour.

From the time that I left the apartment complex to the time I got off the bus and was back home? Three full hours.

I was NOT happy.

Yet  still, there was a part of me that felt really bad for the driver. He didn’t know what he was doing. And yes he was making mistakes. But for crying out loud he was new to the route.

How much of a break do you give a person when they are new? Apparently around here, society does not give any breaks to anyone.  Its called being selfish.

As much as I wanted to throttle the bus driver for slamming on those brakes every time he messed up and throwing me across the bus, I said nothing to him because I knew that he had never driven that route before.

He’s probably lucky I didn’t get severely hurt or injured. That would be a mess and a half.

 

From Flying High To Sci-Fi

So I knew that when I got home, I had to write this down. You know, for prosperity. And the future generations of children to come.

On a last minute decision, I returned to SXSW and good ole Sixth Street to watch Beautiful Disturbance play again. Yeah I know that a few of you are tired of reading about it. But I say BUCK UP!!

This time it was at The Touché Bar.

Had some close encounters with both Auggie Del Ray and Brenda Flores as they were right in my face with high octane. And I STILL didn’t know what to do about it!! I even admitted to them out on the sidewalk that when Auggie is that close to me… I have no clue what to do.

Nonetheless I had a great time and they will be performing the next two nights. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend those nights.

I was feeling more comfortable about the bus route and whatever, I knew better of where and when I had to go in order to catch the bus home.

Unfortunately, I missed the very bus that I was needing to get home. There wasn’t another one coming. I had to get on another bus and hope to make a connection to some other buses that I knew more about.

Never in a million years would I say this, but when I got on that other bus, I had a seat buddy. A companion.

I sat next to Boba Fett. 

That’s right. I sat right next to some guy dressed as the bounty hunter from the Star Wars saga. And he had a full on conversation with me. The only thing that he said out of character was “Is this the bus stop?” and those who could hear his voice from underneath the helmet just started cracking up.

But he sat on the bus with me and stayed in character. Asking my opinion about Ewoks and Wookies. He asked me if I too was a bounty hunter and if I had any good catches recently.

Then throughout the 30 minutes that I sat next to him, he kept saying that Jabba was going to kill him for being late. And that Lord Vader may use The Force to choke the life out of him for not calling ahead of time to tell them that he would be late.

I asked if by “Jabba” did he mean his wife and he should his head no. I asked by “Lord Vader” did he mean his wife and he hung his head low and then nodded yes. Then he took his gun and mimicked shooting himself in the head, signifying that he’s going to be dead when he arrives late.

It was the funniest thing that I had ever witnessed or experienced.

 

 

12 January 2013: One Night Stand With Six Minute Century

“Things can always be worse.” ~ Mrs. Froth

I suppose that I could have titled this post “It Was All A Dream” but the truth of the matter is that it was not a dream. It just really feels like it. Things just happened so quickly!!

It was time again to go to Houston to see SIX MINUTE CENTURY do their thing on stage. Since January is my birthday month, I wanted to be there.

But this trip was a little different than most that I have taken in the past. In fact, I wasn’t even in the city limits of Houston for a full 24 hours.

I was there for only one night, rather than two.

Thanks to Dr. Froth’s keen eyes, he noticed a La Quinta Inn that was so close to the place where I would be dropped off by the bus when I was there last November. There was a restaurant, a gas station/convenience store, and lodgings. Everything I could ever need right there in the same place.

So this trip was also an experiment in keeping costs down.

Also, I was given help by my sister back in late November when she noticed a promo code to punch in to megabus.com that would make my bus trip FREE.

However, it didn’t work out as well. The entire round trip fare was $14. But so much lower than what I have actually paid in the past. You just have to read the small print when it tells you that there are terms and conditions to these kinds of promotions.

My $14 shortfall came because I waited before I made my reservation. Lessons learned.

Another lesson that I’ve learned is that when I am on the bus, I’ve got to find something to keep me occupied. Otherwise I’ll just lose it and go crazy. Two and a half hours or so is better than the three hours I was travelling, but still I need to do something to occupy my space and time.

There was some “eye candy” that boarded. I suppose one could say that I was fortunate she didn’t go to the upper deck to sit. But I struggled for about an hour to decide two things:

#1- Is she married?

#2- Is she really that cute?

The answer to #1 would’ve definitely played a factor into the answer of #2. I could never figure out either question. 

When we reached Brenham, Texas which is usually the “halfway point” of the journey, our beloved bus driver got completely nervous at the highway signs and ended up going into the small town, rather than staying on the highway and moving along the outskirts of the town.

So we got turned around and drove around in Brenham for about 15-20 minutes before “Little Miss Eye Candy” got up and conferred with the bus driver.

The driver got scared and ran off of course because of the signs that said that she was on US-290 Business. Ridiculous! And that caused her to throw the trip out of whack.

This was the first time I’ve had a female bus driver. I figured we’d make the trip in under an hour. Not so much… we were behind by about 20 minutes when we finally arrived in northwest Houston.

Then we passed through Chappell Hill where I’ve recently learned a dear friend of mine lives. She’s been ill and so has her husband and when I saw the signs in which she instructed me to find when I passed through, I said a little prayer for her and her husband, hoping that they would feel better soon and no longer be ill.

At long last we reached northwest Houston and I got off of the bus. I noticed a HUGE crowd of people looking to get on board. I had never seen so many people to ride megabus.com but there they were. I had forgotten about the promotion that they had going on and I suppose that people are taking advantage of it. Something I didn’t figure until after I had already came home.

I’d like to try it again and take full of advantage of a FREE trip, but the promotion goes until the end of February and I don’t see any trips in the future. Oh well.

The cold front had followed us into Houston and even several hours earlier, Mrs. Froth told me that it was warm and very humid. But that was all taken care of by the time I arrived.

It started to rain at some point, and the smells of the restaurant adjacent to the hotel was killing me! It was a BBQ place. And I was just drooling uncontrollably. But I never made it there. Instead of checking into the hotel and then going to the restaurant, I waited and waited for some notice that someone was going to pick me up. “Face time” is what I call it.

I ended up watching some documentary on VH1 about the Los Angeles riots and the Hip-hop culture. Some of it, I never knew. Other parts, I was just completely disgusted with…. even some twenty years later.  

Then it just turned later and later and there was still no word from anyone. It was probably the first time that I thought I had been forgotten about while in Houston. But around 7:00 PM, my cell phone proved me wrong. Oh ye of little faith should’ve been my theme of the evening.

I guess I was just probably way too excited to go. Too excited to see everyone. But deep in the back of my mind, I knew that it wouldn’t be like times before. And I just couldn’t shake that feeling away.

By then, the rain had come to stay. So it was a soggy and chilly mess to wait outside. A secret that I will share with my dear readers: The woman who was working the front desk was outside having a smoke when Dr. & Mrs. Froth arrived to pick me up. Both of them ready to go to the show, and dressed appropriately for it. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself, wondering what the hotel clerk was thinking when I jumped into a vehicle with them. Leather and lace, baby!!!!

The best thing about this location of the La Quinta Inn, was that the BFE Rock Club was really not that far away. It didn’t take much time to arrive at all. I began to wonder just how close Acadia was as well. It seems to be the two venues in which SIX MINUTE CENTURY plays the most.

I mean after all, this location where I was at seemed to be near perfection.

I was given the opportunity to hear the finished production of  “City Of Hope” which is a song going on the new album for SIX MINUTE CENTURY. It was the first time I had ever heard a recorded version of the song. Any other time that I’ve heard it, it was a live version. So it was a little different for me but I loved it.

Dr. Froth mentioned that lead singer Chuck Williams did a fabulous job with the background vocals. And there were parts that were just totally bad ass. He was right. When those background vocals popped up for the first time, I jumped. It literally scared me because I was not expecting to hear what I did. I was floored. Such a great thing to be pumped up listening to the music of SIX MINUTE CENTURY that hardly anyone else has heard as we prepared to go to a live show.

It was great to see so many people there. People that I’ve come to know in the past year and a half. Members from WELL OF SOULS, ECHO TEMPLE, and other bands were there. I got into a very serious conversation with the drummer for ECHO TEMPLE. Something that I fully intend to continue at a later time.

All these people came out in the rain. And that’s just awesome!

The show was great. There was a band that came from Austin that I was really impressed with. I wanted to get photos of them, but someone else was walking around, shooting video with a digital camera and getting around the girl was a little challenging. Plus, she was easy on the eyes. I’m tellin’ ya!

Mystic Cross was on stage next. The lead guitarist for SIX MINUTE CENTURY, Don LaFon, is also a member of this band. And since we were all there to celebrate his birthday, well he had two bands he was playing with in one night.

Don LaFon came up to me and said hello. I wished him a happy birthday since it was ON his birthday that he was playing. And he mentioned that my most favorite song, “Zero Hour” was on the set list for the night. A piece of information that had been unconfirmed before, but I just nodded and smiled. I told Chuck Williams that since I was there to celebrate MY OWN birthday, I’d hoped that the so-called rumor was true that they would play the song. But I honestly didn’t have any doubt as to whether or not they would. I was told once by someone reliable, then Don LaFon brought it up to me before the show started. So I knew that I was in for a treat. Considering the fact that the band has been wanting to drop it from the set list to make room for new material. They had decided that they would only play the song when I was there. But for the band, I’ve made most of the shows throughout 2012. So I’ve got to hear it played live.

Chuck Williams made a special birthday dedication to me before they played the song. It was kinda funny. He looked right at me and said, “You. For you. Birthday!” and I just clapped and smiled knowing what was going to happen. After they played the song, Chuck then mentioned the men and women of our Armed Forces, to which the song truly goes out to.

Someone screamed out their unit and Chuck Williams was all proud and honored and thanked the guy for his service.

The rest of the show was so awesome. And loud. Holy crap, it was so loud. I don’t know what the hell the sound guy was thinking, but after Mystic Cross got on stage, everything was just turned up and left that way. But the stage lights, there was nothing going on with that. Weird.

I found myself being accosted, again. Another blonde, another DRUNK woman. She asked me why I was in a wheelchair and I gave her the short answer. But it was like it went flying right over her head.

I’m going to say this right now….. I DO NOT MIND explaining the reasons why I am in a wheelchair. I believe that talking about it actually can educate those who do not know. Plus, it helps you understand me on a more personal level. So I am not the kind of person that is going to get upset if someone asks why I am in a wheelchair. However, her reaction and response made me feel like I had just wasted my breath and that wasn’t cool.

She asked me where I was from and I told her. Her reply was that I was too far away.

Too far away from what????

She asked me if I was “with anyone” there at the venue, and I said that I was not. She asked then if the people that I was sitting with and hanging out with was my family, and I told her that they were. Because to me, they are. Yet when I told her that I wasn’t with anyone and I didn’t have a girlfriend, she responded that she was glad because she didn’t want to have to take anyone out in the parking lot.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over?

It was at that point that I began to wonder if it was a mistake that I told her that I was on my own. That I was not with someone. I could have very easily pointed out that I was with Mrs. Froth just so I could cover my ass and possibly get her to go away. But that kind of response… ugh. I’m glad I didn’t. It probably would’ve started something that didn’t need to happen.

She again asked me WHY I was in a wheelchair. So I gave her the technical explanation. That didn’t help. It just caused her to cry. And hug on me and kiss on my face and head and shove my face into her breasts.

Do not get me wrong. I do like breasts. I am a straight man. And I realize that my current altitude that I get a lot of them in my face. That’s just the way things are. But these were SHOVED into the side of my face and ear. I was not consenting to this kind of attention at all! I prefer that women have full use of their faculties when engaging in that sort of behavior.

After the last band was on stage, it was time to get as many photographs with people as I possibly could. But Mikey Lewis I noticed was back behind his drum kit. A brand new photograph with SIX MINUTE CENTURY was not going to happen. I’ll have to work on that later. I didn’t get one with Dr. Froth either. Something else I’ll have to work on.

Eventually though, the bro hugs were plentiful. Even one came from Dr. Froth, although we were both acting out and being stupid. I am given to understand that bro hugs aren’t something that comes a lot from him.

And I got picked on by Mrs. Froth but that was only because I was being a complete and total dork and pretty much deserved every single “love tap” the woman gave me.

By the end of taking as many photographs that I could, I took one with Don LaFon. He was talking with a woman that I have seen at shows before in the past. Apparently, Don LaFon had told this woman that I was the #1 fan of the band, and he also included the fact that I come from great and long distances and spend lots of money just to make it to the shows. The woman was flabbergasted and shocked and basically bowed at my feet.

I find it unusual that I am still to this day being introduced as such. I think that I’ve come to terms with it by now.

After the show, it was time to roll on out and allow those who had been drinking to sober up and have something to eat. But getting people together to decide on where we were going was like pulling teeth and hair at the same time. Finally, Dr. Froth trumped everything and everyone and had made the decision to go to IHOP.

It was most convenient for Dr. and Mrs. Froth and myself as my hotel was directly across the street from the restaurant. Chuck Williams and his wonderful wife joined us, along with O.J. Morris from WELL OF SOULS.

I was glad to get that extra face time. SO glad… that I didn’t even bother to look at my watch or a clock throughout most of the night.

When we finished at IHOP it was after 4:00 AM. So it was about eight hours of face time with the Froth family. Considering how short my trip was going to be, I didn’t complain. Yes, I would’ve loved more face time but there was no reason to complain.

As I was being dropped off at the hotel, it was time to say my farewells. And it wasn’t something I was willing to do, but had to do. Everyone was tired, but happy. But mostly tired. I was running on excitement and adrenaline, I probably could have kept going for a few more hours. But all good things must come to an end.

I crashed and burned and fell right to sleep. I didn’t even think to take my nighttime medication!

I woke up in a panic. Check-out was noon, and I woke up at 11:10 AM. I grabbed all that I could and threw everything into my bag and I was out of there in fifteen minutes. I checked out of the hotel and I had more than an hour before my bus was to depart from Houston.

I took off for the restaurant, still in that “rushed” feeling. It really does suck when you wake up in a panic like that because then everything else in your day seems rushed and you often get that feeling that you are running behind and you cannot catch up.

But I had been dreaming of eating at this restaurant ever since I knew it was adjacent to the hotel. The sign said to wait to be seated. But because of the rushed feeling that I had, I felt that I’d never have time to wait to be seated, eat, and then get over to the gas station to wait for the bus. So I walked out of there disappointed and defeated and hungry.

The weather was worse. The wind was bitterly cold but there was no precipitation. The temperatures had to have been cold as well. And I had more than an hour to kill. I bought a cappuccino to help warm me up as well as wake me up. But it only warmed me up for a little while. $1.29 not so well spent.

Then the bus arrived a few minutes late. Not bad, but late. A rush of people came out. Probably somewhere between 40-50 people waiting to get on the bus in the cold and wind.

There was MORE eye candy that I had seen while waiting and I had been hoping that they were getting on the bus. Only one woman got on the bus. But she did not see the one remaining seat open, so she went to the upper level and I didn’t see her much after that. Even when she got off of the bus where I was getting off, she vanished. I never had a chance to say hello or talk with her.

But the crowds waiting in northwest Houston to get on the bus, it was the most unusual experience that I had never thought possible.

A man had a piece of luggage that had a strong odor coming from it that he was trying to store under the bus, but the bus driver was asking questions about why it smelled so bad. Come to find out that (and I know that this is hard to believe) inside of his luggage, was a cat that had died.

NOBODY can figure out how that happened. The guy screamed up and down swearing that he had no idea that the animal was inside of his luggage. But with a strong odor like that coming from the bag, it had to have been in there for a while.

Needless to say, he was not permitted to get on board and the fine boys of the local police department took him and his dead cat away.

I hated leaving. I always do. Because I do not know when I will be able to return again. But I left with a better and more secure sense of belonging.

I came home, and my neighbor who picked me up took me to get something to eat. I came home and realized that the entire trip in the city of Houston was 21 hours. The same amount of time that I had been awake the day of the concert before crashing like crazy.

Even when I got home, I threw myself on the couch and passed out for about three hours. But that was in the evening time and its probably going to mess with my sleep schedule for a few nights.

I can’t wait for SIX MINUTE CENTURY to finally get shit done and get this new album released.

 

 

 

 

Greyhound Grief

“When I go out with Journey, it is a complete cakewalk. I can afford my own bus.”~ Neal Schon 

Wow, wouldn’t that be nice? My own bus. Oh well.

As my vacation was coming to an inevitable end, I was dropped off at the bus station by Dr. Froth and his wife.

As much as I would love to spend as much time with them as possible or tolerable, times like these are often a struggle because I’ve always had so much fun being around SIX MINUTE CENTURY and never want to actually “leave”.

After giving hell to the people at the  Super 8 for the horrible experiences of staying there, it was on the way to the bus station. The pit of my stomach becoming more and more empty with the feeling of not wanting it to end.

However, Dr. Froth mentioned that it doesn’t feel like a true SIX MINUTE CENTURY show when I am not there.  I didn’t know how to respond. He caught me speechless. If I had agreed with him, I sound like I have an inflated ego. If I disagreed with him, I run the risk of hurting his feelings.  But time and time again, they all have involved me in the band in one way or another. I’m like an honorary band member, for a lack of a better term.

Getting there early enough for me to get my ticket ready, I noticed that all of the employees went into a panic when I showed up.

I got asked constantly over and over again if I had called and made reservations for a bus with a wheelchair lift in it by the same half dozen people.

With as many times as I have been on Greyhound in the past year and a half, I would learn the ropes. I would learn how things were to be operated, and I would learn that I would have to make just ONE phone call to ensure that the bus that I am about to board would be accessible for me.

I had been caught once, and that was the first time that I rode the bus that I did not call to make sure that I had an accessible ride on the return trip home. But that situation resolved itself on its own. Once bitten, twice shy.

And I did what I had to do on Thursday. In fact, I had left several messages and eventually they returned my call and confirmed all of the information that I had given them.

Yet, that Sunday afternoon as I was supposed to depart at around 1:50 PM. I got there shortly before noon, and everyone just started to freak out.

So then I sat there and waited and waited on the other side of the security checkpoint, wondering what was going on. Meanwhile leaving Dr. Froth and his wife behind. After several minutes of just sitting there and not receiving any results, I decided to go back and hang out with my friends.

Time began to crawl for me. And I wasn’t about to complain. Let time go as slow as possible, I’d say!

Eventually, it would become time for me to depart from my friends and begin the journey to officially go through the security checkpoint, get loaded on the bus, and endure a three hour ride back home.

In an effort of dry humor, I shouted out “Dead Man Rolling!”. But I don’t think that I said it to make Dr. Froth and VoM laugh, I think that I said it more for me to attempt to remove a layer of being uncomfortable with the fact that I was leaving. A way to soften the pain in my heart and an attempt to keep from crying.

Once I was through the checkpoint, I waited. And then I waited. And after that, I waited some more.

I was told that I would be boarded around 1:20-1:25 PM. It didn’t happen.

Greyhound realized that the bus coming in was NOT equipped with a wheelchair lift. So that meant that they needed to wait for a bus to come in that had one. And this caused a delay of nearly an hour before I even was taken outside to get on board.

As we were finally rolling through the downtown area, I overheard the bus driver on his cell phone. The woman who had brought in the PROPER bus, had left something on it behind. So we had to stop and wait for her to catch up to us so that she could retrieve her property that she left behind. Another delay. And then another.

I was however, prepared for my CD player to die on me. I had batteries, baby!! Each of the last trips home from Houston by way of the bus, it has happened. I plug my earphones in and within five minutes the batteries would die. But I had it covered this time.

As I sat there listening to music, remembering and reflecting on the show the night before, I suddenly began to open up my heart and mind a little bit more and actually DID AGREE with what Dr. Froth had said about “it not being a show without me”. Flattered and honored, I accepted it. So, thank you Dr. Froth!

I was supposed to arrive home at 4:50 PM. I was not home and off the bus and waiting for my sister to come pick me up until 6:00 PM. All because the wonderful folks at Greyhound didn’t do their job and make sure that a bus with a wheelchair lift was coming.

Certainly, I am not the ONLY customer that rides the bus to/from Houston…. or am I?? Nahhh!!

It seems like each and every time I am ready to leave Houston, something like this happens. The last time I went, I had problems getting TO Houston because they did not have a bus accessible for me. Then when they finally got one, they couldn’t get the lift to come out of the bus, and that took time.

What is it about Greyhound that these kinds of issues always seem to pop up??

So not only were there accessibility issues with the Super 8 hotel stay over the weekend, but there were even worse problems with Greyhound. And its getting very tiresome.

I take the bus because it is easier for me and more affordable. And honestly, if I want to continue to travel to Houston to see SIX MINUTE CENTURY, then the bus is my primary option.

With all of the grief that I have had with Greyhound, I think its time to say something and time for Greyhound to turn around and do something to make it right. I’m thinking that they should give me my next trip for free.

 

 

 

A Quick Post

“Leaving on a jet plane”~ John Denver.

Okay, I didn’t leave on a jet plane, I took the bus. It makes better sense to have taken the bus. Plus I didn’t even travel over 200 miles. I’m not going to pay over $300 just to go up into the hour for about 50 minutes only to come back down again.

But I have been away so that I could attend a show by SIX MINUTE CENTURY. Also to have a visit with romance author, Jessica Trapp. Whom I adore both professionally and personally.

And that is why I have been absent from posting anything as of lately. But I wanted to write this post for My subscribers and readers and let you all know that I am okay.

NO, I did not fall off the planet. I did not end up in the hospital, and I did not die. I have received scores of e-mails asking these questions. Good grief, people!! Control your cognitive distortions!!!!!

But I had a wonderful time while I was away. But tonight I am totally spent. But future blog posts will be written as I am able to get well rested again.

Oh!! I noticed that I had 59 views yesterday alone. Thank you to whomever decided to pillage through my posts. That is the most views in a day that I have had since the 2nd day this blog has been in existence!! Which that total number was 43. Those people who viewed my posts yesterday deserve a cookie. And as always, special thanks to the disciples of Dambreaker… Thank you for always having my back!!

 

 

Dream Vacation

I think I know now why they call them, “dream vacations”. I just spent the weekend in Houston, Texas. No, not the ocean like I said I would be at. There are reasons for that deception. I’ll get to that in a moment. But now that it is over, it felt so much like a dream.

I would have to say that it was quite difficult for me to keep things under wraps, so to speak. The whole intention of the so-called weekend getaway was to surprise a few people who live in the Houston area.

I had other things going on, but I won’t be so boring getting into them. Besides, who wants to talk “business” when its supposed to be a vacation?? So I’m just going to focus on solely, the “personal”.

During that time though, I got to do what I had only been dreaming of doing for many years now. For one, getting to a SIX MINUTE CENTURY show. But I will blog about all of those experiences in another post. Their lead singer, Chuck Williams was celebrating his birthday and they had a show. My entire plan was to surprise the whole band by traveling the 200 miles to be there. The other, was to finally meet in person, romance author Jessica Trapp.

To be honest, I never would’ve thought in a million years that these dreams would  come true. But they did. I am so grateful for those dreams to turn into a reality. I am above Cloud Nine at this point.

I had never been to Houston before. I had gone through it on the way to Galveston twice in my life and I thought that Houston was scary! Maybe it was just the traffic. So I knew this was going to be quite the experience for me. Nervous, excited, and totally stoked to go. I showed up far too early at the bus depot that it was just totally unnecessary and inhumane to be there that early. The excitement got the best of me for sure.

Three hours on the bus and I was met by one of my dearest friends, Lori. I had known her for about two years and now I was face to face with her. Then later meeting up with her fiancee, Michael. The bassist to SIX MINUTE CENTURY.

I had only been there for about five hours and I remember thinking to myself, that this was a great idea and I was excited for the next day to meet everyone that I had been in communication with over the Internet for so long. All of my worries were carried away. I was able to just chill out and relax and enjoy those who were hosting me for the weekend. Great and awesome people! I knew that the excitement would build.

Its so surreal when you are in non-verbal communication for so long and then you are directly in their face. There’s no turning back. There’s no delete button. No backspace key. It becomes whatever you make it and that’s the way it is.

I have no complaints though. I didn’t have any problems at all with anyone. And I was glad for it.

That same night, I was taken to a recording studio where SIX MINUTE CENTURY is hard at work recording their second album. So thrilling for me because I had never been in one before. I got to meet lead guitarist, Don LaFon later that evening. (See guys? I spelled it right!)

For me to have that opportunity as a fan to get to hear the new material was just so cool! I definitely felt like I was receiving the VIP treatment!! I’m probably one of the band’s biggest fans.

When I begin to like something and feel passionate about it, I go full force. The dedication stays with me until death!

That first day, I was awake for 21 hours before I was able to crash at the hotel. I literally sat there all alone in the hotel room, overwhelmed with positive energy, happiness, and full of emotion that I cried myself to sleep. Getting to see the entire band was going to be so awesome.

The 22nd of April was the big day. The reality was slowly creeping in that at long last I would be in the presence of great colleagues and get to see the band that I admire so much play live.

In the afternoon, I met up with author Jessica Trapp and her son, had lunch and spent the afternoon walking around in the mall and the surrounding shopping centers. 

I was totally nervous. I had so much trouble with being so scared that I would sound like an idiot. After all, she is a writer and it would stand to reason that her vocabulary would be more advanced than mine. I just hoped that I sounded like a decent human being when I engaged in conversation. To me, that was a lot of pressure.

Even with my nervous driving me insane, I still found a way to become relaxed and  comfortable. Even though the first impressions are always the ones that become impressed on the mind and opinions of others.

The world seemed to have stood still. Nothing else mattered. Yet time still melted away and I parted ways from Jessica in the late afternoon. It was a real fun time. I enjoyed her company. And as always, I was appreciative that she took me to lunch, and took the time to come out to see me. Even though I was probably quite a drive from her.

The night of the concert I will be saving for the next post. Yet it was another 19 hours of being awake and crawling into the hotel room at 5:00 AM? Yeah, all I can really say about it is, “that’s rock and roll for you!”. I’d do the entire day all over again and again and again and again if I could.

Saturday was a day of trying to recover. I think I kind of failed. Such the headache and fatigue crept over me like a blanket and I just was fumbling around so much like a goofball. But I was happy about it!

It literally took two days to get over it. But that second day was the day I was to return home on the bus.

I needed to get back to my own life and I needed to let others return to their routine of daily life as well. Not having my own mode of transportation and having to rely on others to get me where I needed to go, does become burdensome. I’m just so glad that I have wonderful friends who didn’t mind so much. I did exactly what I needed to do in order to gain some of the good mental health back into my life and stop worrying about the bullshit drama that actually surrounds me at home every single day.

There was a discussion about the possibility of me returning to Houston for the band’s next show and when that could be. It looks like near the end of the summer. It was also discussed about whether or not things could be done to make it happen on both sides with my wonderful hosts and myself. I think there’s a chance. I discussed my feeling that I would like to have a bit of a longer stay but I knew that it would mean a lot more. And besides, things worked out great this past weekend, having it being Easter. Those around me having the day off and all. If I were to go, I’d probably have a lot more free time on my hands all by myself until people are out of work and able to connect with me.

There was really not a lot of negative stuff happening around me. I lost my cd player in the process, and a favorite writing pen walked off somewhere in the city of Houston. But I have plenty of pens at home, and I was able to replace my cd player while I was there.

I was supposed to depart at 12:30, but things got fouled up when I heard that the 12:30 bus did not have a wheelchair lift. Instead, I had to wait until 3:30 to take the next one that did have a lift. I wasn’t sure what happened. I did what I was supposed to do on my end. So my hosts got to hang out with me at the bus depot.

And then Jessica Trapp came back for one more visit, bringing her entire family with her, on their way through town to celebrate Easter with someone else. She brought a bag full of goodies. Brought a few books that I did not have that she wrote and autographed them. It was a really nice surprise. (I actually came home with A LOT of stuff that was just given to me. I am thankful for everything and everyone.)

After the short visit by her, my hosts departed to be on their way as well to celebrate Easter with family. More pictures were taken. Hugs given. Loving sentiments traded. I just needed to let everyone know how much I appreciated them, and how much they meant to me. Their sacrifices that they made to make this all become a successful trip. Totally overwhelming for me.

And then, wouldn’t you know it? Drama has to set in while sitting outside in the sunshine.

Some bum came up to me and asked me for change and/or a cigarette. I told the guy that I had nothing. So he moved on to the next person standing about four feet away, puffing away on a cigarette.

He asked him for a smoke, and the guy told him to get bent because it was his last one. Just about that time I adjusted myself in my wheelchair and shifted my weight. Right when I did that, all this change came pouring out of my pocket and spilling onto the sidewalk.

That bum heard it, and came running after it. I freaked out. I mean, I had my stick with me. And we all know by now the history of the stick. But it was buried at the bottom of my bag. It would’ve taken me a very long time to dig through to find it, and possibly use it if I needed. I just wouldn’t have had enough time to do that and protect myself. This guy came running so quickly that I started yelling.

So lucky that Houston police was right there when it happened. They yelled at the guy and he tried running away, but the police officer did one of those running tackles from behind. Something that I’ve only seen on “COPS”. He was arrested and hauled away. Not sure what charges were given.

I saw that, and I got to witness a woman getting arrested for shoplifting at the mall on Friday morning. Such sad people. But I was okay. I wasn’t hurt.

I finally boarded the bus around 3:00 and was under the impression that we would be leaving at 3:30. But we pulled away from the bus depot at 3:15. Then being told over the intercom that we would be arriving at 6:45, I thought that the ride home was going to be miserable. It was bad enough that I didn’t want to go in the first place. Lucky for me, we arrived just three hours later. I think I finally entered my apartment at 7:00 on the dot.

So my personal thanks goes out to Michael and Lori, and Jessica… and of course, SIX MINUTE CENTURY. It was worth every ounce of energy planning this for so long, and worth every penny spent to get down there. I hope to have an even better time if I make it down there again in a few months. Now that I know the ropes of riding on the bus to and from Houston. It will get easier and be better each time I do it.

I met so many people and made new friends. It was definitely a wonderful time. I can say it over and over again. Hard to believe that I saw all these wonderful, beautiful people just YESTERDAY!

So I believe its called a dream vacation, because I had such a wonderful time and didn’t want to come home at all. Please Houston, if it was only a dream… NEVER wake me.

Note: SIX MINUTE CENTURY’s MySpace and Facebook pages, along with Jessica Trapp’s new website, “Getting Trapped In A Book”, can be found in the links in the blog roll. I highly suggest you check them all out.