Bluesmen and women

  • Angela Strehle
    Angela is one of the Austin's blues scene premier performer. Great wailing voice and a joy to look at.
  • Eric Clapton
    Eric's guitar skills led to "Clapton is God" assertions by fans. He was influenced by Robert Johnson and other American blues artists that Americans' had forgotten.
  • Howlin' Wolf
    With John Lee Hooker they are my favorite male blues singers of all time. I got to see Howlin' Wolf on DVD only.
  • Janis Joplin
    Janis burned the candle at both ends and thrilled us with her performances. Sadly the candle burned out, but not before she revived American interest in blues music.
  • Lou Ann Barton
    Lou Ann was an early member of Stevie Ray Vaughn's band Double Trouble. A great blues voice and your eyes will be pleased as well.
  • Marcia Ball
    One of the Austin blues scene's premiere performers. Long, tall, Marcia Ball is great to look at, great to hear on the piano, and great to hear her vocals.
  • Muddy Waters
    One of the greatest blues performers of all time.
  • Robert Johnson
    Legend has it that he sold his soul to the Devil in order to create great blues music.
  • Ruth Brown
    This lady had an incredible voice for the blues, and I totally enjoy all the 'double entande' phrases. She will be missed.
  • Stevie Ray Vaughn
    The trail blazing guitar skill he brought to not just blues was just phenomenal. So wrong that when he had his demons under control, he was taken.

Route 66 reads and info

« January 2007 | Main

February 21, 2007

SAVANNAH-SERENDIPITY

In 1983 I had an epiphany of getting healthy and chose bicycling as the method.  I started in late July and progressed so I was able to do three century rides in September.  I was invited to join a group of riders that were going to ride from Atlanta to Savannah following Sherman's March to the sea.  WeMapshermanmarchsea would do this Thanksgiving weekend, and cover 267 miles in three days. 

We rode in constant rain all day on Thanksgiving with temps around 40 to 50.  We began in Conyers, through Madison, to Eatonton where we stopped on the courthouse square. In the vestibule of a small department store we sat to have our Thanksgiving dinner. Pat's wife Patti had driven there with a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. That meal is one of the most memorable and energy giving of my life.

Restored and warmed for a little while we continued on to Milledgeville.  We stayed at a Super 8 motel. We went to our rooms, and pulled off our soaked riding gear.  We showered and put on dry 'street clothes', and came out of our rooms to sunshine and no rain.

The next day was clear but not much warmer.  Our route took us out of Milledgeville through  Sanders and on to Louisville. We took a pause there to walk through a Civil War era cemetery, and to have lunch. We then pedaled on through to Millen, Georgia

Saturday morning it was 20 something when we got up and went out for breakfast.  I remember the name was Judy's Cafe. I remarked "I sure hope it isn't my ex-wife. As we started, we faced a long uphill grade from the 'git-go'.  That actually was a benefit because it got the blood flowing very quickly. As a cyclist you gripe about the uphills, but they provide some variety of ups and downs, lefts and rights. We were somewhere around Gulton when things got flat and straight for mile after mile. That caused us to celebrate when we finally had to turn. As we got closer to Savannah it became very pleasant temperature wise. I have vertigo, and as we came into the city we were faced with a bridge over Savannah river.  This bridge was made of steel grating and my passage over it on the bike was more thrilling than I like.

We all stayed in a very nice B & B that had rooms over the old carriage house. For our dinner we went to Elizabeth's on 37th for some incredible food.  The most memorable dish was the Key lime pie that I had. I learned that Key limes are pale yellow and that any green pies offered are 'bogus'. Years later I saw it featured in USA Today.

Now the SERENDIPITY part.  I live in Grants Pass, Oregon now, and I have retail space in a crafters/gift mall in downtown........Savannah Faire (www.savannah-faire.com).

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February 01, 2007

KITTY and THE ALIEN

Do you ever go "What kind of mind comes up with these things?". Well, I will expose part of what comes out of my head. Not for the faint of heart!

First you would have to be the kind of person that would want, and then acquire a cougar/mountainKitty6 lion/catamount/panther. Guilty I am.

That said, it is not much of a stretch to create the P.E.T.A. sign. Then I enlist the assistance of my friend John* to stage the scene and take the photo. The animals have learned to read and will take revenge.

What do you do for Halloween?  I don't have to wait for Halloween to have fun.  I get out my 'alien', mount him in the brush guard on the front of my truck and take off down the road.

A couple of years ago I drove into town to have breakfast at one of my regular haunts, Tiffany3

Tiffany2and Tiffany and Bill came out and posed with the little 'man?'. Then I drove back and forth on the busiest streets in town getting stares, waves, thumbs up.

*He set the cougar in the woods, sent his 11 year old daughter to retrieve something he had 'dropped' and then we rushed around the other way to watch her reaction. What a hoot.

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