subtle differences (part i)

it’s been so long…there’s been so much…where to begin?

might as well start a couple of weeks ago.

two weeks ago was shiner bocktoberfest – the texas beer’s equivalent to oktoberfest and this year the promoters (who i have faithfully worked for for the last five years) made a brilliant move – they combined texas-based names (lyle lovett, kenny wayne sheppard) with bands that could swing by on their way to the nawlins voodoo music fest (kid rock, staind) to make the show huge.

it worked.

for once the crowd was so huge that they had to move the show from the grounds of the spoetzel brewery to the city park. twenty-eight thousand people. fourteen sweaty hours of work. and my mind could care less. my brain was focused on the h.l.g. (hot latin girlfriend – i only define ’cause it’s been a while since we used the term) waiting for me in miami – ’cause that’s where i was DRIVING when i’d get off work.

and there i would find the first subtle difference (as in, between the sexes) – road-worthiness.

now, this is SO not an insult to the ladies…but the pace does slow up a bit when a female is on the road with you. it is a HELL of a lot more pleasant to have them along, and i guess if something is more pleasant you want to extend out the feeling for a bit, but i really don’t think the notorious h.l.g. (or any of you) could have hung with working in the sun for fourteen hours and then trekking three and a half hours to beaumont, texas and crashing out at the super 8 on the east side of beaumont at three in the morning.

and i know very few guys OR girls who would have been cool with the next day…after crashing at three, i was up by seven, and down in the super 8’s lobby (who’s free continental breakfast was a box of a dozen dunkin donuts and foldgers crystals – needless to say, i would not recommend this place) by 7:45. i was on i10 headed toward the sunshine state by 8:00. with the exception of the occasional gas stop, meal stop, and a brief trip to “the mall of louisiana” in baton rouge (i completely forgot to pack shoes for the trip, and all i had were the boots i used to work the show and a single pair of socks – ick) i stayed on i10 until ten that night, eastern time…for a total of thirteen hours on i10.

why did i get off i10? because there was no MORE i10. i had ridden it till jacksonville, florida, where it ends…and you can take a right (which i did) down i95 and head all the way down amerca’s wang’s atlantic coast…which i did until there almost was no more i95.

look at an atlas. america is hung like a bear (take THAT, european wimps) and starting the shaft excursion just north of the nutsack makes for one long evening when you start it at ten at night. in case you’re curious, it’s about a seven hour drive…but i was on autopilot. i had to get to her. and i did – at around five o’clock in the morning. twenty hours after i started, and with almost 1,300 miles behind me, i was in miami from east texas in one day.

after that, i felt like i could accomplish anything.

**NOTE – if you happen to work for the rental company i used for the 2004 dodge durango that i put 3,427 miles on in one week, realize that a lot of this site is fictional and that i probably DID stay inside the state of texas like i told you i would so you would give me unlimited miles instead of charging me twenty-seven cents per for every one over 1,400.**

and we’ll continue the adventure tomorrow.