October 18, 2009 - Over a month off of the notes here as I continued to plan my break from Alaska and my music plans for October and my coming year. Trips to Michigan, Kentucky and North Carolina in September followed by a great last Alaska concert at Side Street Espresso culminating in a small gathering and farewells to my friends (Sarah S., Sarah K., June S., Julia H., George Gee and so many others) at my house on the 1st of October - the day I headed out to New York City with my good friend Poet Keith Liles (his first visit to that grand city!). He spent a week and a day in the City while I popped down to DC for a House Concert hosted by my Sister-in-law Deborah Bonito and a meeting of the Reclaiming Futures folk I have worked with in the past. The House concert was great - sound provided by my friend Steve Spellman who bailed me out at the last minute (He owns the Guitar Shopin DC). Had a nice reconnection and dinner with my friend Emily and friends Laura M., Winston (my ever-traveling friend) his brother Peter, Becky J. and so many others. Then it was back to New York and Springsteen shutting down Giants Stadium (thanks to my friend Justin Goldspink and his sister Sophie). Keith and I stopped in Seattle on the flight back to visit my Brother Paul, then were back in Anchorage on the 12th in time for me to finish packing up my car heading out on the big move.
Reporting on the past is easy to a point. All seemed to be going according to plan - with the highway before me, I knew I had more than enough time to catch my gigs in Portland and Brookings, Oregon. So with my car, my few possessions, some contract work and music before me I headed into a change of pace that promised I hoped revelation, understanding and awakening. In a way all of this has happened in the past few days and now there are few clear plans and a little bit of a sense of liberation. A brilliant encounter with a huge black bear in the middle of the night after a stop for a soak at Liard Hot Springs were highlights from the Alcan, but after Ft. St. John it all seemed to be settling into a well-known and perhaps comforting pattern. All that was dashed South of Cache Creek.
Earlier in the day I'd heard from my planned primary contract - the work I do that allows me to both continue to do the public service I enjoy and allows me the opportunity to music as well - The contract was not going to happen. Untethered from income suddenly, I actually saw it as an opportunity to focus more on my music and writing and truly beginning to take the leap I often talked about, but which I always managed to cushion. No cushion here. Still with my car and my music plans in tow I was ready to forge forward. Three hours later the car was gone. Wrecked in an accident south of Cache Creek. Faced with a choice on a curvy stretch of the Fraser River Canyon highway between a cliff, a semi and a retaining wall, after overcompensating on a curve, I chose the wall and snapped my tire rods and crashed the driver side of my car. Alive, but stuck in a fairly desolate area of Canada I kept traffic moving while waiting for the tow truck. With the help of the driver and the RCMP I found my way back to Cache Creek and Robbie's Hotel and a night of sleep as I tried to figure out my next step. The only thing I really knew as I fell a sleep is that for the first time in years I had no plan.
The next day - with no rental company in Cache Creek, I realized I had to get to the next closest town - Kamloops for a car. My Brother Paul went to work from Seattle in trying to find a rental for me while i contacted my insurance agent (kudos to State Farm for providing great service so far!). While talking to Denis from Montreal - the proprietor of Robbie's about my dilemma, he volunteered to give me a ride into Kamloops. A few minutes later and a knock on the door and Denis hands me a modified WWI helmet and with a smile says "Hope on the Harley - its just like a car". I learn that it is like a car - without a windshield. Arriving in Kamloops I find Paul has set me up with a U Haul and I'm back on the road with a farewell to Denis and my stuff loaded into the U haul. Leaving my car behind for insurance agents to determine its fate (to be or not to be totaled.... that is their question).
After an overnight in Seattle at Paul's and a short visit with my friends Jerry and Terry Holder, it was off to Artichoke Music for their songwriters showcase. It was a great evening joined by friends Valerie from Anchorage, Eric McEuen who set up the gig for me and Dan Lowe - who has helped me out in the past. It was a great night - I was last up of five and the audience reacted well - I think I'll be invited back in March to play... I wove in the tale of the demise of my car and it all seemed to go quite well.
Following an overnight in Coburg, I was off to Centre Stage in Brookings - a gig that my friend Howly Slim guided me to and that Kim Banfield and Perry Devine run. Joined by friends Fred and Susan formerly from Anchorage, now living in Trail, OR., it was another great evening. A small audience, but singer/songwriter's that appreciated the music. It was an evening worth remembering - and a place to which I will return in March also.
Now in Salem and needing to sleep before tomorrow's taping of Tom May's River City Folk.... GO to his web site to figure out when the show will air!
Thoughts and comments? e mail me at cwrecord@alaska.net