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Wha happened?!?!? Where did I go? So... I last wrote a day or two before I left for the New York area. Could that be the reason? Yes it was. The NY area was crazy. We hit Brooklyn, then Maryland again, then Johnstown PA, then York PA, and finally to NYC. It was a blur... So... Where to start...
Brooklyn was nice with 1200 kids a show. Two shows, a load out and then onward. Collage park MD was next. A great collage town and a 30 min train to Washington DC.
Into DC we traveled on the second day of our stay in Collage park. People spilled all over downtown DC. I opted to go to the Holocaust museum. Having been to DC before when the museum was closed to the public I was excited to visit. In my mind I was ready, we've all seen the pictures, and I knew what I had in store. In the end it was beyond anything I could have imagined. The museum takes you really deep. After 3 hours I had barely made it half way through. There is no real way to explain to you what I saw. There are video loops everywhere and some of them had a high wall around them because of how graphic they were. Of course my ass had to see what was behind that wall. The footage was of the killing squads that brazenly swept through Russia. Really ugly stuff... Really really ugly. I wouldn't feel the effects of the museum for a few days when we were in NYC.
A quick jaunt to Pennsylvania took me to another tragic location, Johnstown PA. In 1889 a massive flood destroyed the whole of this industrial steel town. 2500 men women and children were buried under thousands of pounds of mud. The flood was caused by an elevated man made lake with a neglected dam. It was the vacation spot for some of the richest men in America. Carnegie and Mellon, to name a couple, were members of an elite hunting club. This lake was 14 miles away from Johnstown, which was hundreds of feet lower than most of the land surrounding the town. Within ten minutes of the dam breaking the town was annihilated. It was one of the worst disasters in American History. The town still seems haunted. There are a few museums which I visited. Some light was brought into the town when my close friends Briana and Kevin came from Pittsburgh to visit me for the day. We sat with their beautiful little girl Lyla, on the hill near the dam and pondered what it must have been like to watch the lake drain. A devastating but beautiful sight.
From day one of the tour I had been looking forward to going to NYC. After Johnstown we drove into the city. Having spent almost 10 years of my life in Manhattan means I had a lot of catching up to do. The city greeted us with a lot of rain... and when I say a lot, I basically mean a tsunami. Because of the rigorous schedule of tour and the rain I decided to take it easy. I left the hotel for my friend Anne's home to stay a couple days. Heather, Anne, and I made dinner and played scrabble. Some of the best times of my life I had with these two girls. This is when the weight of the Holocaust museum started to hit me. After taking a day to recover from crazy traveling my mind began to work. Many realizations were had while visiting the town that I had spend such a large part of my life. With all of the extremely tragic visions that had been emblazoned in my mind I could only think of the fragility of life. The idea that a life is gone in a split second scares me as well as helps me appreciate every moment that I get to share with everyone I love. These women, children and men all over Europe had everything taken from them within days, even seconds and most of them dying with their last moments on earth being very horrific. Most of us live as if we will never die and we have everything to spare.
As the days past I stayed very quiet and pensive. While in New York I spent time with Pat and Steve. My aunt and uncle, my mother's sister. The two of them are very important to me and have been for many years. Our time together was spend doing what we do well... eating delicious food and pondering myriad topics of conversation. I was very happy to see and spend a little time with them. Within two days I caught up with many many people, saw Our Town, went to the MOMA, and visited a few of my favorite restaurants. Leaving NYC gave me time to take everything in as we took a few driving days heading to Florida.
A brief stop was made in Newnan GA. I got the opportunity to perform for Anne's parents, Kay and Mike, two wonderful people that I'm very fond of. They got to see what it is their daughter's best friend does for a living. We chatted briefly with pictures and hugs. It was very nice to say hi to them.
Just in time for my 32nd birthday we landed in Miami Lakes Florida. After having a painful winter that seamed to never end, Florida was a wonderful birthday gift. We had a great Peruvian dinner that night. The food was delicious. The stay was great and we made it to the beach finally. The water was chilly but crystal clear and refreshing. Our Florida stay was a week long but was rushed because we had so many shows.
From Florida we've move westward through Alabama and into Mississippi. Meridian MS looked like a ghost town. Nothing to do and less to look at... until we reached the venue, the Riley Center (pic above). This venue was built in the 1890's and in 2003 received a 25 million dollar renovation. This is the most beautiful house that we have seen so far on this tour.
We got to Texarkana a few nights ago, appropriately named because it lies on the border of Texas and Arkansas. If Meridian was a ghost town this is a ghost's ghost town. There is nothing here with a population of over 60,000. It is very poor and has a paper factory so it smells like a dead skunk farted. As we found in Meridian the venue is surprisingly gorgeous. There was feeling of depression as we realized we would be spending Easter Weekend here. Alas, we were saved, not by Jesus but by the Technical Director (Chandler) of the theater. He invited us to his home for an Easter dinner being that he moved here recently from San Diego and has had a hard time assimilating due to the lack of culture. Chandler has worked for over 40 years as a technician all over the world. Somehow my services got offered to cook dinner along with Kirstin. Now most of you know that cooking is essential to my well being so you can imagine that I was elated. Chandler is a pescatarian (vegetarian that eats fish) and Kirstin was longing for ham. We decided on a pair of Wellingtons. We made a pork loin in puff pastry with apricot chutney and a Steel Head salmon with a seafood bechemel wellington style. With a side of sauteed zucchini and roasted sweet and gold potatoes the meal was complete. We talked and ate all night. Thank you Chandler for a wonderful dinner.
Tomorrow we head for Waco... I'm done with Texas already and tour is starting to get tiring. I miss my bed, home, friends, and cats. I miss my kitchen!!!!! We have a little under a month. Yes!
I knew this tour was going to change me, but I didn't know how. One thing I have learned is that I am truly happy and lucky to be alive. I now understand the reason the tragedy of the Holocaust and of an untimely death shook me so hard. It is that I will miss the life I have made, the people in it and the beauty of it all. I sincerely believe that love is knowing how much you will miss something while it is still yours.
