That song by Tommy Lee is pretty good. It keeps getting stuck in my head, especially after the last week. Good Times for sure. You can read in previous posts how the week started with two shows on the Rock Never Stops tour. The kicker was the messages I came back to after those shows. One by e-mail and one via phone.
I checked my mail and saw that I had a message about the possibility of putting the band back together. I was floored and typed as fast as I could that I was in. I will do whatever has to be done when I hear that suggestion. I was asked to call the bass player and had a great talk with him last Monday night. He can't do the band and I was bummed to hear it, but he gave a heart wrenching explanation. He had gone through open heart surgery this year. This guy is just a couple of years older than me and he had to have a valve repaired or replaced. My heart goes out to this guy. As bad as that sounded, he was as happy as I'd ever heard him! He sounded like he has a new lease on life and really has his priorities in order. He's always been a good husband and father, but he has made some great choices in his life and made things even better for him and his family. I was so grateful to hear how good he sounded. His life is truly inspiring. I'm not sure what the future of the band holds, but I'm anxious to find out!
The second message I received was by phone. My mom had called and asked if they could come up Labor Day weekend. As soon as I heard that message Monday morning, I dialed up my parents. Dad said that he had already put in for time off Labor Day weekend because we were going to have a family reunion. The reunion had to be postponed until October so he still had the weekend wide open and they wanted to come visit. It worked out great because I was going to have my girls up for Labor Day weekend.
I decided to surprise my daughters about the visit from my parents. My ex-wife e-mailed me on Thursday asking if I could pick up the girls on Saturday morning. I immediately wrote back telling her that there was no way because I my parents were coming and she needed to keep the secret. Of course, I was curious as to why she would even ask. Turns out that Paige had been in a cheer camp and they were going to be cheering at half time in the Friday night football game. It worked out that I would be there just about the time they would be performing and I could bring the girls home after Paige's halftime performance. This would allow me to keep the surprise.
I made it to the football field with 1:39 left in the first half. I was booking it! There was no way I was going to miss Paige's debut as a cheerleader. I found the ex and her husband and they gave me the layout of where the girls were. I went over to the other side of the bleachers and saw Paige practicing. Brittany saw me and joined us. I snapped a couple of pictures and then waited with Brittany to watch Paige perform. Paige did such a wonderful job! She looked excited and had all the moves down. They did 3 cheers, the third being their schools fight song. I just stood there and kept snapping pictures. I can't wait to get them posted later today.
On the way home from the game, I gave the girls one hint. They kept asking and I finally relented. I told them it was 12 letters and started with a G: Grandparents. Brittany overheard me asking for the hotel room of my parents when they were supposed to be getting ready for bed. I figured that I'd have to head this off with Brittany the following morning.
Saturday morning, the girls woke up asking when they were getting their surprise. I told them it would be a while since we just woke up. After breakfast, I grabbed the third season of The Greatest American Hero, since it was still wrapped and they didn't know I had gotten it, yet, and handed it to them and said it was their surprise. They were stunned. Brittany admitted later that she really started having doubts as to her grandparents visiting at that point. They were glad they got the DVD, but were under whelmed since I had told them it was a huge surprise. My excuse to them was that now they had every episode of The Greatest American Hero and there were no more left to buy.
The girls finished getting ready for the day and then the doorbell rang. Brittany and Paige rushed for the door and Brittany could see who it was. When she opened the door, both girls were all smiles. Their real surprise had just arrived. Mom and Dad were so excited to see the girls again, too.
We had such a great weekend. We went shopping at the Jordan Creek Mall first. The girls had their Build A Bear's with them to get some stitching done and new outfits. While we were there, Brittany saw some Crocs shoes that she wanted. My mom decided to get them for her, but she wanted to find what the price was. They eventually found some that were a different brand name and apparently better quality. Since Brittany got new shoes, Paige needed some, too, so they looked around some more. I was also carrying their Old Navy cards from their birthdays still, so they each had more shopping to do with Grandma. The girls ended up with new outfits that really look great on them.
After the shopping excursion, we had a picnic. Mom had brought her wonderful potato salad and some melon. She had also purchased some fudge while at the Amana colonies that we had for desert. We had taken a basketball, so everyone but mom played Horse. Paige had to quit early and go hang out with Grandma on the playground equipment, but Brittany stayed with us and played. She was out first and then it was Dad and me trying to show each other how truly out of shape we are. It took a while, but Dad beat me, proving he still has some of it left.
I had tickets to the iCubs game that night with my job and the girls had been signed up for some between inning activities so I made sure Mom and Dad had tickets on the third base side to get some good pictures. It was a great way to enjoy a game. The girls and I had skybox seats in the left field area so we weren't that far away from my parents. We chowed down on the free ballpark food and took a program and scorecard to my parents since we could wander around a bit. After the first inning, I took Brittany down for musical chairs. She wasn't the first one out, but did go out the second pass. She did good and had fun doing this. We immediately had to rush around to the right field foul pole so I could do the hot dog shoot. I rode around the field shooting hot dogs into the stand from a golf cart. It went quick, but it was fun. I only had two of them explode on me. After the 4th inning, I took Paige over to do the race around the infield while wearing a Be-Bops outfit. At the start of the race, the guy doing the events held the other two contestants back by their outfits while Paige got a nice head start. The other two were boys from a baseball team that had attended and they were much bigger than Paige. It didn't take the boys long to catch up, but they were kind enough to let Paige win. I was so excited for her and thankful to those boys. She was all smiles since she had seen this done before, but this time she got to participate. Ah, the perks of the job... The iCubs were losing badly against another last place team so after the 8th inning, we left the ballpark.
Sunday was great, too. Mom and Dad attended church with us and Mom had a roast cooking at my house. This is the first time a roast has been cooked in that oven since I've lived there. I think it's the only thing besides a couple of cakes and my roommates' pizzas that has been in that oven. When we got home from church, I peeled the potatoes and Dad made his awesome mashed potatoes. Believe it or not, in my house we actually had roast, potatoes, and corn on the cob. It was the most awesome meal I've had in a long time! Even when we went to Missouri several weeks back we didn't eat this type of meal at my parents' house. Mom had invited my roommates, but they were both working so I even got the leftovers when I got home last night after taking the girls back to their mom's. It was delicious! Derek had arrived before I got home and he was so jealous because of the smell that still lingered in the house from that meal.
After dinner, we visited for a while and did the dishes. Mom and Dad took a few pictures and then needed to hit the road. Little did I know that they also stopped at Best Buy on their way out to see Derek. See, the whole weekend my parents were hoping to meet my roommates. Pete was probably working and staying at a friend's house in West Des Moines and Derek was working all weekend. Derek and Pete were both at the house Saturday morning, but they were sleeping downstairs and my parents didn't want to wake them. Derek went into Best Buy to finish up his work day and my old roommate, Jody, had told him that my folks had stopped by to harass him a bit. Derek was sorry he missed them and thought it was great that they wanted to introduce themselves.
It was an awesome weekend. We had so much fun and the girls were truly surprised. I'm hoping we get to do something like that again soon. Good times.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Rock Never Stops in Cedar Rapids, IA
I wish I had a great opening sentence to describe just how much fun was had at the last stop of the Rock Never Stops tour. There are so many things to tell so I will just get started here.
Bonnie, Pete, and I left Des Moines about 2:15pm Sunday. Bonnie hadn't been to a rock concert in many years and Pete was just going along for the ride to Des Moines to meet a friend. Bonnie has a bit of a lead foot, thankfully, so we made great time getting to Cedar Rapids. We tried listening to a little music along the way, but we all had some great conversation along the way, mostly about what to expect at the show and the concert the previous night in Clear Lake. I was hoping we'd be able to find Steph easily, too. Steph has a knack for meeting people and I thought it would be cool if Steph and I were able to help make it interesting and fun for Bonnie. Bonnie grew up on this music and has since taken up family life and church life, so this could be a small step outside of her comfort zone. It would be interesting to see how much fun she'd have, especially with Steph and I trying to make sure we got to meet the bands.
Bonnie and I both brought cameras to the show. Mine was just a disposable and hers was an expensive digital camera with a great zoom on it. We were hoping that we'd get to use them, but when we arrived at the venue there was a sign that said No Cameras and they searched us. Mine just about got by, but a guy noticed the bulge in my pocket that the guy having me turn around missed. Yes, it was the camera and they asked me to take it to a table, pay a dollar, and have them hold onto it. Bonnie had her purse searched and they did the same to her. We turned them in and went and stood in line. The line wasn't really that long when we got in it, but it seemed to add up fast behind us. I kept a look out for Steph since I didn't see her in front of us. I knew she'd be able to get her camera in easily. Sure enough, we saw Steph come through and motioned for her to join us in line. It wasn't long after that they started letting us all in.
When we got inside, we quickly found the merch table and also noticed a couple of band members wandering around to the right side of the stage. Fred Coury (drummer for Cinderella) and Chuck Wright (bassist for Quiet Riot) were taking some time to look at the stage setup and see what kind of crowd was coming in the door. Other band members were walking around outside those dressing rooms and we did get a few autographs, but wished we could have gotten pictures. Steph was really going through a camera jones with all these missed opportunities.
Steph eventually started making some conversation with a security guard down front who said that they were allowing cameras in and we should go get ours. We thought he was joking at first, but he had just come out of a meeting where they said cameras were fine. Bonnie, Steph, and I hightailed it for the door so Bonnie and I could get our cameras and Steph was elated that she'd finally get to use hers. We were glad to have the cameras but very upset about the missed opportunities. So we did something about it. We were able to meet everyone except Bobby Blotzer and get autographs and pictures. We did this between sets and after the show.
First, the show. Firehouse was up first and for some strange reason there were socks all around the bass players rig and toothpaste in front of the kick drum. CJ came out to the first song brushing his teeth. Since it was the last night of the tour, the games were on. Lots of hijinks, but still a concentration on putting on a great show. I didn't get an entire setlist, but they did perform All She Wrote, Crash, Shake And Tumble, the first verse and chorus of When I Look Into Your Eyes, Love Of A Lifetime, Reach For The Sky, and Don't Treat Me Bad. During the first solo, Bill Leverty threw a pick out and I didn't see him do it. It landed perfectly on my chest and stuck there. Steph had seen it coming and we all had a laugh since it landed on me. Bill played the guitar briefly with a tube of toothpaste that Jeff Labar handed him and then dropped it to me at the end of the set. (Steph found out the socks had a story behind them about Al puking at some point in the tour and using a sock to do that in. Her version sounds better!) Firehouse then went out to do a signing in the merch area.
We went back to their table and got in line. Steph had gotten a toothpaste tube from CJ during their set so we both got them signed. I also had to tell Bill what a great pick thrower he is. They were quick, but in good moods as they took care of the line. We hung around for a while to see if we could get pictures, too, but they took off fast after they were done at the table. I think they had some plans for more jokes and pranks that night.
We watched Quiet Riot from the back, but I was still singing along. They put on such an energetic show and you can still feel Frankie hitting those drums from the back. That guy just pounds and it's great! Kevin is always working the crowd and really looked like he was having fun. I wish I had that much energy and I'm younger than he is! I can't remember the name of the opening song, but after that they performed Mama Weer All Crazee, Red Light Mama Red Hot, The Wild And The Young, Cum On Feel The Noize, and Metal Health. I'm continually in awe of Red Hot because they go into some other classics at the end of the song and then Frankie takes a solo. I love this part of the show. I did notice that after the drum solo that the pace of Wild And The Young was just a hair slower and the guitar riff had a little room to breath. I had mentioned this to Frankie before the show when I stopped him for a signature. He said they have tried a couple of speeds and it depends on the night. Tonight was awesome. I also shared that I like what they did with the harmony at the end of the chorus. Great song and tonight it didn't feel rushed at all. I love singing along with these guys. Now if only they'd invite me on stage some time. :)
Ratt is one of my favorite bands. Their CD Dancing Undercover gets so much play in my house that I've replaced it a couple of times already. Tonight there was no Dance or Nobody Rides For Free, but they rocked their set with a little more abandon than the night before. They opened with Wanted Dead Or Alive and went into one of my favorites, Slip Of The Lip. From there it was Way Cool Jr., Lack Of Communication, Lay It Down, You're In Love, Back 4 More, and Round And Round. Jizzy was in command once again and Warren and Bobby looked very excited throughout the show. Robbie was his usual insane self on stage and John was the consummate pro. Warren and John have their harmony parts down so well that they do it from opposite sides of the stage. After seeing Stephen a few weeks back and now Ratt, Ratt is in a better place by far. I'm just hoping they actually start putting some more music out. I talked to Warren briefly before he climbed on his bus and asked him what the plans were. I told him I knew that he had to be writing all the time and wondered when we'd hear it. He said he has about 4 albums worth in the can, but isn't sure how it will all come out. I'm looking forward to more Ratt N Roll!
Cinderella came out with the full show Sunday night. There was plenty of room and then some for this show. The crowd started going nuts when Welcome To The Jungle was played over the system. At the end of it the Cinderella intro hit, the curtain went up, and the purple lights started moving around. I'd had it verified that Fred Coury had put together this intro so I had paid even more attention to it since it is a great vibe. The set list was Night Songs, Last Mile, Somebody Save Me, Still Climbing, Push Push, Last Train, Coming Home, Fallin' Apart At The Seams, Shelter, Nobody's Fool, and Gypsy Road. Fred had a drum solo at the end of Fallin'. He used beats that everyone was getting into. Fred also made an impression coming out to harmonize with Tom earlier. The band used even more pyro for this show than in St. Joe and when the flames came shooting up, we all felt the heat. Cinderella used all of this and the lights to great effect in putting their songs across. After they left the stage, everyone was going nuts for more. It was very loud in that arena. The band came back on to do Don't Know What You've Got, complete with falling snow, and Shake Me. They were all very appreciative of the turn out and also took time to thank everyone for coming out. Tom then asked for the other bands to come to the stage. Since it was the last night of the tour, they thought it would be good to jam out on Jumpin' Jack Flash. Kevin Dubrow shared the lead with Tom on this and the stage turned into a party. Warren was playing guitar, too, and Fred jumped down to let Frankie hit the skins. There were several bottles of champagne and Robbie Crane was passing around a huge jug of Jim Beam. It was nuts, but still sounded great.
After the show, Steph, Bonnie, and I hung around for a while inside. We were hoping to catch a few of the artists for more pictures and autographs. When the place was pretty much cleared out and we saw people heading for the doors, we decided to do the same. Once outside, we followed Steph around to where the semis were loading. There was a small group of people waiting with cameras and things to sign so we went over by them to see what we could see. We stuck around for a long time! We got a few autographs and saw the Ratt bus leave. I wasn't sure if we were going to see John and Warren, but we did. We also were sure that the Firehouse bus was ready to pull away, but it stayed there and Michael Foster came outside with his beer. He was nice enough to let us get a picture and he went back on the bus. After a while, he returned and saw us still standing there. He said, "You guys are hard core!" We asked him to try to get CJ and Bill to come out. He disappeared and brought CJ out. CJ had a little champagne and it was obvious. He was in a great mood and very funny. He took the pictures and signed things for us.
I have to tell you a funny story about CJ. He was tipsy and smiling and I pointed out that his bottle of Aquafina wasn't the only bottle he'd been hitting that night. He just smiled and made a comment about not telling. The funny part was when he went to leave. He reached for Steph's hand and gave it a kiss. Then he reached out to shake my hand. The way he grabbed it made me wondering if he was going to do the same to me. I said, "You're not going to kiss that, are you?" He then proceeded to do it! CJ Snare actually kissed my hand! What a little fruit! I even tried to pull it back and he kept going! Geez, that was hilarious to me and a little embarrassing. We had a pretty good laugh about that one.
We then waited for Eric and Tom to come by. Eric walked by us and didn't look at our group. We figured if he wanted to stop, he would. Soon Tom appeared seemingly out of nowhere. This was the one we thought we'd never get. We hadn't seen Tom before or after the show and figured he was probably on the bus. I'd even mentioned to Steph that Bonnie was ready to head out and Bonnie had gone to the car earlier. We were running out of batteries and film and were there for a long time. I thought for sure we were done, but told Steph I'd stick around until she was ready to take off. Steph's feet were killing her and it was hard for me to stand, too. It was hard for me to sit since my knees were hurting, too. Thankfully, Steph's persistence paid off yet again and we were getting our pictures with Tom. Since he was pretty much the last one we were waiting for we decided to head down the street and see if we could catch Eric on the way out. It looked like Inga was talking to someone and sure enough it was Eric. We were fortunate enough to have Inga making sure that Eric signed our stuff and took one group picture. We almost didn't get that picture since Bonnie's batteries were dead, Steph's camera had the last bit of juice squeezed out of it, and I was out of film on mine. Fortunately, Pete happened around the corner at this time and ran back to get Bonnie's camera to see if we could get another picture out of it. It worked!! We were so excited. Steph had just one more photo to go to make her Cinderella night complete. She needed Jeff's picture. Inga had invited us down the street to the bar where Firehouse and Cinderella were doing some festive after show activities. We took Bonnie's camera and ran to the bar to get this last photo. When we got inside, Jeff had just finished signing some things for a group of people and then just turned, put his arm around Steph and kissed her cheek and started singing. I took two shots of that going on because it was just a timeless moment and Steph just had this surprised look on her face combined with the biggest smile. (She has posted those pictures, so I have to refer you to her site to see them. They are classic!)
This made our night and topped off one fantastic evening. I walked Steph to her car and she put on her tennis shoes there. She was only 20 minutes away from home and said she was going to a nearby gas station to grab a disposable camera and come back for more pictures. If I had driven or was with some people that didn't have to work the next day like me, I would have joined her. She got a couple more great stories and pictures out of the night. My night was over and I hopped in Bonnie's car to head back. Of course, we spent the drive home talking about all the fun things we did that night and couldn't wait to see all the pictures.
This concert rates pretty high on my list, but the time had was the best. Thanks to Bonnie and Steph for the wonderful time and pictures! I hope we get to do it again soon!
Bonnie, Pete, and I left Des Moines about 2:15pm Sunday. Bonnie hadn't been to a rock concert in many years and Pete was just going along for the ride to Des Moines to meet a friend. Bonnie has a bit of a lead foot, thankfully, so we made great time getting to Cedar Rapids. We tried listening to a little music along the way, but we all had some great conversation along the way, mostly about what to expect at the show and the concert the previous night in Clear Lake. I was hoping we'd be able to find Steph easily, too. Steph has a knack for meeting people and I thought it would be cool if Steph and I were able to help make it interesting and fun for Bonnie. Bonnie grew up on this music and has since taken up family life and church life, so this could be a small step outside of her comfort zone. It would be interesting to see how much fun she'd have, especially with Steph and I trying to make sure we got to meet the bands.
Bonnie and I both brought cameras to the show. Mine was just a disposable and hers was an expensive digital camera with a great zoom on it. We were hoping that we'd get to use them, but when we arrived at the venue there was a sign that said No Cameras and they searched us. Mine just about got by, but a guy noticed the bulge in my pocket that the guy having me turn around missed. Yes, it was the camera and they asked me to take it to a table, pay a dollar, and have them hold onto it. Bonnie had her purse searched and they did the same to her. We turned them in and went and stood in line. The line wasn't really that long when we got in it, but it seemed to add up fast behind us. I kept a look out for Steph since I didn't see her in front of us. I knew she'd be able to get her camera in easily. Sure enough, we saw Steph come through and motioned for her to join us in line. It wasn't long after that they started letting us all in.
When we got inside, we quickly found the merch table and also noticed a couple of band members wandering around to the right side of the stage. Fred Coury (drummer for Cinderella) and Chuck Wright (bassist for Quiet Riot) were taking some time to look at the stage setup and see what kind of crowd was coming in the door. Other band members were walking around outside those dressing rooms and we did get a few autographs, but wished we could have gotten pictures. Steph was really going through a camera jones with all these missed opportunities.
Steph eventually started making some conversation with a security guard down front who said that they were allowing cameras in and we should go get ours. We thought he was joking at first, but he had just come out of a meeting where they said cameras were fine. Bonnie, Steph, and I hightailed it for the door so Bonnie and I could get our cameras and Steph was elated that she'd finally get to use hers. We were glad to have the cameras but very upset about the missed opportunities. So we did something about it. We were able to meet everyone except Bobby Blotzer and get autographs and pictures. We did this between sets and after the show.
First, the show. Firehouse was up first and for some strange reason there were socks all around the bass players rig and toothpaste in front of the kick drum. CJ came out to the first song brushing his teeth. Since it was the last night of the tour, the games were on. Lots of hijinks, but still a concentration on putting on a great show. I didn't get an entire setlist, but they did perform All She Wrote, Crash, Shake And Tumble, the first verse and chorus of When I Look Into Your Eyes, Love Of A Lifetime, Reach For The Sky, and Don't Treat Me Bad. During the first solo, Bill Leverty threw a pick out and I didn't see him do it. It landed perfectly on my chest and stuck there. Steph had seen it coming and we all had a laugh since it landed on me. Bill played the guitar briefly with a tube of toothpaste that Jeff Labar handed him and then dropped it to me at the end of the set. (Steph found out the socks had a story behind them about Al puking at some point in the tour and using a sock to do that in. Her version sounds better!) Firehouse then went out to do a signing in the merch area.
We went back to their table and got in line. Steph had gotten a toothpaste tube from CJ during their set so we both got them signed. I also had to tell Bill what a great pick thrower he is. They were quick, but in good moods as they took care of the line. We hung around for a while to see if we could get pictures, too, but they took off fast after they were done at the table. I think they had some plans for more jokes and pranks that night.
We watched Quiet Riot from the back, but I was still singing along. They put on such an energetic show and you can still feel Frankie hitting those drums from the back. That guy just pounds and it's great! Kevin is always working the crowd and really looked like he was having fun. I wish I had that much energy and I'm younger than he is! I can't remember the name of the opening song, but after that they performed Mama Weer All Crazee, Red Light Mama Red Hot, The Wild And The Young, Cum On Feel The Noize, and Metal Health. I'm continually in awe of Red Hot because they go into some other classics at the end of the song and then Frankie takes a solo. I love this part of the show. I did notice that after the drum solo that the pace of Wild And The Young was just a hair slower and the guitar riff had a little room to breath. I had mentioned this to Frankie before the show when I stopped him for a signature. He said they have tried a couple of speeds and it depends on the night. Tonight was awesome. I also shared that I like what they did with the harmony at the end of the chorus. Great song and tonight it didn't feel rushed at all. I love singing along with these guys. Now if only they'd invite me on stage some time. :)
Ratt is one of my favorite bands. Their CD Dancing Undercover gets so much play in my house that I've replaced it a couple of times already. Tonight there was no Dance or Nobody Rides For Free, but they rocked their set with a little more abandon than the night before. They opened with Wanted Dead Or Alive and went into one of my favorites, Slip Of The Lip. From there it was Way Cool Jr., Lack Of Communication, Lay It Down, You're In Love, Back 4 More, and Round And Round. Jizzy was in command once again and Warren and Bobby looked very excited throughout the show. Robbie was his usual insane self on stage and John was the consummate pro. Warren and John have their harmony parts down so well that they do it from opposite sides of the stage. After seeing Stephen a few weeks back and now Ratt, Ratt is in a better place by far. I'm just hoping they actually start putting some more music out. I talked to Warren briefly before he climbed on his bus and asked him what the plans were. I told him I knew that he had to be writing all the time and wondered when we'd hear it. He said he has about 4 albums worth in the can, but isn't sure how it will all come out. I'm looking forward to more Ratt N Roll!
Cinderella came out with the full show Sunday night. There was plenty of room and then some for this show. The crowd started going nuts when Welcome To The Jungle was played over the system. At the end of it the Cinderella intro hit, the curtain went up, and the purple lights started moving around. I'd had it verified that Fred Coury had put together this intro so I had paid even more attention to it since it is a great vibe. The set list was Night Songs, Last Mile, Somebody Save Me, Still Climbing, Push Push, Last Train, Coming Home, Fallin' Apart At The Seams, Shelter, Nobody's Fool, and Gypsy Road. Fred had a drum solo at the end of Fallin'. He used beats that everyone was getting into. Fred also made an impression coming out to harmonize with Tom earlier. The band used even more pyro for this show than in St. Joe and when the flames came shooting up, we all felt the heat. Cinderella used all of this and the lights to great effect in putting their songs across. After they left the stage, everyone was going nuts for more. It was very loud in that arena. The band came back on to do Don't Know What You've Got, complete with falling snow, and Shake Me. They were all very appreciative of the turn out and also took time to thank everyone for coming out. Tom then asked for the other bands to come to the stage. Since it was the last night of the tour, they thought it would be good to jam out on Jumpin' Jack Flash. Kevin Dubrow shared the lead with Tom on this and the stage turned into a party. Warren was playing guitar, too, and Fred jumped down to let Frankie hit the skins. There were several bottles of champagne and Robbie Crane was passing around a huge jug of Jim Beam. It was nuts, but still sounded great.
After the show, Steph, Bonnie, and I hung around for a while inside. We were hoping to catch a few of the artists for more pictures and autographs. When the place was pretty much cleared out and we saw people heading for the doors, we decided to do the same. Once outside, we followed Steph around to where the semis were loading. There was a small group of people waiting with cameras and things to sign so we went over by them to see what we could see. We stuck around for a long time! We got a few autographs and saw the Ratt bus leave. I wasn't sure if we were going to see John and Warren, but we did. We also were sure that the Firehouse bus was ready to pull away, but it stayed there and Michael Foster came outside with his beer. He was nice enough to let us get a picture and he went back on the bus. After a while, he returned and saw us still standing there. He said, "You guys are hard core!" We asked him to try to get CJ and Bill to come out. He disappeared and brought CJ out. CJ had a little champagne and it was obvious. He was in a great mood and very funny. He took the pictures and signed things for us.
I have to tell you a funny story about CJ. He was tipsy and smiling and I pointed out that his bottle of Aquafina wasn't the only bottle he'd been hitting that night. He just smiled and made a comment about not telling. The funny part was when he went to leave. He reached for Steph's hand and gave it a kiss. Then he reached out to shake my hand. The way he grabbed it made me wondering if he was going to do the same to me. I said, "You're not going to kiss that, are you?" He then proceeded to do it! CJ Snare actually kissed my hand! What a little fruit! I even tried to pull it back and he kept going! Geez, that was hilarious to me and a little embarrassing. We had a pretty good laugh about that one.
We then waited for Eric and Tom to come by. Eric walked by us and didn't look at our group. We figured if he wanted to stop, he would. Soon Tom appeared seemingly out of nowhere. This was the one we thought we'd never get. We hadn't seen Tom before or after the show and figured he was probably on the bus. I'd even mentioned to Steph that Bonnie was ready to head out and Bonnie had gone to the car earlier. We were running out of batteries and film and were there for a long time. I thought for sure we were done, but told Steph I'd stick around until she was ready to take off. Steph's feet were killing her and it was hard for me to stand, too. It was hard for me to sit since my knees were hurting, too. Thankfully, Steph's persistence paid off yet again and we were getting our pictures with Tom. Since he was pretty much the last one we were waiting for we decided to head down the street and see if we could catch Eric on the way out. It looked like Inga was talking to someone and sure enough it was Eric. We were fortunate enough to have Inga making sure that Eric signed our stuff and took one group picture. We almost didn't get that picture since Bonnie's batteries were dead, Steph's camera had the last bit of juice squeezed out of it, and I was out of film on mine. Fortunately, Pete happened around the corner at this time and ran back to get Bonnie's camera to see if we could get another picture out of it. It worked!! We were so excited. Steph had just one more photo to go to make her Cinderella night complete. She needed Jeff's picture. Inga had invited us down the street to the bar where Firehouse and Cinderella were doing some festive after show activities. We took Bonnie's camera and ran to the bar to get this last photo. When we got inside, Jeff had just finished signing some things for a group of people and then just turned, put his arm around Steph and kissed her cheek and started singing. I took two shots of that going on because it was just a timeless moment and Steph just had this surprised look on her face combined with the biggest smile. (She has posted those pictures, so I have to refer you to her site to see them. They are classic!)
This made our night and topped off one fantastic evening. I walked Steph to her car and she put on her tennis shoes there. She was only 20 minutes away from home and said she was going to a nearby gas station to grab a disposable camera and come back for more pictures. If I had driven or was with some people that didn't have to work the next day like me, I would have joined her. She got a couple more great stories and pictures out of the night. My night was over and I hopped in Bonnie's car to head back. Of course, we spent the drive home talking about all the fun things we did that night and couldn't wait to see all the pictures.
This concert rates pretty high on my list, but the time had was the best. Thanks to Bonnie and Steph for the wonderful time and pictures! I hope we get to do it again soon!
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Rock Never Stops in Clear Lake, IA
Surprise, surprise! I guess if I had done some looking at my ticket, I'd have realized that Firehouse was not going to be at the show in Clear Lake. Apparently, they had booked a date somewhere else for that night. I did look at my ticket and it showed the show time as being 7pm. J-Dub got an IowaTix ticket and his looked just like mine except that it said 8pm. Well, his was right, so we did a lot of standing in line. It was truly worth it, though.
We arrived about 5:50pm and had to grab a bite to eat. Fortunately, there is a wonderful BBQ place next door. They are BBQ, Blues, and Booze or something like that at McKenna's. They were playing some great blues music and served up some brisquet that was fantastic. It's right next door to the Surf Ballroom. We came out when were done eating and the line had grown longer. It was only about 25 people when we pulled in to park, but now the line was going from the front door to the parking lot and back around the building. We happened to hit the line right at the corner of the parking lot. It turns out there was a line going around the other side of the building, too. We stood out side until they opened the doors at 7:10pm.
While in line, J-Dub pointed out that Fred Coury was walking past us. I told J-Dub to hold my place in line and took off after Fred. I hollered ahead asking for a signature. Fred's handler said to wait until after he'd had a chance to shower, but Fred turned to the side and motioned me to hurry up and get up there and he'd sign my item. I had taken their new greatest his CD cover and he signed it. I asked if they had anything special planned for Cedar Rapids since I'm going to that show, too, and he said he didn't know. With that I wished him well and headed back for the line.
Even with it being a sold out show and being that far back in line, we were still only 3 people from the barricade in front of the stage. It was packed pretty tight since. I was able to notice that the Surf had expanded their stage quite a bit to accommodate this show. There weren't as many lights from the light rig and there was no place for the fireworks, pyro, or the backdrops. This was going to be an "in your face" stripped down show.
After waiting until 8pm in that spot, Quiet Riot hit the stage with a lot of energy. I was close enough to the stage to really realize what a heavy hitter Frankie Banali is. That guy truly pounds the skins. Kevin was a bundle of limbs flailing getting the crowd into the show from the opening chords of Metal Health. They went through the identical set from St. Joseph, but since they had more time with only 3 bands going on, they added to more songs that Kevin played acoustic guitar on. They did Thunderbird and I can't tell you what the second one was. They did the hits like Cum On Feel The Noise, Mama We're All Crazee, and the closer Metal Health, but also songs like Red Light Mama Red Hot, which had some other cover tunes mixed into it, and The Wild And The Young, which still needs to be slowed down to let that guitar riff breath. It was a great show and these guys put their soul into it. You could tell they were pretty excited at how full and ready to rock the crowd was.
Ratt hit the stage with Wanted Man and then rode right into Slip Of The Lip and Dance. They sounded tight and they just took control of the stage every second. Warren was really having a ball with this crowd and even just stopped to hear us all make some noise. He led into Way Cool Jr. and then they added Nobody Rides For Free, since they, too, had extra time to play. The last 5 just rolled into each other with ease and cohesiveness. Lack Of Communication, Lay It Down, You're In Love, and Back For More led into what everyone was waiting for, Round And Round. Jizzy had us singing along, pumping our fists, and banging our heads to each of these. Robbie, John, Warren, and Bobby were all smiles and sweat throughout. Bobby stood on his drums just to take it all in. Robbie did some sort of Lemmy imitation singing his backing vocals at times. John had some great harmonies on the leads and an awesome voice backing up Jizzy. They just could hardly believe how nuts the place was for them. Jizzy had to stop and tell us he'd never played the Surf before and since he was a little superstitious he wasn't planning on flying anywhere after the show.
Even though Cinderella didn't have all their stage trappings, they still put on a phenomenal show. They have an electronic sounding intro that I suspected that Fred put together and it turns out he did. More on that later. They opened with Night Songs and led into Last Mile. They did Still Climbing, Push Push, Somebody Save Me, Shelter, and the rest of their hits. It's been great to hear Still Climbing in the set. I've enjoyed it both times. Shelter is a blast since Tom lays down some sax on it, but I totally missed it last night due to helping get a guy thrown out. The crowd was going nuts in a bad way at times with Cinderella on stage. Fortunately, we were able to stand our ground and protect the kids and women that were around us. Nobody's Fool was a highlight of the show for most people there. They closed their main set with Gypsy Road and then got the encore call. They did Don't Know What You've Got and Shake Me to close the night.
I can't wait to hit the road in an hour and see the full blown show with Firehouse again. I'm still wondering what Kevin meant about having something special planned for tonight, too.
After the show, I had the chance to get a Tom Keifer pick, meet Inga and try to talk her into a Naked Beggars T-shirt, and get a few more autographs and pictures. I met Frankie after the show and he signed two CD covers for me and was kind enough to take a picture. I also met Jeff Labar and did the same. Fred came out and he took a picture with me, too. They were very kind and since I had forgotten to ask Fred about that intro, I took the opportunity to do so. I had told August in St. Joe that it sounded like something Fred would do and Fred had a huge smile letting me know I was correct in my assumption. J-Dub got pictures, too, but wished he'd had his Metal Sludge shirt on.
J-Dub said that he had gotten to meet all of Ratt, but I missed out on that. He got their autographs on pictures he had taken over the last couple of years.
I met David, a huge WASP fan, again. David had been at the WASP show a few weeks ago and introduced himself. He let me borrow his sharpie last night and joked that he was my handler. David also told me that he got to meet the QR guys and that he even hung out with them in the hotel room while they each took turns showering. David had some funny stories that I hope he shares with everyone soon. It even turns out that David and I live just several blocks away! It's weird we have met in Omaha and Clear Lake, but haven't seen each other in Des Moines. I take that back. He was at the Vixen show, too.
I also got to meet the guy who puts together The Geography Of Nowhere blog at http://spaces.msn.com/members/geographyofnowhere and I'm hoping he puts up a review, too. He should be at the Cedar Rapids show tonight. Turns out his name is Dave, too.
This was a great show and once I get the pictures developed, I will post them. Go support these bands. I want to see them again and here new tunes from each of them!
We arrived about 5:50pm and had to grab a bite to eat. Fortunately, there is a wonderful BBQ place next door. They are BBQ, Blues, and Booze or something like that at McKenna's. They were playing some great blues music and served up some brisquet that was fantastic. It's right next door to the Surf Ballroom. We came out when were done eating and the line had grown longer. It was only about 25 people when we pulled in to park, but now the line was going from the front door to the parking lot and back around the building. We happened to hit the line right at the corner of the parking lot. It turns out there was a line going around the other side of the building, too. We stood out side until they opened the doors at 7:10pm.
While in line, J-Dub pointed out that Fred Coury was walking past us. I told J-Dub to hold my place in line and took off after Fred. I hollered ahead asking for a signature. Fred's handler said to wait until after he'd had a chance to shower, but Fred turned to the side and motioned me to hurry up and get up there and he'd sign my item. I had taken their new greatest his CD cover and he signed it. I asked if they had anything special planned for Cedar Rapids since I'm going to that show, too, and he said he didn't know. With that I wished him well and headed back for the line.
Even with it being a sold out show and being that far back in line, we were still only 3 people from the barricade in front of the stage. It was packed pretty tight since. I was able to notice that the Surf had expanded their stage quite a bit to accommodate this show. There weren't as many lights from the light rig and there was no place for the fireworks, pyro, or the backdrops. This was going to be an "in your face" stripped down show.
After waiting until 8pm in that spot, Quiet Riot hit the stage with a lot of energy. I was close enough to the stage to really realize what a heavy hitter Frankie Banali is. That guy truly pounds the skins. Kevin was a bundle of limbs flailing getting the crowd into the show from the opening chords of Metal Health. They went through the identical set from St. Joseph, but since they had more time with only 3 bands going on, they added to more songs that Kevin played acoustic guitar on. They did Thunderbird and I can't tell you what the second one was. They did the hits like Cum On Feel The Noise, Mama We're All Crazee, and the closer Metal Health, but also songs like Red Light Mama Red Hot, which had some other cover tunes mixed into it, and The Wild And The Young, which still needs to be slowed down to let that guitar riff breath. It was a great show and these guys put their soul into it. You could tell they were pretty excited at how full and ready to rock the crowd was.
Ratt hit the stage with Wanted Man and then rode right into Slip Of The Lip and Dance. They sounded tight and they just took control of the stage every second. Warren was really having a ball with this crowd and even just stopped to hear us all make some noise. He led into Way Cool Jr. and then they added Nobody Rides For Free, since they, too, had extra time to play. The last 5 just rolled into each other with ease and cohesiveness. Lack Of Communication, Lay It Down, You're In Love, and Back For More led into what everyone was waiting for, Round And Round. Jizzy had us singing along, pumping our fists, and banging our heads to each of these. Robbie, John, Warren, and Bobby were all smiles and sweat throughout. Bobby stood on his drums just to take it all in. Robbie did some sort of Lemmy imitation singing his backing vocals at times. John had some great harmonies on the leads and an awesome voice backing up Jizzy. They just could hardly believe how nuts the place was for them. Jizzy had to stop and tell us he'd never played the Surf before and since he was a little superstitious he wasn't planning on flying anywhere after the show.
Even though Cinderella didn't have all their stage trappings, they still put on a phenomenal show. They have an electronic sounding intro that I suspected that Fred put together and it turns out he did. More on that later. They opened with Night Songs and led into Last Mile. They did Still Climbing, Push Push, Somebody Save Me, Shelter, and the rest of their hits. It's been great to hear Still Climbing in the set. I've enjoyed it both times. Shelter is a blast since Tom lays down some sax on it, but I totally missed it last night due to helping get a guy thrown out. The crowd was going nuts in a bad way at times with Cinderella on stage. Fortunately, we were able to stand our ground and protect the kids and women that were around us. Nobody's Fool was a highlight of the show for most people there. They closed their main set with Gypsy Road and then got the encore call. They did Don't Know What You've Got and Shake Me to close the night.
I can't wait to hit the road in an hour and see the full blown show with Firehouse again. I'm still wondering what Kevin meant about having something special planned for tonight, too.
After the show, I had the chance to get a Tom Keifer pick, meet Inga and try to talk her into a Naked Beggars T-shirt, and get a few more autographs and pictures. I met Frankie after the show and he signed two CD covers for me and was kind enough to take a picture. I also met Jeff Labar and did the same. Fred came out and he took a picture with me, too. They were very kind and since I had forgotten to ask Fred about that intro, I took the opportunity to do so. I had told August in St. Joe that it sounded like something Fred would do and Fred had a huge smile letting me know I was correct in my assumption. J-Dub got pictures, too, but wished he'd had his Metal Sludge shirt on.
J-Dub said that he had gotten to meet all of Ratt, but I missed out on that. He got their autographs on pictures he had taken over the last couple of years.
I met David, a huge WASP fan, again. David had been at the WASP show a few weeks ago and introduced himself. He let me borrow his sharpie last night and joked that he was my handler. David also told me that he got to meet the QR guys and that he even hung out with them in the hotel room while they each took turns showering. David had some funny stories that I hope he shares with everyone soon. It even turns out that David and I live just several blocks away! It's weird we have met in Omaha and Clear Lake, but haven't seen each other in Des Moines. I take that back. He was at the Vixen show, too.
I also got to meet the guy who puts together The Geography Of Nowhere blog at http://spaces.msn.com/members/geographyofnowhere and I'm hoping he puts up a review, too. He should be at the Cedar Rapids show tonight. Turns out his name is Dave, too.
This was a great show and once I get the pictures developed, I will post them. Go support these bands. I want to see them again and here new tunes from each of them!
Friday, August 26, 2005
Big Weekend
I'm getting ready for a big weekend. I'm going to see the last two nights of the Rock Never Stops tour. First stop will be at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake tomorrow and then the final show in Cedar Rapids on Sunday. I was originally thinking I'd just hit the one show until Kevin Dubrow said they had something special planned for Cedar Rapids. I'm curious now. I don't recall ever seeing more than two shows of any tour. I know I did that for Poison when they had Vince Neil and Skid Row as openers and I did it for Def Leppard on the X tour. Since I saw the RNS show in St. Joseph, this weekend will add up to 3. This will be the second time this year and in the last couple of months that I've seen two shows in two nights. It's really been worth it. I've really enjoyed the concert schedule this year. I've been able to attend with great people and have a great time at each show. I've met more artists this year than any other. I've met some really cool people along the way, too.
So far, the people that deserve a lot of thanks are Steph, Anne, J-Dub, August, Bonnie, Andy, and all the bands for putting on great shows! I really have enjoyed this year and am looking forward to many more shows with all of you! I can't wait to meet more people, too!
So far, the people that deserve a lot of thanks are Steph, Anne, J-Dub, August, Bonnie, Andy, and all the bands for putting on great shows! I really have enjoyed this year and am looking forward to many more shows with all of you! I can't wait to meet more people, too!
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Know It All
A friend of mine and I were chatting last night about something that has been happening in my life in the last week. We touched on a topic of conversation that really got me thinking about the attitudes and actions of some people. I would tend to generalize them as know-it-all's. They are the types that think they know everything about certain subjects and when you have an OPINION, they want to correct you on it. They also tend to use big words out of context and without really understanding the meaning of the words they are using. I pointed out an example to this friend when she used a word out of context. (This was done with humor and not mean-spirited.) The word was acronym and it was confused with abbreviation.
acronym: n. a word formed from the initial letters of a multi-word name
abbreviation: n. a shortened form of a word or phrase used chiefly in writing to represent the complete form
An acronym is an abbreviation, but not all abbreviations are acronyms. Pretty cool for English 101 today, right?
I've heard this type of stuff on the Apprentice. College educated kids (ok, they are really adults since they are over 18) use words like these and to those of us that are educated with a simple high school diploma, we wonder what all the fuss is about college.
Now my ex-wife has no college education, but she has taken various medical training classes. I don't think any of them qualify as college credits. She tends to do this same thing. (I will elaborate more on the issue she and I tried to discuss in another post.) When I went to send a reply to my ex's e-mail, I had spelling corrections to make and grammar corrections most every time. It was insane to think a woman over 30 would write like this and not even bother to use spell check.
Has our education really dropped this far since the federal government set up a Department of Education in 1974?
Not only were there spelling and grammar corrections to be made, but simple factual things were touted as opinions. The thrust of the conversation was the decision making of a 7 year old. My ex actually thinks that a 7 year old child, namely our daughter, can make a life changing decision. Everyone knows this is ridiculous, but she insists that our daughter understands the decision she is making. Of course, this woman over 30 then started using insults and veering off topic as the e-mails progressed.
Know-it-alls tend to do this. They start out with it in their head that they are going to maturely carry on a conversation with you, but they forget that part of the conversation is listening. They believe that they have all the answers and that you are just simply wrong if you don't agree with them. The conversation starts off simply enough but then takes a turn for the worst when they can't proceed to listen, but instead talk over you as if they already know what you think and that you are wrong. The conversation will then veer off topic and then turn into insults and name calling, if it continues beyond someone just walking off or tuning them out and nodding.
I don't claim to know everything about words and how they are used. I'm also one who uses improper grammar. I at least try to choose my words carefully in all situations. Words mean things. I also try to make sure I'm listening. Listening can be very difficult, but we have to make it a point. I'm talking from experience. I started out as one of these know-it-all types and sometimes still regress into the same pattern of behavior. Now I try to listen first before speaking. It's tough, but I have a better time talking to people.
Granted, I've always said that I don't know it all, but what I don't know I can find out.
acronym: n. a word formed from the initial letters of a multi-word name
abbreviation: n. a shortened form of a word or phrase used chiefly in writing to represent the complete form
An acronym is an abbreviation, but not all abbreviations are acronyms. Pretty cool for English 101 today, right?
I've heard this type of stuff on the Apprentice. College educated kids (ok, they are really adults since they are over 18) use words like these and to those of us that are educated with a simple high school diploma, we wonder what all the fuss is about college.
Now my ex-wife has no college education, but she has taken various medical training classes. I don't think any of them qualify as college credits. She tends to do this same thing. (I will elaborate more on the issue she and I tried to discuss in another post.) When I went to send a reply to my ex's e-mail, I had spelling corrections to make and grammar corrections most every time. It was insane to think a woman over 30 would write like this and not even bother to use spell check.
Has our education really dropped this far since the federal government set up a Department of Education in 1974?
Not only were there spelling and grammar corrections to be made, but simple factual things were touted as opinions. The thrust of the conversation was the decision making of a 7 year old. My ex actually thinks that a 7 year old child, namely our daughter, can make a life changing decision. Everyone knows this is ridiculous, but she insists that our daughter understands the decision she is making. Of course, this woman over 30 then started using insults and veering off topic as the e-mails progressed.
Know-it-alls tend to do this. They start out with it in their head that they are going to maturely carry on a conversation with you, but they forget that part of the conversation is listening. They believe that they have all the answers and that you are just simply wrong if you don't agree with them. The conversation starts off simply enough but then takes a turn for the worst when they can't proceed to listen, but instead talk over you as if they already know what you think and that you are wrong. The conversation will then veer off topic and then turn into insults and name calling, if it continues beyond someone just walking off or tuning them out and nodding.
I don't claim to know everything about words and how they are used. I'm also one who uses improper grammar. I at least try to choose my words carefully in all situations. Words mean things. I also try to make sure I'm listening. Listening can be very difficult, but we have to make it a point. I'm talking from experience. I started out as one of these know-it-all types and sometimes still regress into the same pattern of behavior. Now I try to listen first before speaking. It's tough, but I have a better time talking to people.
Granted, I've always said that I don't know it all, but what I don't know I can find out.
Friday, August 19, 2005
Rock Never Stops in St. Joseph, MO
I was so glad to be leaving work at 2pm yesterday. Fortunately, the clock seemed to move fast. Auggie picked me up from work so we could head out to see the Rock Never Stops tour in St. Joseph, MO. We hit the scenic route that took us through the town where my daughters live. The only bad thing was that I went through that town and didn't get to see them. At least I get to this weekend. Anyway, we made some good time getting to St. Joseph.
Auggie had this particular beer that he had before in St. Joe so we went to a really nice steak house. It was FANCY! They served us sauteed mushrooms for an appetizer and I ordered a wonderful KC Strip with a baked potato. It was delicious and really hit the spot. The hostess was truly the mostest, too! The only bad thing was that we were pushing time to get back across town to the Civic Center.
When we finally walked up to the Civic Center, we could hear "Overnight Sensation" and knew that Firehouse was opening the show. Before we could get into the building, we were stopped by a young guy with a pad and pen. He is a writer for the St. Joseph newspaper and asked us a few questions for an article he put out today. I was quoted! Below is the excerpt from the St. Joseph News-Press.
"Brett Sites, 36, of Des Moines, Iowa, said he'd made plenty of road trips to see bands in the past, so the 3½-hour drive to St. Joseph was no problem. He'd seen all the bands on the bill three times, with the exception of Ratt, who he'd seen only twice. "Some of them are better (than in their heyday)," he said. "I wish they'd keep putting out new music."While he's still as dedicated today to the bands of his youth as he was years ago, Mr. Sites said he understands why many others in his age group aren't the same way. "You get older and have families. It's harder to spend that hard-earned dollar like you spent it as a teenager," he said." - Jonathan Houghton (Lifestyles Reporter)
Pretty cool, eh? The only thing he got backwards was how many times I'd seen the bands. Ratt is the one I had previously seen 3 times and last night made 4. The others I had seen twice, but last night made the 3rd time. Minor stuff, of course. He was very kind and even gave me permission today to put those paragraphs here.
Anyway, we made it inside during Firehouse's second song. I do wish I had a setlst, but I know they did the tunes Shake And Tumble, Crash, Love Of A Lifetime, Reach For The Sky, and Don't Treat Me Bad. There may have been another one or two, but they seemed to only have a 30 minute set. It was energetic and they really seemed to be glad to be playing. They had a huge backdrop and their sound has always been tight. CJ was really pushing his vocals to the limit and sounded awesome. He had no trouble hitting everything he tried when he wailed. The arena wasn't even half full, but they played like it was packed. After their set, they came back to the merch table and signed autographs. I did get to ask about new music and they are apparently writing songs for a new CD. I'm hoping that means they will have something out in the winter or spring, but that's just me talking.
Quiet Riot came out fists pumping and Kevin was working the audience. He wore the leopard suit and has a new weave that seems a little obvious, but he didn't care. "You say I got a funny face...well f!@# you" was the line he sang. They teased us with the riffs of Metal health and then did a short set of hits that included Mama Weer All Crazee, The Wild And The Young, Cum On Feel The Noize, and closed wtih Metal Health as well as a couple of other tunes. One song ended with some bluesy thing going on and Kevin was belting some Zeppelin as Frankie played a bit of a drum solo. It was great and they were smiles from start to finish. They came out to sign autographs, too, so I had a chance to ask a couple of quick questions. I mentioned that I was going to be at the Clear Lake show and Kevin said to go to the one in Cedar Rapids, too, as they had something in store for that show. It's the last one of the tour, I believe. I hadn't completely decided to go, but now I'm going to have to.
Ratt seemed to suddenly appear on stage and burst into Slip Of The Lip. That's my favorite Ratt tune. Evergy seemed to be the theme of the night and this was by far the best show I've seen Ratt perform. Jizzy was in command and seemed to be perfectly settled as the frontman. Corabi and Crane were playing off of each other on their side of the stage and Warren just played like the rock guitar god he is. Blotzer climbed up on the kit a few times to raise his arm to the audience. When Ratt was onstage, it seemed that most everyone that was going to be at this show was there. According to people on Metal Sludge, that crowd hit about 2600. The arena was about 2/3 full. Ratt's set included Way Cool Jr., Lack Of Communication, Lay It Down, and closer Round And Round. There were probably a couple more, too, as they seemed to have only 30 minutes as well.
When the music started for Cinderella, a black curtain jumped up in front of the stage. There were purple lights behind it and it sounded like the music was something that Fred Coury would have mixed. The curtain suddenly dropped, the lights came up, and Cinderella started into Night Songs. The light show was great, they mixed in fireworks, explosions, and pillars of fire. They had a huge backdrop that was lit cleverly most of the night, too. They played songs like Still Climbing, Fallin' Apart At The Seems, Push Push, Nobody's Fool, Gypsy Road, and more. They encored with Don't Know What You've Got and Shake Me. What constantly impresses me about Cinderella is the talent they have to pull everything off live. They would switch from acoustic 12 and 6 string guitars to the same in electric, play double neck guitars, and even a lap steel. They had a keyboard player who added some nice background and Tom played Sax on Shelter Me and piano on Don't Know What You've Got. Fred came out and did some harmonies once, too. Those guys just have so much talent and put on a show that rivals any band.
Auggie and I had to head out right after the show, but as we exited, we did get the CD sampler of Naked Beggars handed to us. We hit the road and made even better time on the way back since there was no traffic to worry about.
I'm going to see this show again in Clear Lake, but I have no idea how they are going to get that stage and light show in the Surf Ballroom, unless it's been built onto in the last two years. I already have my ticket for that show and it looks like I'm going to get one for the Cedar Rapids show the next night. If you have the chance, go see these bands and try to catch this tour over the next week. 4 bands for about $30 and a show that will blow you away. Just do it!
Auggie had this particular beer that he had before in St. Joe so we went to a really nice steak house. It was FANCY! They served us sauteed mushrooms for an appetizer and I ordered a wonderful KC Strip with a baked potato. It was delicious and really hit the spot. The hostess was truly the mostest, too! The only bad thing was that we were pushing time to get back across town to the Civic Center.
When we finally walked up to the Civic Center, we could hear "Overnight Sensation" and knew that Firehouse was opening the show. Before we could get into the building, we were stopped by a young guy with a pad and pen. He is a writer for the St. Joseph newspaper and asked us a few questions for an article he put out today. I was quoted! Below is the excerpt from the St. Joseph News-Press.
"Brett Sites, 36, of Des Moines, Iowa, said he'd made plenty of road trips to see bands in the past, so the 3½-hour drive to St. Joseph was no problem. He'd seen all the bands on the bill three times, with the exception of Ratt, who he'd seen only twice. "Some of them are better (than in their heyday)," he said. "I wish they'd keep putting out new music."While he's still as dedicated today to the bands of his youth as he was years ago, Mr. Sites said he understands why many others in his age group aren't the same way. "You get older and have families. It's harder to spend that hard-earned dollar like you spent it as a teenager," he said." - Jonathan Houghton (Lifestyles Reporter)
Pretty cool, eh? The only thing he got backwards was how many times I'd seen the bands. Ratt is the one I had previously seen 3 times and last night made 4. The others I had seen twice, but last night made the 3rd time. Minor stuff, of course. He was very kind and even gave me permission today to put those paragraphs here.
Anyway, we made it inside during Firehouse's second song. I do wish I had a setlst, but I know they did the tunes Shake And Tumble, Crash, Love Of A Lifetime, Reach For The Sky, and Don't Treat Me Bad. There may have been another one or two, but they seemed to only have a 30 minute set. It was energetic and they really seemed to be glad to be playing. They had a huge backdrop and their sound has always been tight. CJ was really pushing his vocals to the limit and sounded awesome. He had no trouble hitting everything he tried when he wailed. The arena wasn't even half full, but they played like it was packed. After their set, they came back to the merch table and signed autographs. I did get to ask about new music and they are apparently writing songs for a new CD. I'm hoping that means they will have something out in the winter or spring, but that's just me talking.
Quiet Riot came out fists pumping and Kevin was working the audience. He wore the leopard suit and has a new weave that seems a little obvious, but he didn't care. "You say I got a funny face...well f!@# you" was the line he sang. They teased us with the riffs of Metal health and then did a short set of hits that included Mama Weer All Crazee, The Wild And The Young, Cum On Feel The Noize, and closed wtih Metal Health as well as a couple of other tunes. One song ended with some bluesy thing going on and Kevin was belting some Zeppelin as Frankie played a bit of a drum solo. It was great and they were smiles from start to finish. They came out to sign autographs, too, so I had a chance to ask a couple of quick questions. I mentioned that I was going to be at the Clear Lake show and Kevin said to go to the one in Cedar Rapids, too, as they had something in store for that show. It's the last one of the tour, I believe. I hadn't completely decided to go, but now I'm going to have to.
Ratt seemed to suddenly appear on stage and burst into Slip Of The Lip. That's my favorite Ratt tune. Evergy seemed to be the theme of the night and this was by far the best show I've seen Ratt perform. Jizzy was in command and seemed to be perfectly settled as the frontman. Corabi and Crane were playing off of each other on their side of the stage and Warren just played like the rock guitar god he is. Blotzer climbed up on the kit a few times to raise his arm to the audience. When Ratt was onstage, it seemed that most everyone that was going to be at this show was there. According to people on Metal Sludge, that crowd hit about 2600. The arena was about 2/3 full. Ratt's set included Way Cool Jr., Lack Of Communication, Lay It Down, and closer Round And Round. There were probably a couple more, too, as they seemed to have only 30 minutes as well.
When the music started for Cinderella, a black curtain jumped up in front of the stage. There were purple lights behind it and it sounded like the music was something that Fred Coury would have mixed. The curtain suddenly dropped, the lights came up, and Cinderella started into Night Songs. The light show was great, they mixed in fireworks, explosions, and pillars of fire. They had a huge backdrop that was lit cleverly most of the night, too. They played songs like Still Climbing, Fallin' Apart At The Seems, Push Push, Nobody's Fool, Gypsy Road, and more. They encored with Don't Know What You've Got and Shake Me. What constantly impresses me about Cinderella is the talent they have to pull everything off live. They would switch from acoustic 12 and 6 string guitars to the same in electric, play double neck guitars, and even a lap steel. They had a keyboard player who added some nice background and Tom played Sax on Shelter Me and piano on Don't Know What You've Got. Fred came out and did some harmonies once, too. Those guys just have so much talent and put on a show that rivals any band.
Auggie and I had to head out right after the show, but as we exited, we did get the CD sampler of Naked Beggars handed to us. We hit the road and made even better time on the way back since there was no traffic to worry about.
I'm going to see this show again in Clear Lake, but I have no idea how they are going to get that stage and light show in the Surf Ballroom, unless it's been built onto in the last two years. I already have my ticket for that show and it looks like I'm going to get one for the Cedar Rapids show the next night. If you have the chance, go see these bands and try to catch this tour over the next week. 4 bands for about $30 and a show that will blow you away. Just do it!
Monday, August 15, 2005
Summer Season Is Over
We actually lost against the last place team. We let them have two great innings to start and then we had one and a half innings that we actually hit. I have no idea what the problem was. That finishes out our season. Tournament over. Now to prepare for a more serious fall season. I'm disappointed, but ready to move forward.
I got tickets to Rock Never Stops in Clear Lake, Billy Idol, and Queensryche at the Val Air Balroom. So many shows coming up still.
I also got tickets to Sunday's Iowa Cubs game. Second row behind the iCubs dugout. I'll be taking the girls again. They are so nervous because my job has a night at the iCubs coming up, too, and I entered them into a couple of the events they do between innings. They will have a blast, I'm sure.
It's nice to have events that are getting me out of the house and doing it cheap or free. This has been the first year in a long time that I've actually gotten some sun, too. It's fun and I hope it keeps up!
I got tickets to Rock Never Stops in Clear Lake, Billy Idol, and Queensryche at the Val Air Balroom. So many shows coming up still.
I also got tickets to Sunday's Iowa Cubs game. Second row behind the iCubs dugout. I'll be taking the girls again. They are so nervous because my job has a night at the iCubs coming up, too, and I entered them into a couple of the events they do between innings. They will have a blast, I'm sure.
It's nice to have events that are getting me out of the house and doing it cheap or free. This has been the first year in a long time that I've actually gotten some sun, too. It's fun and I hope it keeps up!
Vocal Trash
I was surprised at the Iowa State Fair yesterday. I spent the day there just walking around and spending about $30 on food. (That was in food coupons from my job so it was free to me. I had extras since my kids were unable to go.) I'm not big on the Iowa State Fair as it's, well, Iowa, but I did see one attraction that gave me goose bumps.
Derek told me I needed to see a group called Vocal Trash. He said they have a powerful vocalist and they play on trash cans. Kind of like Stomp with pop music, is how I was hearing it explained.
WOW!! They did come out with some strong vocal harmonies and great rhythms played on old water bottles, tin trash cans, and a huge plastic trash bin for a bass drum sound. They even used brooms to sweep with later in the show. They were fantastic! They did tunes from several styles sticking to mostly pop with songs like "Get The Party Started", "Stray Cat Strut", and then a finale of "We Are The Champions" arranged with "I Love Rock N Roll". They had some guitar, some horns, and lots of vocal and rhythmic finesse.
If you get a chance to see this show sometime this week or even at another fair, do it. It is the best thing I've ever seen at the fair, except for the Def Leppard concert, of course.
Derek told me I needed to see a group called Vocal Trash. He said they have a powerful vocalist and they play on trash cans. Kind of like Stomp with pop music, is how I was hearing it explained.
WOW!! They did come out with some strong vocal harmonies and great rhythms played on old water bottles, tin trash cans, and a huge plastic trash bin for a bass drum sound. They even used brooms to sweep with later in the show. They were fantastic! They did tunes from several styles sticking to mostly pop with songs like "Get The Party Started", "Stray Cat Strut", and then a finale of "We Are The Champions" arranged with "I Love Rock N Roll". They had some guitar, some horns, and lots of vocal and rhythmic finesse.
If you get a chance to see this show sometime this week or even at another fair, do it. It is the best thing I've ever seen at the fair, except for the Def Leppard concert, of course.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Tournament Time
Well, as I kind of expected, last Monday we lost our first game and won the second. The first game was a bit of a blowout in the first inning even though I really don't think they are that much better than us. We had several errors in the first inning that let them jump out ahead. They are a good team, though, and beat us 13-6. The second game we won 17-7 and I was very proud of the team for that one. I pitched for the first couple of innings and even recorded 3 strikeouts! Too funny for slow pitch.
Monday night we play the team that forfeited against us and they only won 3 on the season. I expect to win that one and play again on Thursday. So far, so good...
Monday night we play the team that forfeited against us and they only won 3 on the season. I expect to win that one and play again on Thursday. So far, so good...
Friday, August 12, 2005
Rainbow Child
"If I saw your face,
Would I hold you or destroy you?
Maybe just ignore you?
It's true.
It's true.
With you
It's true.
Now you're gone and I'm back down to one.
Can't you see I'm so far down I'm hearing Chinese sounds?"
- Jani Lane "Back Down To One"
I've wanted to post this for a while, but have been thinking about how to put it. My quest here is for honesty. Sometimes being honest isn't nice, pretty, or fair and it can take a lot out of you to be honest. It can also hurt other people if they stumble upon it. I'm going to be honest, though.
I'm a firm believer in the institution of marriage, but after 6 years and two awesome daughters, mine ended. I don't believe in divorce, except in the instance of infidelity, which didn't happen in my marriage as far as I know. My heart was broken and it has changed me.
It's been since before Thanksgiving of last year that I was in anything resembling a relationship. Yes, that means it's "been a while". There isn't anything wrong with that, but it does make one wonder if something is wrong with him/her when it's been that long. Yes, there are things wrong with me, but I don't think it's just that.
In March of 2001, I officially started a relationship with someone many years my junior. This girl babysat my kids on one occasion during when I was married and the only contact I had with her other than that was when she would come into the local grocery store I worked at to talk. Since she is quite a bit younger I didn't think about her "that way", but I did mention her to a couple of guys that worked for me thinking they may be interested. She was great looking, very polite, and kind but apparently they knew her better and declined. She had asked for my phone number so we could keep in touch when I moved after my divorce, but she never called and I really didn't expect her to.
Several months later she stopped in the store I was working at in Des Moines and we struck up our friendship again. She called to let me know she was going to be in town in a few weeks and we could visit more then. The more we talked, the more I did start to think of her as potential for more than friendship, but her age just kept undoing that in my mind.
One day, on my way back from taking my kids home, I decided to take her up on an invitation and swing by her home. She lived with her parents in the dingiest home I've ever walked into. It was dirty, disgusting, filthy, and I was surprised it hadn't been condemned. I sat down and visited with her parents about my computer work and she kept trying to get my attention by modeling a dress, bending over in tight jeans, and about anything else she could do to flirt. Her parents were wise to this and even mentioned it seemed she was putting on a show. It was then that I made a comment about her age and made it clear that she was a good friend. I really wasn't thinking much more than that until my trip home from there. What a battle in my brain! She called later that evening and I told her I'd given it some thought, but really wasn't sure I wanted to pursue this. Several days later I relented, we talked about the possibility, and I actually asked her out. Since she was going to be in Des Moines shortly after that, we made some tentative plans.
Our first official date was "wild". What do I mean by that? Well, it was charged with a certain type of energy. With all that tension we still stopped short of crossing the finish line that night. (The details would probably be better suited to a different setting.) I still wasn't sure about it but it didn't take long until I just took the plunge headlong into this relationship. We dated for a couple months with me traveling back and forth on the weekends I had my kids, but I kept the relationship from them as it was just too soon to introduce them to someone new.
On Mother's Day weekend, I was very tired and really didn't want to make an extra trip back to Mt. Ayr. LLKA's (what I will call her from now on) mom was very upset, but said she could stay in Des Moines with me, but only on the condition that she had to moved in with me. I thought it was just plain weird and looking back I should have seen it as a clue of what was to come. Fortunately, her mom recanted on that idea, but it still seemed strange and LLKA did end up sort of moving in with me. It was awkward since I hadn't really shared this with my roommate and it was still easier instead of making extra trips constantly. She would go to her mom's on my way to Mt. Ayr and I'd pick her up on the way back after my weekend with my girls. The really tough part was that I worked days at one job and nights at another one. I was worn out a lot and she was stuck in my small room most of the time playing on the computer, writing me letters, listening to music, and watching TV. She didn't get out much except when I was home and able to go out. I know it was rough on both of us during that short time. Because of this, it wasn't long after she moved in that I knew I had to quit the night job. It paid more, but I'm not a night worker and it was also taking a toll on my time with my kids who I had decided to introduce to LLKA at this time. The day job was offering full time so I took that hoping to bring about some relief.
Not long after that, I was able to get LLKA hired on at the retail store I worked at. She loved the work, the people, and really did a great job. The job was great for her. She won some small awards and really surprised herself at what she could do. I was proud of her and was hoping she'd be able to make enough to spend on getting herself a car, a driver's license, and a GED, because she had dropped out of high school before she finished her sophomore year. As polite and kind as she was, there were times her lack of education shone through, but I chalked it up to her upbringing in a home where putting the bills in other people's names and not having a job was normal. Because of this and the fact that her parents started divorce proceedings while we were dating, I should have been aware of what would likely happen. Instead, I chose to be hopeful that she was young enough to mature and break the cycle in her family.
After a short time, I got a promotion and moved to the other store in town. She followed. This store was much bigger and while it was tough for me to excel, I did. She was now a big fish in an even bigger pond. She had supervisors that weren't impressed due to her lack of education, no matter how well she did. She got bumped from one department to another and it got worse fast.
My roommate was getting serious with his girlfriend and asked if I could fine another place in about 6 weeks. That was plenty of time, but since I worked days, it was extremely difficult. Thankfully, LLKA went into action calling around and finally found us a place on the same side of town we worked on. This was great since we had two incomes with my full time and her part time work. It was also fine with transportation since I had two cars and we were able to work at the same store.
Not long after we got moved in, she had some struggles at work and she decided to quit without talking to me first. Fortunately, I came by the office while she was there discussing this move with the manager and I was called in. He had her explain things to me before she actually signed the resignation papers and I had to agree with my boss that since she was struggling she had a choice to make. Either step up or quit. She surprised me by choosing to quit. Yet another sign that this wasn't going to work.
The following weeks the house looked great and she would be in a great mood, but she didn't do any job hunting. We lived near an intersection where plenty of jobs were available. I had to actually take her to find a job on my day off and she got two interviews after 6 applications had been filled out that day. It was really that easy to find work and find it close to home, which was good since we were down to one vehicle anyway. She had the gall to say that since she was keeping the apartment clean (an easy feat since I'm a neat person) that it should be no big deal for me to be the only one working. The thing is that the math didn't add up for us to be living there with only one income.
One Saturday evening, I had a friend over and was finishing up some work on his computer. LLKA had received a phone call earlier that day that her favorite uncle had gone into the hospital. She had wanted to go visit, but with my work schedule and having my kids that weekend, we had to wait until Sunday morning for her to go for a visit. This didn't sit well with LLKA and she started trying to find other ways to get up to the hospital. She had apparently tried to get a friend to give her a ride up to the hospital and that friend refused. When LLKA gets something in her head, she doesn't listen to reason and has to get her way. She got angry with this friend and it translated into an angry attitude that evening. It was way past visiting hours when this friend was over and she was still trying to find a way to the hospital. I was trying to finish up with my friend and send him home and then was going to put my kids to bed, but she was making a scene about not going to see her uncle. I sent her back to our room and asked her to give me a minute and I'd be back to talk to her. I went to the bedroom and tried reasoning with her. She was still ready to go even though it was too late. I stepped in front of her three times to stop her and let her know how much I cared about her. This really wasn't the time or place for her to be acting this way. She eventually walked by and I told her to stay gone. I'd had enough of this childish attitude and didn't want it to ruin my evening while I had a friend over and my kids were still up. She figured she could mooch off of me and not work and I can't be in a relationship like that. She worked a little over 3 months total the entire 10 month relationship. She was gone that Saturday night.
The next day LLKA stopped by. We cried, apologized, and I thought everything was going to be ok. Even my kids drew her some pictures and hugged her, too. Turns out she had a guy waiting at a bowling alley she wanted me to drop her at. She'd planned overnight (at least I think it was overnight) to move to Illinois with this guy. She left for about a year, but kept in touch telling me how she had gotten married and pregnant. Both lies. She also went through a period of talking about coming back to Iowa until her boyfriend found out. She had no way of getting home to Iowa unless he drove her so she was pretty much stuck there until he finally got tired of her, broke up with her, and brought her back to Iowa. She stopped in the store I worked at upon her return and she looked horrible. She'd put on weight and cut off her gorgeous hair. She lost most of the weight quickly and started growing her hair out again. She contacted me again to inquire about getting back together even though she was living with some guy who was almost retirement age in some dinky, dingy house in NE Missouri. Even so, I felt sorry for her and brought her back to Des Moines.
She made an agreement to pay rent and was at the apartment for about 6 weeks and then took off again. She'd leave, regret that she was with some guy, and then come crying back to me only to leave again after a week to a month. Of course, I let her come back each time. It was like this right up until Thanksgiving of last year. She did get a couple of different jobs while she was here, but I think the longest lasted 2 weeks and the last time was the last straw. I knew it was going to happen no matter what promises she was making. She's just that way. Not long afterward, I found out that she had an STD and was pregnant.
Last I heard LLKA had a baby in May and was unhappy again. Her mom contacted me a couple of weeks ago and let me know they were moving back to the house they were living in when LLKA and I first started dating. I didn't even ask about LLKA, but her mother told me that LLKA was very unhappy with the decisions she had made. I told her mom that I'd heard it all before and wasn't surprised and didn't pursue asking anything at all about her. I quickly ended the conversation and got off the phone after I reminded LLKA's mom that my early New Year's resolution last year was "no more LLKA". I've kept that resolution and I'm proud of it.
I'm not sure why I'm attracted to this type of girl. LLKA was someone I thought I could rescue, I guess. There were some great times - times I won't ever forget, but the stupidity outweighs it all. I was stupid for taking her back several times, believing her regrets and promises, and I was stupid for allowing myself to be used that way. She was stupid, too. She grew up knowing no other way. She saw a bad marriage in her parents. She saw unfaithfulness in them and her older sister. She hasn't seen any of them keep a job. She believed that having a baby would make her life better. Unfortunately, the child will end up being raised in the same way she was. Instead of seeing her potential and using it, she ended up worthless to society and a complete waste of a life. I pity LLKA. That's about all I can muster.
As for me, I'm still surviving, but at the same time missing being in a relationship and its benefits. Until I find the right person, though, I will continue to make due because I'm not in a hurry.
"There's gotta be a girl waiting halfway 'round the world."
- Dan Reed Network
Would I hold you or destroy you?
Maybe just ignore you?
It's true.
It's true.
With you
It's true.
Now you're gone and I'm back down to one.
Can't you see I'm so far down I'm hearing Chinese sounds?"
- Jani Lane "Back Down To One"
I've wanted to post this for a while, but have been thinking about how to put it. My quest here is for honesty. Sometimes being honest isn't nice, pretty, or fair and it can take a lot out of you to be honest. It can also hurt other people if they stumble upon it. I'm going to be honest, though.
I'm a firm believer in the institution of marriage, but after 6 years and two awesome daughters, mine ended. I don't believe in divorce, except in the instance of infidelity, which didn't happen in my marriage as far as I know. My heart was broken and it has changed me.
It's been since before Thanksgiving of last year that I was in anything resembling a relationship. Yes, that means it's "been a while". There isn't anything wrong with that, but it does make one wonder if something is wrong with him/her when it's been that long. Yes, there are things wrong with me, but I don't think it's just that.
In March of 2001, I officially started a relationship with someone many years my junior. This girl babysat my kids on one occasion during when I was married and the only contact I had with her other than that was when she would come into the local grocery store I worked at to talk. Since she is quite a bit younger I didn't think about her "that way", but I did mention her to a couple of guys that worked for me thinking they may be interested. She was great looking, very polite, and kind but apparently they knew her better and declined. She had asked for my phone number so we could keep in touch when I moved after my divorce, but she never called and I really didn't expect her to.
Several months later she stopped in the store I was working at in Des Moines and we struck up our friendship again. She called to let me know she was going to be in town in a few weeks and we could visit more then. The more we talked, the more I did start to think of her as potential for more than friendship, but her age just kept undoing that in my mind.
One day, on my way back from taking my kids home, I decided to take her up on an invitation and swing by her home. She lived with her parents in the dingiest home I've ever walked into. It was dirty, disgusting, filthy, and I was surprised it hadn't been condemned. I sat down and visited with her parents about my computer work and she kept trying to get my attention by modeling a dress, bending over in tight jeans, and about anything else she could do to flirt. Her parents were wise to this and even mentioned it seemed she was putting on a show. It was then that I made a comment about her age and made it clear that she was a good friend. I really wasn't thinking much more than that until my trip home from there. What a battle in my brain! She called later that evening and I told her I'd given it some thought, but really wasn't sure I wanted to pursue this. Several days later I relented, we talked about the possibility, and I actually asked her out. Since she was going to be in Des Moines shortly after that, we made some tentative plans.
Our first official date was "wild". What do I mean by that? Well, it was charged with a certain type of energy. With all that tension we still stopped short of crossing the finish line that night. (The details would probably be better suited to a different setting.) I still wasn't sure about it but it didn't take long until I just took the plunge headlong into this relationship. We dated for a couple months with me traveling back and forth on the weekends I had my kids, but I kept the relationship from them as it was just too soon to introduce them to someone new.
On Mother's Day weekend, I was very tired and really didn't want to make an extra trip back to Mt. Ayr. LLKA's (what I will call her from now on) mom was very upset, but said she could stay in Des Moines with me, but only on the condition that she had to moved in with me. I thought it was just plain weird and looking back I should have seen it as a clue of what was to come. Fortunately, her mom recanted on that idea, but it still seemed strange and LLKA did end up sort of moving in with me. It was awkward since I hadn't really shared this with my roommate and it was still easier instead of making extra trips constantly. She would go to her mom's on my way to Mt. Ayr and I'd pick her up on the way back after my weekend with my girls. The really tough part was that I worked days at one job and nights at another one. I was worn out a lot and she was stuck in my small room most of the time playing on the computer, writing me letters, listening to music, and watching TV. She didn't get out much except when I was home and able to go out. I know it was rough on both of us during that short time. Because of this, it wasn't long after she moved in that I knew I had to quit the night job. It paid more, but I'm not a night worker and it was also taking a toll on my time with my kids who I had decided to introduce to LLKA at this time. The day job was offering full time so I took that hoping to bring about some relief.
Not long after that, I was able to get LLKA hired on at the retail store I worked at. She loved the work, the people, and really did a great job. The job was great for her. She won some small awards and really surprised herself at what she could do. I was proud of her and was hoping she'd be able to make enough to spend on getting herself a car, a driver's license, and a GED, because she had dropped out of high school before she finished her sophomore year. As polite and kind as she was, there were times her lack of education shone through, but I chalked it up to her upbringing in a home where putting the bills in other people's names and not having a job was normal. Because of this and the fact that her parents started divorce proceedings while we were dating, I should have been aware of what would likely happen. Instead, I chose to be hopeful that she was young enough to mature and break the cycle in her family.
After a short time, I got a promotion and moved to the other store in town. She followed. This store was much bigger and while it was tough for me to excel, I did. She was now a big fish in an even bigger pond. She had supervisors that weren't impressed due to her lack of education, no matter how well she did. She got bumped from one department to another and it got worse fast.
My roommate was getting serious with his girlfriend and asked if I could fine another place in about 6 weeks. That was plenty of time, but since I worked days, it was extremely difficult. Thankfully, LLKA went into action calling around and finally found us a place on the same side of town we worked on. This was great since we had two incomes with my full time and her part time work. It was also fine with transportation since I had two cars and we were able to work at the same store.
Not long after we got moved in, she had some struggles at work and she decided to quit without talking to me first. Fortunately, I came by the office while she was there discussing this move with the manager and I was called in. He had her explain things to me before she actually signed the resignation papers and I had to agree with my boss that since she was struggling she had a choice to make. Either step up or quit. She surprised me by choosing to quit. Yet another sign that this wasn't going to work.
The following weeks the house looked great and she would be in a great mood, but she didn't do any job hunting. We lived near an intersection where plenty of jobs were available. I had to actually take her to find a job on my day off and she got two interviews after 6 applications had been filled out that day. It was really that easy to find work and find it close to home, which was good since we were down to one vehicle anyway. She had the gall to say that since she was keeping the apartment clean (an easy feat since I'm a neat person) that it should be no big deal for me to be the only one working. The thing is that the math didn't add up for us to be living there with only one income.
One Saturday evening, I had a friend over and was finishing up some work on his computer. LLKA had received a phone call earlier that day that her favorite uncle had gone into the hospital. She had wanted to go visit, but with my work schedule and having my kids that weekend, we had to wait until Sunday morning for her to go for a visit. This didn't sit well with LLKA and she started trying to find other ways to get up to the hospital. She had apparently tried to get a friend to give her a ride up to the hospital and that friend refused. When LLKA gets something in her head, she doesn't listen to reason and has to get her way. She got angry with this friend and it translated into an angry attitude that evening. It was way past visiting hours when this friend was over and she was still trying to find a way to the hospital. I was trying to finish up with my friend and send him home and then was going to put my kids to bed, but she was making a scene about not going to see her uncle. I sent her back to our room and asked her to give me a minute and I'd be back to talk to her. I went to the bedroom and tried reasoning with her. She was still ready to go even though it was too late. I stepped in front of her three times to stop her and let her know how much I cared about her. This really wasn't the time or place for her to be acting this way. She eventually walked by and I told her to stay gone. I'd had enough of this childish attitude and didn't want it to ruin my evening while I had a friend over and my kids were still up. She figured she could mooch off of me and not work and I can't be in a relationship like that. She worked a little over 3 months total the entire 10 month relationship. She was gone that Saturday night.
The next day LLKA stopped by. We cried, apologized, and I thought everything was going to be ok. Even my kids drew her some pictures and hugged her, too. Turns out she had a guy waiting at a bowling alley she wanted me to drop her at. She'd planned overnight (at least I think it was overnight) to move to Illinois with this guy. She left for about a year, but kept in touch telling me how she had gotten married and pregnant. Both lies. She also went through a period of talking about coming back to Iowa until her boyfriend found out. She had no way of getting home to Iowa unless he drove her so she was pretty much stuck there until he finally got tired of her, broke up with her, and brought her back to Iowa. She stopped in the store I worked at upon her return and she looked horrible. She'd put on weight and cut off her gorgeous hair. She lost most of the weight quickly and started growing her hair out again. She contacted me again to inquire about getting back together even though she was living with some guy who was almost retirement age in some dinky, dingy house in NE Missouri. Even so, I felt sorry for her and brought her back to Des Moines.
She made an agreement to pay rent and was at the apartment for about 6 weeks and then took off again. She'd leave, regret that she was with some guy, and then come crying back to me only to leave again after a week to a month. Of course, I let her come back each time. It was like this right up until Thanksgiving of last year. She did get a couple of different jobs while she was here, but I think the longest lasted 2 weeks and the last time was the last straw. I knew it was going to happen no matter what promises she was making. She's just that way. Not long afterward, I found out that she had an STD and was pregnant.
Last I heard LLKA had a baby in May and was unhappy again. Her mom contacted me a couple of weeks ago and let me know they were moving back to the house they were living in when LLKA and I first started dating. I didn't even ask about LLKA, but her mother told me that LLKA was very unhappy with the decisions she had made. I told her mom that I'd heard it all before and wasn't surprised and didn't pursue asking anything at all about her. I quickly ended the conversation and got off the phone after I reminded LLKA's mom that my early New Year's resolution last year was "no more LLKA". I've kept that resolution and I'm proud of it.
I'm not sure why I'm attracted to this type of girl. LLKA was someone I thought I could rescue, I guess. There were some great times - times I won't ever forget, but the stupidity outweighs it all. I was stupid for taking her back several times, believing her regrets and promises, and I was stupid for allowing myself to be used that way. She was stupid, too. She grew up knowing no other way. She saw a bad marriage in her parents. She saw unfaithfulness in them and her older sister. She hasn't seen any of them keep a job. She believed that having a baby would make her life better. Unfortunately, the child will end up being raised in the same way she was. Instead of seeing her potential and using it, she ended up worthless to society and a complete waste of a life. I pity LLKA. That's about all I can muster.
As for me, I'm still surviving, but at the same time missing being in a relationship and its benefits. Until I find the right person, though, I will continue to make due because I'm not in a hurry.
"There's gotta be a girl waiting halfway 'round the world."
- Dan Reed Network
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