| Author | Message | ||
| David Clark (Dclark) (24.197.82.121)
Rating: N/A |
I'll tell you something I've gained from looking into buses. A little over a week ago, I was in Ohio. It was Saturday. I stumbled across a listing for a 4905 up in Northern Ohio. I called the bus-man. He told me to come on up to look at it. I planned to head his way on Monday. I had an afternoon show scheduled on Sunday in Massillon, Ohio. I headed down to Massillon. The theatre manager said he hadn't seen any press at all about the show. We did sound check and got the lights adjusted. I changed my guitar strings, changed clothes, and proceeded to warm up for the show as usual. A five minutes before a show, I always go to the side of the stage and wait for the house lights to come down and the stage lights to come up. This is my signal to walk out. The five minutes just before a show begins is a long five minutes. One stands out of sight on the side of the stage, listening to the crowd talking to one another. One can tell from the volume of this conversation how big a crowd one has. And I was standing on the side of the stage in Massillon for that five long minutes, and what I heard in the house was complete silence. I have heard that silence before. I looked at my watch. Showtime. The house lights didn't change. I walked out on stage at showtime, and sure enough, there was nobody there. Zero press = nobody knows you're in town = zero tickets sold. I settled up the remaining business with the theatre manager, went and had a good meal, and headed north. On the way north, I called the man with the bus. I had planned to spend the night in Massillon and go see him on Monday. I told him my plans had changed and wondered if I could come on up to see him. He said to come on. So I drove on up to Northern Ohio. I wasn't down-in-the-mouth, exactly, about the show's results, but I wasn't overjoyed, either. It is simply a reality that no tickets were sold, I didn't make any money, and also that I lost the money it took to get to Massillon. It was a gamble that did not pay off. Lost gambles are a part of life, but they don't necessarily brighten one's day. And, besides that, I had been on the road nonstop for the better part of five weeks. I had been in a different town almost every day. Sure, the constant moving was fun. I was seeing lots of different things, and meeting lots of different people. But it had been quite some time since I had enjoyed a good conversation with someone that lasted more than about 15 minutes. I was homesick, and just plain tired. Maybe not so much tired, as that the part of us that needs friendship was drained out. Friendship is a fuel that is needed by the engine of living. In a couple of hours, I reached our meeeting point. I shook hands with the bus-man, and followed him through his beautiful little Northern Ohio town to where he stored the 4905. We hadn't been at the bus for 10 minutes before he cut his hand on a bay door. His hand was bleeding, and he didn't have a rag. I had a towel in the truck. He wrapped his hand in the towel and cranked up the bus. We spent about an hour looking at the old 4905, talking about engines and oil and buses and the way things are made. Then I followed him back to his house to see his Eagle. His wife made a pot of coffee. We looked at the beautiful Eagle and then went inside. I was only planning to stay for a few minutes, but we got to talking. My new friend had served in the Air Force, and we talked about that. He had lived a lot in his life, and we talked about that, too. We went through that pot of coffee, even though I had only planned to drink one cup and go. It was late by the time I left. The no-tickets-sold show in Massillon didn't bother me in the slightest bit. I was no longer homesick, for I had been at home the whole evening in Northern Ohio. I am a better man for having gone to see that 4905. It was a beautiful old bus, an example of pride in workmanship that one doesn't see much of anymore. The Eagle was another example of the same kind of workmanship, and the pride of renewing something old. I went to see a bus. What I got was fuel in that almost-empty tank. The bus was the vehicle, but friendship was the result. *** | ||
| Robert Wood (Bobwoodsocal) (4.63.41.14)
Rating: N/A |
cool story, David. all the best, Bob | ||
| TWO DOGS (158.253.192.149) Rating: N/A |
write when ya' find work | ||
| David Clark (Dclark) (24.197.82.121)
Rating: N/A |
2 d's: Not sure what you mean. David Clark | ||
| ChuckMC9 (Chucks) (66.167.95.25)
Rating: N/A |
David, I've had a couple of similar experiences. Not with quite that amplitude, but I have found that I really enjoy and value the sort of human who has the depth of character to become involved with this kind of undertaking. Of course, I'm not speaking of any of the hooligans on *this* board!  You do have an accomplished way with words, Good Sir. | ||
| bruceknee (209.247.222.104) Rating: N/A |
I have a bus and a coffee pot, if you are ever in Delaware, let me know. Bruce | ||
| David Clark (Dclark) (24.197.82.121)
Rating: N/A |
Hello Bruce, I intend to head towards your neck of the woods sometime after mid-July. Better send me a note with a town and some contact info. David Clark | ||
| R TERRY (207.230.142.240)
Rating: N/A |
David, I really enjoyed your story. Thanks. R TERRY | ||
| R.J.Bob Evans (64.110.227.72)
Rating: N/A |
Dave you have a gift for writing. I too have a coffee pot and a bus but I am in northern Saskatchewan. It's pretty nice here for about 3 months of the year. | ||
| pete (205.188.116.135)
Rating: N/A |
dave, come to a folk festival...i have pleanty of beer and you play..they WILL come pete | ||
| David Clark (Dclark) (207.144.148.74)
Rating: N/A |
Hello -- Thank you for the letters. I looked at Saskatchewan, and don't think I will be headed that a-ways anytime soon, though I bet it's beautiful up there. And Pete, you didn't say which folk festival. Thank you again and hope to see all of you one of these days. Sincerely, David Clark Cochran, Ga. |