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CONTINUED FROM THE CDB / SFS TOUR, APRIL 2005
DAY 10 – APRIL 14TH:
Definitely planned to sleep in until about 8:00 this morning and try
to kick this cold. But, the body clock won’t allow it. Four hours is the
max then lying there for another hour trying to go back to sleep. Now I
don’t think it’s a cold afterall. I think it’s just allergies which is
definitely preferable.
Bebe and I figured out that we were in 8 time
zones in 8 days in 8 different countries with temperatures ranging from snow
and freezing cold to sunny and blistering hot. That’s pretty hard on the
body. What still amazes me is the fact that Charlie Daniels is 68 years
old and can run circles around all of us. I think back how many times
artists I have worked with refuse to do two shows per night. They have even
passed on good paying gigs because the promoter demanded two shows per
night. Then Charlie gets up at 6 am, choppers for an hour and a half to the
first gig, performs for over an hour in the hot sun, signs autographs for an
hour and a half. Then choppers to for a half hour to the next gig,
performance for over an hour again in the hot sun, signs autographs for
more than an hour and choppers for 20 minutes to the next gig. This one is
the full blown show for thousands of people – but again, out in the sun and
he performs for 2 hours and then signs autographs for two hours. Then it’s
another half hour chopper ride back to home base. Young artists today
should be forced to travel with him for a week for “training”.
Maybe you
could tell by yesterday’s report that I was going through some pretty
intense depression. It’s always that way when we leave the troops. With
all their tours for the military, this was still the first time that most of
his group has ever performed in a combat situation. I could tell that they
were all feeling the intense letdown of having to leave the area. But,
plans are already underway for a repeat visit! Oh, and while we were in
Iraq, Charlie got to go see where Saddam is being held. Supposedly, they
took television sets in to him just for the election!
Decided that jogging might help me feel better and KNEW that I would get
lost because the front desk told me to run around the wall of Old Town. The
streets twist and turn and nothing is in a “straight line”. I did not
disappoint myself. Was lost for over a half hour but finally found my way
back. And, I definitely feel better from having exercised. Took a shower
and walked back over to Old Town to buy some water and change money. When I
was jogging this morning, there was a group of “winos” standing in front of
the entrance to the underground shopping at the train station. I must have
jogged past them 5 times when I was lost J Anyway, when I went in the
train station to change money, they had two huge bottles of wine sitting out
on the railing. I was only in there about 30 minutes but when I came back
out, all the wine was GONE and they were singing at the top of their
lungs.
It’s killing me to be in such a beautiful area and not have time to sightsee
or shop!
Richard Marx group landed on time. Their equipment was “stuck” in NY due to
a bomb scare but I got a message that it was arriving today, too. The road
manager called and said he had forgotten to tell me that Richard’s manager
was with them. I went downstairs to see if I could get him a room and there
was more than 100 men standing in the lobby and outside on the sidewalk
checking in! I didn’t think there would be any rooms available but there
was. Got all their room keys ready. The hotel has upgraded Richard to a
beautiful suite – two levels, baby grand piano, sunken tub – very nice!
They called when they were one mile away and I went outside to meet them. I
waited and waited and finally they called back –asking where I was. They
had gone to the Meridian Grand Hotel and we are staying at the Maritim.
We were all walking over to a restaurant in Old Town to eat when I asked if
he had done his phone interview. There was some miscommunication because he
was supposed to call the radio station but he thought they were calling
him. So I ran back to the hotel to get the phone number for the station. I
had already eaten, so just met the guys at the bus and we drove over to
Kitzingen. Took about 1 ½ hours to drive with the trailer hooked to the
bus. We had to hide Richard’s manager in the bathroom when we went through
the gate because he isn’t on our “orders”. Venue is a HUGE tent and all
the tables are decorated with American flags. My friend from Camp Summerall
– Colonel Kyle – drove over from Schweinfurt to see me. So strange to see
him in CIVILIAN clothes! My friends from the production company are working
this gig and I haven’t seen them in years. So nice to reconnect with
everyone.
Sound check went fine and we arrived back at the hotel after 1 am!
Night
DAY 11 – APRIL 15TH:
“Slept in” until 8 am and then went jogging. Finally found a way that I
could run around the outer walls of Old Town without getting lost. It was
as simple as making a left turn instead of a right around the wall.
Showered and worked on email until time to go to the gig.
Richard and his guys are so awesome. They all have very distinct
personalities and a great sense of humor. We got caught in traffic going
to the venue and it took us about 2 ½ hours instead of 1 ½ hours to get
there. We were late for the AFN interview, but everything was fine and
back on track within a matter of minutes. I met my friend Sylvia and we
talked about our last visit. I met her in the mid-90’s in Bosnia and then
saw her again in Schweinfurt many years ago. I’ll be going back to
Schweinfurt in two weeks with Chely. We had stayed in touch via email for
quite some time but had lost touch in the last couple of years. It was
great to “reconnect”.
The concert began exactly on time and to say that Richard Marx was a “hit”
with the crowd is a gross understatement. The front area of the stage of
packed with people standing, dancing, and singing along. Not only is he an
incredible performer, but he spoke from his heart when thanking the crowd
for their service in the U.S. military. The production company and
backstage staff seemed surprised that he was so undemanding and easy to work
with. Evidently they have had some entertainers who are a bit difficult
and he was a welcome “break” for them. I could tell from the audience
reaction that his repertoire of hits brought back wonderful memories for
many of those attending. After the 90 minute concert, the Commander went on
stage and thanked Richard and his musicians and gave each of them a
“coin”. I had initiated everyone by giving everyone a “Stars for Stripes”
coin earlier and explaining the “history” of “coining”.
Richard signed autographs for more than an hour and it was so different to
see “families” in line instead of soldiers in BDU’s or DCU’s. I talked to
several people in line and found out that either they or someone in their
family had been stationed at Camps I have visited in the past 2 years. I
still find it hard to believe that I have been going to that area for two
years.
The drive back to the hotel was filled with lively conversation and made for
a very cheerful ending to a great tour for our troops. Richard wants to go
to Afghanistan and hit some of the really remote sites where the soldiers
desperately need cheering up.
I met the boys at the bar for a farewell drink but got involved in settling
the account with the front desk and ended up never having the drink. But,
we took a group photo and gave lots of hugs all around. They will be
touring Germany for the next month, opening for Joe Cocker. Hopefully,
we’ll hook back up when I’m in Schweinfurt with Chely.
Checked email until 3:30 am and then grabbed a couple of hours sleep.
DAY 12 – April 16th
No problem checking out of the hotel and I really LOVED the staff there.
Would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone visiting the area. Know
Richard was delighted with his suite. Took a taxi to the airport only to
learn that my “two hour prior to departure for an international flight” rule
didn’t apply to the tiny Nurnberg Airport. I had to wait a full hour for
the check-in counter to open. Then I learned that it was a tiny little jet
from Nurnberg to Switzerland.
Thankfully, the weather was good and there was no LIGHTNING. I now have yet
another thing to worry about when I fly! We departed late and I knew I
only had one hour for the connection which was not cut down to 30 minutes.
Literally RAN from one terminal to the next and made it on the flight. I’m
flying Swiss Air and really like it. Flight attendants are nice and the
seats are great even though the flight is definitely full.
Connecting through Chicago and hopefully back to Nashville at a “decent”
hour. Nope. Flight is delayed. No aircraft! Every time I think I’m going
to be home early in the afternoon, there is a flight delay. I can’t ever
remember getting back into Nashvillle before 9 or 10 pm at night. Might as
well just go ahead and book those late might flights.
We finally boarded almost 2 hours past our departure time. It was a tiny
little jet and you had too “gate check” your larger carry on bags. I have
to say, I felt like I was trapped in the “Saturday Night Live Version” of
“Deliverance” and “The Jeffersons” all rolled into one. Was standing in
line to board when this HUGE obese woman wearing what looked like her
pajamas and pushing a smaller lady in a wheelchair followed by another
woman comes barreling through the line saying, “Handicapped Board First”.
They were obviously from the “real backwoods of Kentucky” from their accents
and mannerisms. When I got up to the gate agent, my boarding pass wouldn’t
work because it had been issued by Swiss Air. Of course, she was the only
one working the counter, so I had to wait until everyone else had boarded to
get a new boarding pass.
Made my way down the jetway and there was still a big crowd waiting to get
on. There was about 6 black women standing in the jetway arguing with the
ground crew. They all had huge boxes of liquor that they had purchased and
were refusing to let them “gate check” it. After threatening the attendant
with bodily harm, they finally boarded the flight still with enough carry on
luggage to fill about 6 of the overhead bins. By the time I got to my seat
(which of course they changed when they changed my boarding pass!), there
was no overhead space left. I managed to cram everything under the seat
and wedge myself into the seat. The large “hillbilly” woman was, of
course, sitting in front of me. She weighed so much that her seat was
pushed back farther than the others and I barely had room to fit my knees
in.
Right before take-off, the lady in the wheelchair who was sitting in the
window seat next to the large lady, called the flight attendant over. They
were in the bulkhead seats yet she told the flight attendant that “she could
not stretch her legs out and something needed to be done”. I’ve never been
in favor of flight attendants getting “smart” with the passengers, but this
time it was justified. To her credit, the flight attendant was very sweet
about it. She simply said, “well, mam, would you like for me to see if
there is someone who can cut your legs off a little bit so that you will
have more room?” The man sitting next to me whose knees were farther up
in his chin than mine, tapped the lady on the shoulder and said, “Mam, I’ll
be happy to change seats with you”. She suddenly became hard of hearing and
did not answer.
After take-off, I spied ONE seat – the very front one – empty. I was about
to get up and ask the flight attendant if I could move into it when the
“large lady” lumbered from her seat to dig around in the overhead. There
was no way anyone could even attempt to squeeze past her. When she finished
rummaging around and decided to sit back down, her huge rear end hit the
lady who had been complaining right in the face and spilled her drink all
over her. So the remainder of the flight was spent cleaning up that mess
and moving the one with the wet seat her into “my empty seat”!
Finally landed in Nashville and had to line up outside the airplane entrance
to wait for our gate-checked bags. The lady in the wheelchair seemed to be
walking just fine and was carrying a bag that looked like it weighed about
40 pounds. But, she got her wheelchair for the ride to baggage claim!
Then all the black ladies showed up to wait for their whiskey and the
largest one of them also had a wheelchair meeting her. After she sat down,
one of the ladies in her group grabbed the largest bag of whiskey and said,
“Here, put dis between your legs”. Her response was, “Dat ain’t what I
wants between my legs, sista!” which sent all the other females in her group
into hysterics. One of the airline employees started pushing her down the
jetway, but there was a very slight incline. She was too heavy and he could
not get her up the slope. Finally, two guys got behind the wheelchair and
one lady got in front and pulled her up the slope.
Baggage claim was just as entertaining. The black lady who had been
wheelchair bound was running laps around the conveyor belt, grabbing 70
pound suitcases and slinging them onto a cart. She was obviously too cheap
to tip a porter and obviously NOT HANDICAPPED. I asked my porter why she
was allowed to use a wheelchair and he said it happens all the time because
people just want to board first!
Then I looked across the belt and ALL THREE of the Beverly Hillbillies were
in wheelchairs. The large one was “directing” a porter on which bags were
theirs. Only, every bag he pulled off and lugged about 10 feet over to the
cart, she decided wasn’t really their bag after all and he had to drag it
back to the belt and put it back on.
You can’t buy that kind of entertainment!
Jude
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