The Last Few Updates

      Wow, doubling up on these things seems to be trending! But with only one week left, I think I got it! I’m sure a lot of people write more than 52,000 words a year, but I would bet far more people never even come close to that amount, so I’m taking that as a win! As I’m sure you can tell by reading these, it’s not always easy to fit it into a tight schedule. But I’m making it happen, even if it is just for my own sense of having done it. It takes effort, I have to make time for it, I consider that an accomplishment. Especially recently! I’ve had so much going on, it would have been easy to just let it go, but I didn’t, I stuck to it, that makes me happy. I can’t get a full 52 one year, and do less the next! I doubt I’ll do more, but I’m definitely not doing less. Last night, while I was trying to fall asleep, I kept having this feeling that I said too much about the cruise. I kept having this feeling that I should not have said so much about my parents, and aired their laundry. This is something that I keep going through, and am not sure what the “fix” is. I know I’ve expressed this sentiment before, but I’m still not sure how to reconcile it. I didn’t say anything untrue. I didn’t say anything to be mean. But still, as I was drifting off, I kept thinking that I shouldn’t have said all that I did. I had this feeling that maybe they would not have been too happy about it. Of course, no one is usually happy with their “ugly truth” being exposed. See, even after having typed that, I don’t know that I did expose an “ugly truth.” So, I have this dilemma. I’m allowed to express my feelings about things that I go through. I refuse to edit, because that’s not what this is about. However, I still battle with: How much truth is too much truth?

     Oh well, go for it, and see what happens. That’s my usual motto. It came to my attention while I was writing about the cruise that a bunch of band stuff had come up, without proper time to get into it. So, here is the update: Oh wait, speaking of updates, I want to finish up about the event we held for Josie. We agreed to close out the GoFundMe on the 16^th. I went and dropped the check off on Wednesday. She is out of the hospital, she is finally able to eat food again, and is in surprisingly good spirits. Not many tougher than her that I’ve met. The GoFundMe along with ticket sales to the show, and the raffle, came out to a grand total of: $10,050! Unbelievable. She had reshared the link just after getting out, and she got almost 2 grand in a week! Sometimes it is remarkable how kind and generous some people can be. I’m glad to have been able to help. I am in awe of stranger’s generosity right now. When we started the GoFundMe, I put the goal at $3,000. I didn’t know what to do, or what to expect. In the end, we raised $8,620! Almost thrice the original goal! I am stunned, and glad to know that I am only a few keystrokes away from so many kind people. It’s humbling to think about. I have the sniffles, and I have to keep getting up to blow my nose. It’s distracting. I’m trying to finish my thoughts before getting up, but sometimes it’s not possible. There are a lot of illnesses going on right now. It’s kind of spooky! I hope Josie stays isolated. I can’t imagine having to fight some of this crap with a new immune system. Sometimes I’m starting to feel that maybe I should go back to “Covid Protocol!” I didn’t get sick the entire lock down, now, every week it seems like there’s something else going around. It’s not fun, and it really is making me a little weary about where I go.

     Okay, now to the band stuff! Which I know you were excited about. Mostly good things. I probably won’t get to the “un-good” things because of what I mentioned earlier. Plus, time constraints. The Friday before we left on the cruise, the Calvins played the Tower Bar. It was cool. We played with a band called Gentroside, which I really like. The “Headliner” was alright. Some kind of rockabilly band from LA that didn’t bring anyone. For the first band there were about 10 people. We were looking at each other like: “Oh shit.” But then, for us, it went up to like 30. Then down to about 5 for the “Headliner.” It really felt like people came to see us. It felt good. The place was packed, and we didn’t even know who they were! That’s nice. The day we got back from the cruise, the Hustlers had a gig. When we left for the cruise, we were supposed to open, i.e. 8. However, while I was gone, we got bumped to last. Kind of a bummer, but oh well. Our phones didn’t really work on the ship while at sea, so I was kind of out of communication. Not that it would’ve mattered. Except that the Calvins got offered a gig at the Casbah for the 16^th. The Casbah is a big deal. Luckily, I got the messages in Catalina so I could confirm in time. They said there’d be at least 100-200 people. That did not happen. But we got to play the Casbah. Back to the Hustlers: Even though we went last, we still had the majority of people. Most of the people that came to Deano’s that night, came there to see us. It felt good. Monday, it was a “private event,” for someone’s birthday. We do not know them. There were probably 40-50 people. Almost all of which stayed outside, “smoking,” for the first two bands. But then, when we came on, it was like the gates had just opened, and all of a sudden there were people!