The Juneteenth Fire

      Happy Juneteenth! It’s also Real Food Day, Sickle Cell Day, Garfield the Cat Day, Sauntering Day, and my favorite: Tapas Day! I find it interesting, and wonder if it’s a coincidence, that Juneteenth, and Sickle Cell Day, are on the same date. It doesn't really matter, I’m just curious. I’m more interested in Tapas Day. I love tapas! I wonder why that idea didn’t take off here. Well, I guess it slowly is. A lot of places are doing things similar to that now, but I think they call them “small plates.” Some places also refer to them as “shareables,” but that makes me think more of like an appetizer. Which I guess is like the same thing. However, sometimes now, the appetizers are larger than a meal! That’s what I like about the tapas idea, small things. One time we were at a place, and ordered the shishito pepper appetizer. There were three of us. There were more shishitos than I had ever seen. I wondered how many people they thought it was for, and wish they would’ve included that in the description! And it’s other things too, if you get nachos, you get more nachos than could possibly be eaten in one sitting. Most of the time, I just want to try things. I am an adventurous eater, and like to try things. I don’t need, or want, a pound and a half of the same thing. I don’t want the same flavor for half an hour or more. I like mixing it up. I don’t know where we got this idea that we should get more food than we can consume. Not everyone likes leftovers. I do. I have fun trying to re-imagine them, and see what else I can do with them. But I know that’s not for everybody. Come to find out, my parents did not eat the Pea Soup leftovers I made for them! My wife and I were bummed. We would have gladly eaten them! It was delicious! Oh well, next time, we’re keeping the rest for ourselves!

     Most of the time now, when my wife and I go out, we make the decision if we’re planning on leftovers or not. We almost always share. We like similar things, so it’s cheaper, and easier, to get the same thing, other than two of them. Or sometimes, in the beginning, one of us would pick our second choice, just so we didn’t have two of the same at the table. Plus, sharing gives us the opportunity to get an appetizer, if we want. One of the things I like about buffets is the ability to try different things. But, I don’t like overeating, so that’s a tricky balance. One I fail at often. Hence, I’m into the tapas idea. Tapas, small plates, tasting menu, whatever you call it, I hope the idea takes off. Afterall, variety is the spice of life! However, there are a lot of people who don’t care for spice, but we’ll get to that at a later time. Right now, I’m too distracted. I’ve been hearing helicopters overhead constantly for about the last 20-30 minutes. Then I just got a text from my drummer, who only lives 1 mile away, with a picture of a fire that he can see from his yard. It’s exactly across the freeway from him. I’m closer to the reservoir, so the noise is constant. Luckily, we’re both on the same side of the freeway, so the fire would have to jump it, which is unlikely, but it has happened before. Whoa! Now it just got eerily quiet. Okay, they’re back at it, that was a little spooky. This is the second fire near us this week! Spooky shit! People keep calling and asking if we’re okay. We didn’t even know there was a fire until people told us. Although, with this one right now, I would have known something was up, because of the constant flying. I just looked at the fire watch map really quick, it is closer than I thought to me, and not as close to my drummer as it looked in the photo. Spooky shit!

     Besides the fire, which is a bummer, it’s also a bummer because we have a gig tomorrow. And, this was one of the first times he was okay with practicing the day before. I was so excited that he was willing. And now, he says if the fire isn’t under control, he’s not leaving. Which I kind of get, but, at the same time, if we have to evacuate, why not practice? I know, I know, that’s typical me: Let’s Practice. I imagine it might be hard to concentrate when you’re not sure if your house is burning down. But, seriously, it is a lot farther from him than he thinks. I should be more worried! I was also excited because this will be 3 practices in a row! That almost never happens! 3 in a row, including one the night before!? We’re going to kill it tomorrow! We haven’t been firing on this many cylinders in a long time! Although, we just got word yesterday that the third band dropped out. Yesterday! No explanation either, which I think is lame. I really like them too, I hope I can get over it. Lots of shows are happening this weekend, and we were already at somewhat of a disadvantage, because we didn’t start promoting right away, because the lineup wasn’t solidified. And now this! I’m not sure how we’re going to find a band with one day notice. Even if we find someone, they won’t have time to promote, so they may have no draw. Coupled with the 2 other shows that I know about, it could be dismal. I was really looking forward to this show. I still am, but now, wonder starts to set in, as we try to figure out what we’re going to do. The club owner said he’d work on it, but him working on it is why nothing happened until the last minute! Oh well, we’ll talk tonight and see what we think. This is weird, and now with the fire? I had so much more to say, but for now, we part ways wondering.