Sweet Home Alabama

BAMA JAM - WHEW HOOOOOOOOO ! Well, I can say I am glad alabama is not my sweet home! Don't get me wrong, it was yet another interesting people life experience to observe. Bama Jam, showed up, after 8 1/2 hours of winding through backroads from savannah ga to albany ga to lower alabama to middle alabama and then backtrack again, then when you cannot possibly see another 2 feet ahead in the dark around the blind turns and hills, you arrive in Enterprise, Enterprise Alabama. Got my booth, thought to my self, Self, this is gonna be one easy set up, I will be done in 2 hours, as both EZ Up tents cracked during the EZ Up process, I found the only replacement would be Sams, in Dothan Alabama, an hour away. The quick set up that started at 8 am quickly ended at 6 pm after a trip to Dothan, and then a set up in the humid alabamy heat in the 450 acre field, could they be expecting THAT many people? Yep, and they would have arrived if it did not rain off and on, every time we put out merchandise on day one and day two. Day One the only busy sales time happened just as funnel clouds formed, and Grace Potter and the Nocturals hit the alternate stage, the one band I was desparetly looking forward to seeing - so I sold a few things, missed the first 30 minutes of the set, and quickly went to dance in the rain, and the thunder, and the flashes of lightening that was like a disco strobe - front row dancin, I realized, a girl dancing alone in the rain in Alabama is like if a man with 2 heads, one being a fish, and one being a monkey, came walking in your workplace with a pizza and a poem - super weird! So I continued to dance, but the band loved it, and a few cool kids (like late 40's, and a guy with a walker and a 'hell yeah' flag t shirt, and one hippie girl) rocked out the rest of the show with me. (BTW she rocks, I love her!) Worked the next few days watching 40,000 folks drink, swear, spit, and wave flags, and military men (and women) grunting, and cheering and challenging each other to physical feats of strength with pull ups and push ups, and Charlie Daniels led a rousing I pledge allegience, followed by all his USA hits, it was moving and fun, and I have to say, one of the nicest group of folks. Taylor Swift got totally rained out, but she played, and Chris Robinson and Black Crowes, and Alan Jackson, and a Miss Alabama wet t shirt contest, and a few couples mud wrestling for braggin' rights, ended with a Kid Rock performance, which actually was kinda fun, but made me miss Steph and Jason. They sure love to be cowboys in Alabama, and by this point all girls were wearing cowboy boots and short dresses, and the boys were wearing, well no shirts, just a bandana and/or rebel flag cross their head. Kid played over an hour past time, leavin out none of his 3 hits, nor allmans bros ramblin man, or lynerd skynerd, or a cool song called 'let you love shine' very gospel, or my favorite, one I have been thinking has been noodled by Jerry Garcia many times, Cat Scratch Fever! oh hell yeah! All and all it was fun and interesting, but when we went to leave out at midnight after, traffic was backed up for miles, with this being a military post, each car was tested for DUI, about half the 40,000 came by car, the rest camped onsite to avoid this. We finally got out at 3 am to sit in traffic and arrive at the hotel at 5:30 am as the sun came up, and just decided to drive home. Charleston SC - you never looked so good! Still wired from staying awake this long, 36 hours now, and not a good meal in days, I am looking forward to a night of steak, vegies, red wine and early to bed! Missed fishing this weekend with all my buddies in Fourchon LA though, but last year, I caught an 89 lb Wahoo, this year, I was not on the water, but I think I still managed to get a record setting WAHOO! bottom line though, I met so many nice, real, funny and happy people, who in this military town, give up their husbands, their sons/daughters, their hair, to go fight for our rights to be who we are, and that's a pretty big sacrifice that I sure do respect, and thank them all for. peace love and hell yeah, USA! sk

Blue Suede Shoes

Well, since I am temporarily semi-retired from the fishing tour, I found a new tour, a world I never knew existed, the pro BBQ tour, they got sponsors, and equipment, etc. Just coming home from Memphis and enjoyed an evening at BB Kings on Beale street before I got to get in the festival working zone of 7 am - midnight vending shoes and clothes at the world bbq competition. Over 285 teams compete, in all categories, whole hog, wings, bbq, etc. Saw the largest group of unhealthy people ever, they are professional eaters! The guy set up behind us, big guy, I hear his buddies come up to greet him and they say, man you are looking good, what are you weighing now, he aswered, well last weigh in was 508, they said, how are ya doing it, and he said, I cut calories to 1700 a day and walk 4 days a week, but I really don't think I can get any smaller! Yep.
The other side of memphis was a darker scene, lots of abondoned buildings, homeless and gangs everywhere. First night in after a brutal wait to get set up in the knee deep mud, we walked to Rendevous, an established bbq house recommended by a vetern of bbq and travel, basement of a building, underground, laid back staff, old black man comes up, come sit in my house, we gots bbq, brisket, and chicken, get one or all, you get cole slaw and beans, that's the choices babee, as he slaps down two waters, a picher of coke and a pitcher of beer-he was fun and nice, singing and telling jokes as the room (one of about 6 dining rooms) filled up. Def. the best bbq we had in a long time, if not ever, we thought about getting out early each night if it rained and going back for another meal, but the festival ran until midnight or later each night, so our one meal a day consisted of mc donalds all night drive through! Last day of the event, one of our customers brought us plates of food from her booth, and Rendevous quickly got replaced by the nice folks from Brandon MS, homemade potato salad and cole slaw that tasted as good as ice cream, and the ribs and brisket, man, literally, melted in your mouth, followed by perfectly seasoned pulled pork, we were in food heaven! Enjoyed my only 15 minute break of the festival, late sunday am, and walked along the mississippi, current was rippin, and I thought, I wonder how long on a tom sawyer raft, it would take this huckleberry to float all the way to venice lousianna, bbq for lunch, gumbo for dinner, in one of my favorite destinations in the world-hmmm, my calculations were interrupted by a huge train chugging across the bridge of the ole mississip, kinda cool, I love trains!
No Elvis sightings - boo hoo!

Funny Team Names:
sweet swine o' mine (won the 10,000 purse)
pork fiction
tangled up in que
rub me tender
the pig lebowski
pork illustrated
count basie and the porkestra

and my favorite
big al and the butt rubbers

First thing when I get home: (in order of imortance!)
nelson! miss him!
pedicure - 4 days in the mud, dirt, and heat standing
shower
vegetable!
extra sit ups and crunches, maybe a 2 h our spin class,
100 times on a wall- I will not go all the way to Memphis for a BBQ festival again
buy a map, maybe a GPS
(long story, very repetative, but lets just say I saw all of memphis, top, bottom, middle, industrial, suburbs, and half of mississippi-daily)

peace love and pigs!