Brian on the Road Again

Here's the lowdown:

2009-08-31T21:36:00.003-05:00

Greeley, CO: It was pretty good. We came out with some money.

WARNING!!!! All downhill from here!

Cheyenne, WY: Sucked. After the overhead of hotel and food we came out with barely enough to get us to...

Lovington, NM: Man, this spot was GOOD! I mean, people were literally lined up waiting to get in because the tent was full. Only one problem - we got sloughed after the third day. For some reason the show didn't like us, so they told us pack up and leave. That cost us about two or three grand we stood to make at this spot. So we tried to salvage the weekend by going to...

Lubbock, TX: To work a flea market. We stayed for five nights in a motel populated by drug dealers and prostitutes (actually the folks were nice. just seedy) and worked a run-down flea market for two days. We got some money though. Back to the bad luck:

Dallas, TX: Worked the local market here. The good news is we got to stay for free at David's place. Bad news is only two days of work in this week. We did okay, though.

Denton, TX: North Texas State Fair. This spot was a total blank. If we had been farther from Dallas and needed a motel, we'd have been in the car by the third day. WORST FAIR EVER! Really. The layout was terrible, and the fair didn't draw people. David says in 55 years in the business he's never seen a fair this bad. And it's the worst by a long way. And nobody made money; it wasn't just us.

So here we are, resting up until we go to Belton, TX for the Central Texas State fair. It's only a three day fair, but David's played it before with the Chup (two years ago) and done pretty well. So maybe our luck will turn.

Other stuff: We got rid of Brenda after Cheyenne. Sent her home on a bus from Denver. Her drinking was becoming a problem for us. David's been sick on and off. He was pretty bad the last two weeks, but it seems some rest has gotten him back to his old self again. Since we got back to Dallas, I've been playing fiddle every day.

Well, now you're about caught up I guess. Sorry I don't have any photos to upload. My camera was AWOL for a bit, and the pictures I do have I can't put up until I get my own computer online. No WiFi here.

Until next time, wish us luck!

Not heart failure

2009-06-14T22:55:00.005-05:00

So David's doctor told him he did not have congestive heart failure after all. His only problem is that his blood pressure was fluctuating wildly, and that was causing his dizzy spells. The are planning to send him home tomorrow.

The market was as bad today as I had feared. We only grossed 180 bucks for the day, which is not nearly enough to justify a 400 mile round trip. Turns out David had confused this market with another nearby one, which really is a good one. He sent us to this one in error. It would be a little funny, if we didn't have to come home broke. We only netted 30 bucks on the trip. We still have our big season ahead of us, though, with some very big dates!

Here are some photos from OK; we were inside, so we set up the joint a little differently:

Some of the OK scenery on the way back:

And I also found this cool retro gum:

Oklahoma City

2009-06-13T16:37:00.003-05:00

We arrived (Brenda and I) in Oklahoma City today. We got to the market at noon, but the place was looking pretty dead. I decided not to spring for the rent for today just to play the afternoon on a slow day, so I paid for a spot for tomorrow. It's a very good spot; central location, on a corner, near concessions, and right under an A/C unit. If the market can draw enough people tomorrow, we should have a very good day. I'll post tomorrow night to tell y'all how business went.

S. David Walker Hospitalized

2009-06-13T03:00:00.000-05:00

For the last three days, David has been acting strangely. He's been having trouble balancing himself, and has been having dizzy spells and bouts of slurred speech. We finally convinced him to go to the VA hospital to be checked out. The doctor told us that he had some congestive heart failure, and has been having TIAs (transient ischemic attacks), which was causing the dizziness and slurred speech.

In consequence of this, I will be going to OK City without him to work the market we were planning to work. I'm bringing Brenda along. I'll be running the joint on my own, without David's help, while he is trying to get well in the hospital. I really hope he gets better, because we have a big season booked starting next weekend, and he will really want to go. I can't imagine how disappointed and angry he would be if he couldn't go.

If you pray, pray for him. If not, at least wish him a speedy recovery.

On a happier note, I finally got to see one of those famous Texas sunsets. Here's a photo for you, Jamie:

Well I'm off to bed. I am getting up in three hours to head to OK City. Wish me luck!

Some photos from my phone

2009-06-09T11:08:00.003-05:00

Brenda showing them the eye holes. When she talks, they stay inside, so people outside see a crowd and want to go in, too. Clever!

These folks are looking at the Chupacabra, the horrible monster animal. It survives by drinking the blood of the animals it kills.

Eric working the joint. He's a cool guy. He's 50 years old, tall as me (almost) with a 70's stash and a huge longboard. He goes surfing at the Gulf whenever there's a hurricane coming.

My first days in Dallas

2009-06-09T10:41:00.005-05:00

I arrived in Dallas at 10 AM on Sunday after staying up all night, and sleeping for an hour or two on the plane. We went to the Waffle House for breakfast (yum), then straight to the market to see the joint.

I tried my hand at giving the bally, which is to say talking to the people to convince them to come in, and I did very well. Turns out I have a talent for talking to people and getting them to hand over money! Who knew? I was only on the joint for a total of about 45 minutes, and in that time I grossed over 80 dollars. At a dollar a person, that means I got more than 80 people to pay to come inside our tent and see the Chup. If I can keep this pace up David and I will make plenty of money this season!

Last night David and I stayed up until 4 in the morning talking and telling stories. He has an amazing memory; I suspect he has total recall of everything he ever did! I have been recording some of the things we talk about, and if I can figure out how to get the files from my recorder to my computer, I will post something interesting for you folks to listen to.

Apropos posting media: I went out yesterday and bought a digital camera. I will be taking pictures of the joint to put up here so you folks can see what we do. I may also put up a picture of the hideous monster! (the Chupacabra, not David)

And away I go!

2009-06-07T04:04:00.003-05:00

I've been up all night. It's 5 am CT time. I'm in Middletown right now. In 6 hours I will be in Dallas on my way to my first day of work. We'll see if I can stay awake!

I'll be missing all you folks, but you can keep tabs on me here. Please keep in touch! I expect I'll be getting homesick in about a couple months. :)

I just can't wait to get on the road again.

2009-05-27T06:16:00.001-05:00

So here I go again. I'm 'bout ready to get out of here in search of more adventures on the road. I am very excited about the opportunity to work with David Walker. I expect to get a rare education; this man has been around for a long time and I know he has a lot of knowledge to pass on. He also has a Chupacabra, so there's that.

I have less than two weeks to get all my shit in order, and to see everyone I want to see before I go. Hopefully tonight will be my last night at Denny's and I can try and get on a normal person's sleep schedule.

Last time I went out on the road, I came back with some great stories. This time you can read them here. You may find some things about this kind of life interesting, and I promise a funny tale every now and again.