So that's what
1988 was like. I had forgotten in all these
years.
So is
it a blessing or a curse? I guarantee you
no "professional" CBS correspondent
would be hanging out with the 13 year olds
playing videogames until one of their dads
drove them home. Just the thought of that
is ludicrous. But it's me. It's not that
I'm obscenely immature, it's just that
I relate to everyone. When
I hung out with the parents (some of
whom were literally months older than me)
I had no problem relating to them -
and when I was with the guys it was
no effort whatsoever to be a kid again. So
much so that they thought it was perfectly
acceptable to give me a titty twister
while I was playing guitar hero (not
on tape unfortunately) and I had some
choices to make....
I mean if
this ever happened to you as an adult...can you
imagine? Anyone in their 20s/30s go grab your friend's
niple and twist as hard as you can and see what
happens. But of course - they're 13. I could not
return the favor or do anything physical...but
I was not about to pull the boring adult: "OK
guys, we're getting a little too rough now". So
I had to be a bit smarter than a 13 year old. I
went into the bathroom and filled two cups with toilet
water (clean mind you, but still toilet water) and
unfortunately Josh (said twister) decides to hide
underneath the sink in the bar area which means he has
zero room to move. The rest of the group had no
trouble telling me exactly where he was and this kid
got doused, not once - but twice, in the face, curled
up in this cabinet with ice cold toilet water. I'm
still laughing as I type this in what may be the
funniest moment I've ever had as a 13 year old. 20
years late, yes, but at that moment I was 13
again. I believe I will call him "TW" from now
on.
So anyway,
today was the big day - all the shots of the
school, interviews with friends, teachers,
the boys having lunch. I was so jonesin' for
some 7th grade food but I was overruled.
Apparently that would look unprofessional. If
Jim only knew... The day continued with the
mayor giving them a plaque declaring April
27th "Crooked X Day" in Coweta... then taping
their rehearsal and a formal interview with
the band and some of the parents... needless
to say we got about 3 or 4 hours of footage
today. It's a 3 minute piece. A piece that
I'm not editing. :-)
Boomer's mother
rented Guitar Hero 2 for us so I had to stay
around for that. Unfortunately we couldn't get the
cheat codes to work to open up the later songs on
expert so we had no way of really "competing" on
anything, but needless to say - I kinda
whooped
on 'em.
It's so funny to me because it's the biggest loser
move in the world to take pride in beating a band that
rocks THIS hard...at a guitar VIDEOGAME.
I fully expected Forrest to grab his REAL guitar
and just wail in my face while I sat there with
my stupid fisher-price guitar with 5 big colorful
buttons on it.
Anyway, everyone
has been so welcoming. It really is wondeful for me to
go back east to any small town in this country because
it's home to me. Granted Coweta, and even Tulsa where
my hotel was at, is smaller than where I grew up
in Columbus - but it's a lot closer to home than
LA is. Wide open spaces, people with regular
jobs, people that say "pop". It was completely
relaxing for me to be in that atmosphere and
I have to wonder if I'll ever have the
opportunity to spend several months at a time in the
country. I still see that as being possible, but
only temporarily I"m afraid. Eventually I'm still
always drawn to the big cities and the entertainment
industries...but that lifestye I left behind
holds a place in my heart. Time will tell.
So tomorrow is the
big concert at the historic "Cain's Ballroom". Been
around for over 80 years. Every legendary rock group
has played there and later in June Crooked X will be
there again opening for Ted Nugent. Are these kids on
a roller coaster ride or what. Then Sunday they fly to
LA to meet with their multi-media managers on the
Sunset Strip? Crazy.
I'll bring my
still camera tomorrow and grab some shots so you know
who's who. It's about time for a big 'ol picture
entry...
