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by John » Mon Jul 03, 2023 06:05 pm
We've been going through quite a drought here with heat just short of 100. Missouri is always either cold or hot and I hate playing outdoors in this heat, but the money is so good it's hard to pass up. Saturday we played outdoors in Kansas City. Hot as it was it threatened rain the whole time. At one point we were playing to a rainbow and watching lightning off to the east. During break I texted home and Cheri said it was storming with heavy rain, thunder and lightning...but it wasn't doing anything in Kansas City...yet.
After 10:00, it started sprinkling so we started our encore song a little early. By time the song was over, it was raining. My amplifier and most of the electronics were under cover...but I wasn't. I was stuck in a light rain until it was over. Most of the equipment stayed dry, but not me. It was a long and complicated song and I kept trying to think how to cut it short but I really didn't know how without causing what we call a "train wreck". Anyway, we finished.
Tuesday I'm outside again. No rain predicted but the forecast is sunny and 98. Jobs like that are really tough on me but the money is so good, it's really hard to refuse. At least we're not playing the State Fair this year. The State Fair is always miserably hot and dusty and you have to be there putting on shows all day long. Half the time it storms before the night is over. Again, the money is great but it's miserable work. One of the last times I did it, I got so hot I started getting sick. I wasn't sure I'd get through one of the sets but I was dumb and determined to work my way through it. Oddly, before the set was over, I started feeling better. The breaks are 2 hours long and I made the mistake of wandering around the fair, which I think is what got me sick. Most of the breaks I spent sitting under the big tent playing chess on the phone. Anyway, I insisted I'm not doing that this year. John