Touring

I'm writing this from a motel in Chanute, KS. Yesterday I had performances in Garnett, Gridley and LeRoy, today I'll be at the libraries in Chanute and Parsons. I left my good harmonica in the library in Gridley, but Janet has promised to mail it back to me. Fortunately I have a spare in the car.

I like these tours, several days of performances in different places. I like visiting small towns, hanging out with kids at the libraries. Every library is decorated differently for the summer theme.

I have big chunks of time in between performances or afterward, where I'm at loose ends. I often don't know anybody in the area other than the librarians. I walk around the town, I take books to read, I always have my journal, I can play games on my Palm, and of course I can write this blog. I take myself out to eat--Mexican restaurants are often a good bet, Chinese can be iffy, a regular hamburger in the local cafe is usually just fine, especially if I can get a good piece of pie (none so far on this trip). Unless there's a fancy coffee place around, I get my breakfast coffee at McDonalds, I confess, because they have real half and half and the coffee is usually strong enough.

In the motel, I find myself fascinated by the TV, because at home I don't have cable and don't often pull the TV out of the closet. Click, another reality show, click, there are the Golden Girls again, click, intense men with twitching jaws in crime dramas, click, a woman sobbing into her pillow, click, cartoons, click, shopping galore, click, off, maybe it's time for a nap.

More later.