A right busy January

January is always usually my least favorite month of the year (no offense to those born in January)- mainly just because it feels like I'm being drug into the New Year and everything is a lull and slow and kind of depressing. This January has been quite different. So many things have transpired this month and I've been feeling very active, unlike the usual. For one thing- the band from church I'm in did a big show at the American Legion to over 200 people- our audience really loved us and we put on an Elvis Vegas style show. It has really gained momentum, and we have set up a website and are thinking about playing the Henrico Theater this summer. Also, I helped my sister Bonnie get all her stuff out of storage - something big, because its the kind of thing people always talk about doing, but never do until later, and certainly never in January! I have been really busy also working on scheduling for shows this year, and have been busy with my ministry. So its been a really fast moving month. I signed up with the temp agency, also , and have done unusual things like standing on the side of the road dressed up as Uncle Sam and waving to passers by.

I wonder what this year has in store. Although, I'm not sure I'll be going to Nashville this year, I do know I'll be travelling- mostly in the South and West. Im not sure if I'll make it as far as Hollywood- I'll be surprised if I get further west than the Mississippi. But I know I will be. I have been feeling pretty upbeat in a month when most people are feeling down.

Coffee Interview...

I had an interview this afternoon at Globehopper coffee. I felt really nervous because this girl interviewed me, and we were basically alone together. I felt awkward and very aware of myself. So I think I felt like a young kid again when I get this way. They asked me the basic drill sargeant questions- why do you wanna work here? What experience have you had and how did you fix bad problems at work... You don't want to lie, but you don't want to say you just want the job because you need extra money to make a new record. Anyways, I was honest and forthright. I can't picture myself working there. I was a tad late also to the interview which didn't help. It was on 21st and Main St downtown, and I had parked way back at 5th and Cary- I did need the exercise.

Later Gretchen and I went to Palani Drive- a neat vegetarian geared restaurant- where I had the chicken pesto wrap (they're not strict about the vegetarian angle) and she had the fish taco wrap. We left and went across the street to Joe's Market. The very kind hearted waitress noticed I had left my American Express card, and she ran across the street and into the store to give it to me. What a doll. At the market I got a chocolate chip cookie. Then later we went over to Target, where I gazed at electronics and bath mats. I went home and got sick of bargaining on ebay, and just went ahead and bought a digital camera. Its a nice one and a great price- a GE 8 MG with 3x optical zoom. I think if you're gonna bid on ebay as high as they were going, mine as well buy one. I saved time that way.

Tracing my American Indian Heritage...

I have found out that I am not directly related to Pocohantas as I had thought- but there are other possibilities I may still have American Indian heritage, and also still be blood related to Pocohantas. I had thought Richard Kidder Meade was my great great great great great grandfather- and his wife Jane Randolph was my great great great great great grandmother- a direct descendant of John Rolfe and Pocohantas' son. Yet I find that we actually are descended through his brother- my great great great great great grandfather Captain Everard Meade- who through the Skelton line- was Marianne O. Meade's great great grandfather, the wife of Dr. John Gifford Skelton of Powhatan and Richmond respectively. It all gets very confusing, but as I was reading I also read that Marianne O. Meades' (my great great great grandmother) mother was a Hardaway- and the Hardaway family came over in about 1630- one of the very first families of Virginia, who are indeed blood relatives of Pocohantas. My Great Great Great Grandaddy Skelton first married Thomas Jefferson's granddaughter- Charlotte Randolph. Then he married Marianne O. Meade, Thomas Jefferson's neice. Thats where my family comes through. Also my great great grandmother Lucy C. Landrum of Little Rock, Arkansas, has a good chance of being Cherokee descent- since the Landrum family of Arkansas appears heavily in the book of Cherookee families. The Landrums were heavy populated in the deeper South as well- Mississippi and Tennessee. The Landrums, and Edmonsons of that region, are where most of my Scottish ancestory comes from.

Either way, doing family research was very interesting. I discovered my grandfather William James Gilman, III, had lineage that rivals the Skeltons in Richmond. His Gilman ancestors came over in the early 1600s and were part of the Queens Rangers, settled in Hanover, and later in Richmond in the late 1600s- almost 120 years before the Skeltons settled the Richmond area. Also, Governer Wingfield, also comes through my grandfathers line. Edward Maria Wingfield was the first Governer of Virginia. On my grandmothers side- the Meade family came from Ireland and settled in Nansemond County- near Suffolk. There they built a plantation. The daughter in law of Andrew Meade of Ireland- my direct line- was Sussanah Everard of North Carolina- her father was Governer of North Carolina. The Everards are direct descendants of King Edward, III. Anyways, one of her sons was my great great great great great grandfather- Captain Everard Meade, who settled in Ameilia Count. He was Aide de Campe of General Lincoln during the Revolution. His brother- Richard Kidder Meade- was my great great great great great Unlce, who is of the famous Meades of Clarke County, Virginia. They built "Lucky Hit"- his son was Bishop of Virginia, David Meade. And his wife- the famous Jane Randolph. Anyways, thats how it all works out. Either way you slice it, my family has been in Virginia a right long time.

Aunt Alice makes the Headlines !

Well- sort of. But I was real surprised when I found this video-article on her service for the Red Cross for over 65 years. She's actually my Great Aunt (Granddady's sister) and she is from Richmond, but has lived in Wilmington for quite awhile now.

http://www.wwaytv3.com/video/local_woman_volunteers_for_65_years/12

We finished moving Bonnie's stuff out of storage. She is all cleaned out. We ate at "Food For Thought" in Williamsburg where I had a grilled chicken sandwich and we split a piece of rasberry chocolate cake for dessert topped with vanilla ice cream. It was right chilly today. We had just enough energy left to finish up, and we took most of her stuff to the thrift shop. Later we got a coke at the Coffee Beanery and then took the rest of the stuff home.

Today marked 10 years for us in Richmond. We left our Loudoun County home and moved in on January 21st, 1998. Hard to believe its been that long. It was a Wednesday and I took Catharine down and we got locked out of the house, so we had a boxed lunch from Sally Belle's Kitchen. Then I called Charlie from Charlie's Lock Shop to get us in. The house was empty and we slept on the floor til the movers came the next day . Its been quite a decade here. I have a feeling the Richmond chapter of my life, is coming to an end soon- but not a complete end. Just a change some place else. Not sure yet where that might be.

Remembering Catherine..

My grandmother died 3 years ago today. We went out to Hollywood cemetery to visit her grave site. She had a remarkable personality and had a very strong impact on my life. I remember her fondly- as she was also my Godmother and instructed in my Christian faith. Even before I became a Christian, I felt drawn to the stories in the Bible and the Christian poems she would read to me every morning before I went to school. She would pray every morning, and read something from Guideposts or Daily Word. James Dillet Freeman was her favorite poet. She also filled a void in our lives. After mom died, she came to live with us in the house in Sterling. She was very charming and everyone was intrigued by her wherever we went. I liked having her around being she was mom's mom, and I liked her stories about old Richmond and the Skelton family and how she would visit her cousins in Ashland and go riding and how my great great granddaddy Skelton went out to Arkansas looking for mica mines and fell in love with Lucy C. Landrum- a really rough and tumble gal who rode horse astride and not sidesaddle. That kind of stuff you only read in books. If there ever was definition of a Southern Belle- Catharine was it. She was very creative also. Made her own clothes, and was an incredible artist- her paintings very remeniscient of Grandma Moses.

I went to church this morning, and later this afternoon for an ordination service. We ate out at the New York Deli tonight. I had the tuna melt with fries and a coke. Boy, was it cold! We then walked around Carytown. Gretchen was bumped by a car that didnt truly stop at a stop light. Luckily not going more than 1 mile and hour, yet it kept going and kind of pushed her over. She didnt fall but the car didnt really stop or check to see if we were okay. Then we went to Walgreen's and later Kroger's- where I got a sweet tea and a piece of candy.

I'm tired and should rest soon. Tomorrow we're helping Bonnie clear the rest of the stuff out of her storage unit. I sold my old gooseneck mic stand. I shouldn't do business on a Sunday, but I'm sure the Lord won't mind.

Happy Birthday, General Lee !

Well today is Robert E. Lee's birthday. He was a true hero and a man of honor. He would be 201-years-young today. Born January 19th, 1807, in Stratford Hall, near Fredericksburg. I'm really honored to be related to him- even though its indirectly. Yesterday we helped Bonnie get a lot of stuff out of storage. We got rid of most stuff and took it to the thrift store. Some we brought home, and I might put some on ebay. We ate at Retro's - a neat kind of 50's Diner in downtown Williamsburg , where i had a cheeseburger and fries and a coke. The hamburger was nice and not too greasy. After we finished the second haul, we stopped at the Coffee Beanery and got a drink. I was really impressed with what we did yesterday. Bonnie will save an extra 80$ a month. We were gonna go over today to finish the last, but they're calling for a little winter weather, so we'll wait til Monday to finish up. The nurse came over this morning and gave Aunt Virginia a bath. She sure needed one. The renactors will be honoring Lee-Jackson Day on Monument Ave. An armed guard walks around Jackson's statue and they put a wreath on Lee's monument. Im very happy they still do that. The South will prevail !

Its a Cashmere Jungle Lord World out there !

I went with Gretchen downtown to Bottom's Up Pizza tonight to catch Dominic Carpin and his band. It was just him and another guy and they were playing duo sets. I couldn't really hear all that well because it was a little muffled, but what I sounded was pretty neat. He does a lot of Rockabilly/Surfabilly style guitar and songs by Buddy Holly and that kind of thing, which I really dig. So later, I didn't have time to talk to him, but just waved. We had the crabmeat pizza which was totally delicious as usual. It was really rainy and we wanted dessert. The coffeeshop was closed, so we went to Baker's Crust. We had the chocolate Mousse and split that. I just had water and no coke. Josh McDaniel was our waiter. I was kinda surprised to see him there. He goes to Tabernacle Baptist church, and has come a long way. So I wished him luck. We went home later . Mosby wanted another walk so I took him out in the rain. Luckily it wasn't too bad. Someone left their hat and cell phone at the restaurant. We gave them to the manager. I hope they don't forget to come back for them.

Life throws you lemons.....

And you make lemon mirange pie!
Well today was just about average. Aunt Virginia is adjusting to life again outside of the hospital, and we are trying to cook meals for her so she can really follow her diet. She uses her cane most of the time, even for walking down the hallway. But its probably for the best. At least she is talking. I walked to the Post Office and mailed the Bowling Shirt I sold on ebay. I went to choir practice tonight and we had a smattering of what we usually do. But it was fun. Then later, I felt a strong urge for some candy, so I went to Kroger's and got Altoids dipped in chocolate. I think I may have a job interview next week at a coffeeshop downtown, but I'm not sure. The temp agency called about a job as a waver where you stand in a costume and wave to people, but its in Colonial Heights- which is 20 miles away, and if you take into account gas money and such with the rate of pay, I would only break even.

I'm sure another job will come along soon. Right now Im trying to book far ahead this year at fairs and festivals. I think I would like to play the Strawberry Festival up in Deleplane, and maybe the Peanut Festival also in Suffolk.

Viva Varina !

We had our show last night at the American Legion out in Varina. Its a little bit out in the country off of Rt. 5 , just east of Richmond. The building wasn't too large, but the acoustics were not bad at all. Most places like that have the worst sound in the world. We got to church before 10 in the AM and then loaded the stuff out there. After we all set up and did a sound check, we got something to eat at Portabella's where I ordered a club sandwich. We talked about church and music, and doing more shows as a band together. That evening, we had a great turn out- around 200 people. We did a set as the Meadow Street Band- which includes some Linda Rondsat tunes that Terry likes to sing, a few by Ron, and some of my originals. I also did "San Antonio Rose". Then during intermission, Ron Simmons changed into his Elvis costume. When he came back someone hit the button and played the theme from 2001:Space Oddessy. We kicked off into "CC Rider" and did a string of Elvis' hits- mainly the ones he sang at his Vegas Style "Aloha from Hawaii" show. Ron was really good as Elvis and the crowd ate it up. We even had a fog machine going. During "Love Me Tender" he went out to the audience- most of them who were blue haired older ladies, really about to explode- and gave them roses and such and did the things Elvis would do. One of his side burns' fell off when he came back to stage, and our guest bass player, Bobby, stepped on it as if to kill it for effect, and the audience thought it was right funny. So we finally ended on a bang with CC Rider, and Larry the Drummer took us home. We had a great time. Then we had to pack up everything and head back to church. I talked to Mrs. McGraw for a little bit about her farm in Hanover County. After it was over, we locked up and went home. I hope to do more stuff with the Meadow Street Band. The agent who booked us was really impressed, and is going to try to get us a gig this summer at the Henrico Theater.

This morning I did "Shall We Gather By The River" as a church solo. I was so tired and didnt have much voice, but several folks came up and thought my delivery on it was something nice, because it sounded really from the heart. Aunt Virginia is in the hospital. She has a yeast infection. Its not too serious, but because shes diabetic, they want to keep her in a few days to run more tests. She seems upbeat , though. Some times she can't talk.

I hit a pickup truck today....

I was riding my bike down Floyd Ave going to the Post Office. I looked back of me because I felt my saddlebags might be slipping and then I ran into a parked pick up truck and bounced right off of it. I scraped my right hand pretty bad and it was all bloody but no major damage. The pick up was okay. My basket bent all out of shape , though. I had to walk it home and wash stuff off. The package got blood on it so I had to put it in another one. It was a book I'm mailing for an amazon.com order. So anyways, I rode back and mailed it. Then I picked up Gretchen from downtown I didn't do much else. Last night we rehearsed for the big show at The American Legion tommorrow. We're having a big production with lights and a fog machine and all. Ron Simmons does a pretty good Elvis. I think this band is not a drag like the other ones felt like. Its the right thing for me at this time.

Happy Elvis Day

Today was Elvis's Birthday- at least it was- now its not. But anyways, I didn't do a whole lot today. I did mail a white dinner jacket I sold on ebay. Its a jacket I wore in "Not That Lucky" Music video. Kind of a collector's item, you might say. I sold it for 12$- and that included the shipping. Not a great sale, but it is a 45-year-old jacket. I really am gonna miss her, but it will be awhile again before I can fit back into a 42 regular, and I can always get another one later on.

A couple came by to get a dog crate- the old one we had for Mosby. I sold that on Craigslists. I can't decide which is better. On one hand, craiglists is much easier. You don't have to pay for shipping and they come right to your door. On the downside- complete strangers who could be psycopaths come right to your door.Also since its not a constant bidding site, there is not as quick a response. Although, I have had things that didn't sell at all twice on ebay. Also I like craigslists, because they don't charge. Also people post free give away stuff- like these boxes I got yesterday off of Plumb Street. They were helpful to saving money . So far, on craigslist, I've sold a tape machine, my old yellow Yamaha Electric Guitar CA. 1991, a dog crate, a beat up autoharp, and 2 coats. I hope I can keep going with this. It does help. Every bit of money does. I have been rummaging through the basement thinking of old clothes I can sell- some clothes I know I'll never wear again- I'm just not built to wear anything in a "medium". I keep the large shirts, though because they kinda are fitting now- although I still have at least 30 more lbs before they will be nice and roomy on me.

I went to Target tonight to get a black dress shirt for the show. Only 13$ We're doing an Elvis Tribute Show with the Meadow Street Band. Tickets have been sold out. It will be at the American Legion out in Varina. We're also doing some of the Meadow Street Band songs (my own) so it shall be a fun time. And just in time to celebrate King Elvis' Birthday!

San Antonio Rose...

I did this number and put it up on youtube. I love singing Western Swing numbers. Its probably my most favorite Country song ever to sing. The lyrics are so perfect.




Deep within my heart lies a melody.. A song of 'ol San Antone
Where in dreams I live with a memory, beneath the stars all alone
Well, it was there I found beside the Alamo, enchantment strange as the blue up above
O'er that moonlit path that only she would know , still hears my broken song of love

Moon in all your splendor known only to my heart, call back my rose, rose of San Antone Lips so sweet and tender like pedals fallin' apart, speak once again of my love my own. Broken song, empty words I know, still live in my heart all alone. O'er that moonlit path by the Alamo and rose my rose of San Antone..


Brilliant !

Hats off to Mr Bob Wills!

2nd First Night Williamsburg

It was alright this year, but I think last year was a better location. They put me over in the University Center in the James Room- which looks right much like a conference room, because it basically is one, and it didn't do much for me. I didn't get inspired enough by the atmosphere. I'm not a big fan of New Years'. Its just a silly excuse for people to drink and such. Anyways, I played okay for 2 sets- mainly I didn't have more than 20 people I don't think. I shared the room with Greg and Maggie Cagno who came from Pennsylvania. They were pretty good. I had no complaints except one person who thought the mix wasn't very good. There really wasn't much I could do over that. Shane Cooley came over in between sets with his mom to see how I was doing, so after I wrapped my last show , I went over to see him play. He got a better deal over in the the Campus Center building which was in the dining hall and painted cool green and artwork- which gave much more flavor and the acoustics were great. I only caught his last two songs. We talked about Nashville and he was just there a week before I was this past summer. He has a new record coming out soon. But he's already done a lot and hes almost 8 years younger than I am. After that, I just kinda went back and grabbed my keyboard amp and headed home. I had to go through a DUI check . They just asked for my license.

I'm glad to be home. I saw fireworks as I drove down Floyd Ave. They probably were coming from Byrd Park. All in all- it was just okay for me. They did have a lot of folks, but my set wasn't packed at all. The duo had a packed audience.