Stuck Inside of Hickory with the Durham Blues Again
Have you ever had one of those weekends were everything is going perfectly...but then all of a sudden things take a sudden turn for the worst? Everyone probably has, but how well you deal with the sudden turn of events might depend on your attributional style, a little smidgen of fortune, and a "this sucks now, but that's what memories are made of" outlook.
Possibility One: You are a strong believer that things happen for a reason. You believe in destiny and fate. When things go awry you tell yourself that this was what was meant to be and quite honestly things could be much worse (you better believe they always can)
Possibility Two: You are a cynic. You believe that the universe operates by way of a series of random events that sometimes unfold in just a way that work in your favor. But most of the time it's a case of "wrong time, wrong place." Life's a bitch...
I'm not sure which category I fall under, and I suppose I probably sway back and forth between the two outlooks. But here's a recap of one such unplanned turn of events:
The weekend started off just fine. My husband and I had planned to attend two concerts by two amazing singer-songwriters out of Nashville-Jim Lauderdale and Darrell Scott. Both of these songwriters have written bunches of songs for county "stars", if you will. George Jones, Garth Brooks, Travis Tritt, the Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill-you know the powerhouses of Country music. I will admit I don't care for many of the aforementioned performers, (except for maybe George Jones & the Dixie Chicks) and I won't go into the reason why any more than I view most of them as flat and artificial who may be decent performers, but who lack the talent of songwriting and musicianship that I, as a listener, greedily demand from my faves. Anyway, these two guys have those qualities, so when we heard they were each playing on a Saturday and Sunday, we were there. The Acoustic Stage out of Hickory, NC, a worthy non profit organizations who bring quality americana & roots music to a small intimate venue called the Fireman's Kitchen, deserves a plug here.
Anyway, after debating about accommodations, we decided we would camp instead of forking money out on a hotel. I will tell you this- hotel costs are unreasonable in my opinion. I remember when you could get a fairly clean and decent room for about $40. You're lucky these days to find a Motel 6 that costs less than that. Nonetheless, we decided that the weather outlook was good for camping, and being the avid outdoorspeople that my husband are, we decided to try out a campground that was recommended by a friend of my husband's. So we started off and had a pleasant drive towards the foothills of western NC. I always love that drive as you see the landscape gently changing from hills, to bigger hills and off in the distance the tiny mountains that will give way to larger ones the farther west you travel. When we arrived at the campground in Moravian Falls we decided it was not what we expected. Mind you , the referral came from a person who had only camped in this campground during Merlefest (bluegrass festival extraoridinare) which probably beckons a different clientele that what we observed at the campground. After a quick tour of the spots and the too close for comfort neighbors that would surround the site, we decided to head back to some state parks we had camped at before that offer a little more seclusion and wilderness. We stop first at Bandits Roost and after some communication problems with the gatekeeper, (I asked if there were any sites available which to her ears must have sounded like a foreign language because I had to repeat myself 2 more times and I'm pretty sure I spoken clearly enough) we decided to go over to Warriors Creek instead to camp because it would be a little closer to the concert venue. We set up camp on our own private wing and pray that no one else will arrive and choose a site right next to ours so we will continue having privacy & peace. All of this goes in our favor. Sure, Plan A didn't work out, but we quickly and smoothly transitioned to Plan B which seemed to be an Authentic, Genuine This is the Way It Was Meant to Be moment.
We attend Concert #1 and have a great time. Before the concert we hit the closest bar. It's called McGuires, a good Irish name, but were sorely disappointed that they did not have anything good on draft. When I go out for beer, I want a nice selection of draft beer. I can sit home & drink bottled beer, and rarely touch a can. And what's an Irish named bar that doesn't serve Guinness on tap? So we each have one bottle of beer but leave to find greener pastures. That's when the Olde Hickory Tap Room enters the picture. There were about 20 beers on tap and an extensive wine and liquour collection too. We both have a Guinness, and my husband gets a double shot of Powers Gold Irish Whiskey-this impresses the bartender because they apparently don't get too many orders for it, and we actually have rarely found this whiskey to be available at most bars we have frequented so we're impressed too. After getting warmed up with whiskey and beer we go over to the venue. We have a great table right in front of the stage. They're are beverages for sale, I'll take a Sam Adams thank you very much, could be better, but could be worse (that's the beer snob in me talking, I can't be held responsible). Jim entertains us in his rhinestone cowboy outfit befitting the finest Nashville cat. Jim plays my request too, and puts on a very heart felt performance. Things are good.
We wake up the next morning to our quiet campground and have a very lazy day. Finally it's time to check out of the campground and head over towards the concert. We stop for drinks and end up ordering dinners because the waitress brings us bread that probably only comes with dinner and to avoid the embarrassment we decided to order entrees instead of appetizers. The restaurant is situated on a lake and has a Key West theme. Jimmy Buffett is the only thing playing over the speakers. I like Jimmy, and the atmosphere is nice. We get Sunset Margaritas, shrimp and skirt steak, and key lime pie for dessert. If I had know then what I knew would happen now, I would not have splurged on the expensive dinner. But I cannot foresee the future, so we are merrily on our way back to the Olde Hickory Tap Room for Hickory Stick Stouts and more Powers Gold. Maybe it was because we would not give any money to the panhandler in the park, but for some reason Karma doled out a little kink in our otherwise pleasant weekend a little later. My husband pulls the car into a spot in a parking garage to take a whizz-(he has the smallest bladder for a man) and it doesn't sound like the car is running anymore. When we go to pull out the car is obviously not running anymore. Then we crank the key and it just won't turn over. The other problem is the key will not come out of the ignition. Ok, time to talk though the dilemma. We've had the key get stuck before, so maybe in time it will eventually come out and the car will start up. The optimist view. Worse case scenario, oh, we won't go there yet. We have a show to attend. So we leave the car and lock it up because I have a spare key to get us back in. We enjoy the music of course. Darrell Scott is a phenomenal song writer. He has such an uncanny knack for telling stories in song that cut through to your heart and soul. Check him out if you ever get a chance, because I can't say enough great things about his spirit and talent. We run into a couple that we have known for years, but haven't seen in several. I have to admit, I'm not feeling very social at this point, but somehow get through the conversation about our kids. I feel bad I can't devote any of my charming self into this interchange, but I have other pressing things on my mind.
Our friends end up taking us to hotel for the night. They live out of town too, and offered the best they could and we are grateful for the ride. We check into the hotel and try our best to enjoy what's left of the weekend. The Blues Brothers are on, so we get by watching that. Sleep, sleep, and many dreams about my car. In one the key comes out but is found to be broken, so all we have to do is use my key to start the car and we're on our way. Wake up to face the day. Ok, first take advantage of continental breakfast, then take cab back to the car secretly hoping the key will come out and the problem will be miraculously fixed. Wishful thinking of course, so we call the tow truck. It's an interesting study to observe people who pass by when you're experiencing car problems. You have the ones who walk by real fast without looking at you as if you are a pariah. Then you have those that just stare, like you've never seen a hood open before? And then there are the sweet and helpful ladies who offer jumper cables, or the men who think they know how to fix the problem but when they find out the key is stuck in the ignition they realize it is beyond their "know-how". Thanks for your concern, but Skeet's Wrecker Service is on its way (no kidding about the name). Even Skeet tries to get the key out, but it won't budge. We get a ride to the dealership with Dear Prudence in tow(my name for my car, I think everyone should name their car by the way, they have personality). The dealership people are real nice, (the advantage of breaking down in a nice small town instead of a big Northeast city for example). Wanda with the big hair & cigarette hanging out of her mouth tells us they will look at her in 10 minutes. So we sit in the lobby watching Little House on the Prairie and King of the Hill reruns on the TV. I read O magazine. I have never read it before, and it's filled with Dr. "I call 'em like I see 'em" Phil advice. Finally we get the verdict, it's just a blown fuse. The fuse kit costs $2.62, but we leave the dealership about $120.00 in hole after diagnostics and labor. I guess it could be worse, so I thank whatever forces are at work here and take off towards home. This of course does not end the saga. Being that we are on a very tight budget, especially at the end of the month, and I hadn't really factored in the $70 hotel stay, the $10 cab ride back to the car, the $85 tow and the $120 car repair so needless to say my checking account balance is at -$300.00 until payday on Friday after all the insufficient funds and overdraft fees the bank so happily assesses when you spend money you don't really have. I have begged Wanda not to send my check through, but it was too late by the time I called her and she was so sweet about everything even though I appear to be a deadbeat who writes bad checks. So I might be looking at even more fees, either from my bank who may or may not allow the check to go through, or by the dealership who will charge a return check fee if my bank bounces the check back. This is what you get for not have a savings account-I spent that all on my new house and stuff to fill it up with. Or not having an emergency credit card, which I incidentally have, but guess what? it's maxed out. Needless to say, I'm not that good with money. Well, I take that back, I'm great at spending it, but not so good at managing it.
I could be real bitter at this point, but for some reason I don't feel too bad. Believe me this is real progress. I usually am the one who likes to feel sorry for herself when bad things happen, oh woe is me! Or I might just feel grouchy and fatalistic. But not today. So, am I adhering to Possibility One or Possibility Two? I guess I would have to say that yeah, things went so smoothly and things happened to fall into place for most of the weekend. Yeah, maybe it was just bad luck that my car broke down, but it could have been worse. All in all, I'm here today, Dear Prudence is up and running again, and I will have money again on Friday. Not a bad weekend afterall.
Possibility One: You are a strong believer that things happen for a reason. You believe in destiny and fate. When things go awry you tell yourself that this was what was meant to be and quite honestly things could be much worse (you better believe they always can)
Possibility Two: You are a cynic. You believe that the universe operates by way of a series of random events that sometimes unfold in just a way that work in your favor. But most of the time it's a case of "wrong time, wrong place." Life's a bitch...
I'm not sure which category I fall under, and I suppose I probably sway back and forth between the two outlooks. But here's a recap of one such unplanned turn of events:
The weekend started off just fine. My husband and I had planned to attend two concerts by two amazing singer-songwriters out of Nashville-Jim Lauderdale and Darrell Scott. Both of these songwriters have written bunches of songs for county "stars", if you will. George Jones, Garth Brooks, Travis Tritt, the Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill-you know the powerhouses of Country music. I will admit I don't care for many of the aforementioned performers, (except for maybe George Jones & the Dixie Chicks) and I won't go into the reason why any more than I view most of them as flat and artificial who may be decent performers, but who lack the talent of songwriting and musicianship that I, as a listener, greedily demand from my faves. Anyway, these two guys have those qualities, so when we heard they were each playing on a Saturday and Sunday, we were there. The Acoustic Stage out of Hickory, NC, a worthy non profit organizations who bring quality americana & roots music to a small intimate venue called the Fireman's Kitchen, deserves a plug here.
Anyway, after debating about accommodations, we decided we would camp instead of forking money out on a hotel. I will tell you this- hotel costs are unreasonable in my opinion. I remember when you could get a fairly clean and decent room for about $40. You're lucky these days to find a Motel 6 that costs less than that. Nonetheless, we decided that the weather outlook was good for camping, and being the avid outdoorspeople that my husband are, we decided to try out a campground that was recommended by a friend of my husband's. So we started off and had a pleasant drive towards the foothills of western NC. I always love that drive as you see the landscape gently changing from hills, to bigger hills and off in the distance the tiny mountains that will give way to larger ones the farther west you travel. When we arrived at the campground in Moravian Falls we decided it was not what we expected. Mind you , the referral came from a person who had only camped in this campground during Merlefest (bluegrass festival extraoridinare) which probably beckons a different clientele that what we observed at the campground. After a quick tour of the spots and the too close for comfort neighbors that would surround the site, we decided to head back to some state parks we had camped at before that offer a little more seclusion and wilderness. We stop first at Bandits Roost and after some communication problems with the gatekeeper, (I asked if there were any sites available which to her ears must have sounded like a foreign language because I had to repeat myself 2 more times and I'm pretty sure I spoken clearly enough) we decided to go over to Warriors Creek instead to camp because it would be a little closer to the concert venue. We set up camp on our own private wing and pray that no one else will arrive and choose a site right next to ours so we will continue having privacy & peace. All of this goes in our favor. Sure, Plan A didn't work out, but we quickly and smoothly transitioned to Plan B which seemed to be an Authentic, Genuine This is the Way It Was Meant to Be moment.
We attend Concert #1 and have a great time. Before the concert we hit the closest bar. It's called McGuires, a good Irish name, but were sorely disappointed that they did not have anything good on draft. When I go out for beer, I want a nice selection of draft beer. I can sit home & drink bottled beer, and rarely touch a can. And what's an Irish named bar that doesn't serve Guinness on tap? So we each have one bottle of beer but leave to find greener pastures. That's when the Olde Hickory Tap Room enters the picture. There were about 20 beers on tap and an extensive wine and liquour collection too. We both have a Guinness, and my husband gets a double shot of Powers Gold Irish Whiskey-this impresses the bartender because they apparently don't get too many orders for it, and we actually have rarely found this whiskey to be available at most bars we have frequented so we're impressed too. After getting warmed up with whiskey and beer we go over to the venue. We have a great table right in front of the stage. They're are beverages for sale, I'll take a Sam Adams thank you very much, could be better, but could be worse (that's the beer snob in me talking, I can't be held responsible). Jim entertains us in his rhinestone cowboy outfit befitting the finest Nashville cat. Jim plays my request too, and puts on a very heart felt performance. Things are good.
We wake up the next morning to our quiet campground and have a very lazy day. Finally it's time to check out of the campground and head over towards the concert. We stop for drinks and end up ordering dinners because the waitress brings us bread that probably only comes with dinner and to avoid the embarrassment we decided to order entrees instead of appetizers. The restaurant is situated on a lake and has a Key West theme. Jimmy Buffett is the only thing playing over the speakers. I like Jimmy, and the atmosphere is nice. We get Sunset Margaritas, shrimp and skirt steak, and key lime pie for dessert. If I had know then what I knew would happen now, I would not have splurged on the expensive dinner. But I cannot foresee the future, so we are merrily on our way back to the Olde Hickory Tap Room for Hickory Stick Stouts and more Powers Gold. Maybe it was because we would not give any money to the panhandler in the park, but for some reason Karma doled out a little kink in our otherwise pleasant weekend a little later. My husband pulls the car into a spot in a parking garage to take a whizz-(he has the smallest bladder for a man) and it doesn't sound like the car is running anymore. When we go to pull out the car is obviously not running anymore. Then we crank the key and it just won't turn over. The other problem is the key will not come out of the ignition. Ok, time to talk though the dilemma. We've had the key get stuck before, so maybe in time it will eventually come out and the car will start up. The optimist view. Worse case scenario, oh, we won't go there yet. We have a show to attend. So we leave the car and lock it up because I have a spare key to get us back in. We enjoy the music of course. Darrell Scott is a phenomenal song writer. He has such an uncanny knack for telling stories in song that cut through to your heart and soul. Check him out if you ever get a chance, because I can't say enough great things about his spirit and talent. We run into a couple that we have known for years, but haven't seen in several. I have to admit, I'm not feeling very social at this point, but somehow get through the conversation about our kids. I feel bad I can't devote any of my charming self into this interchange, but I have other pressing things on my mind.
Our friends end up taking us to hotel for the night. They live out of town too, and offered the best they could and we are grateful for the ride. We check into the hotel and try our best to enjoy what's left of the weekend. The Blues Brothers are on, so we get by watching that. Sleep, sleep, and many dreams about my car. In one the key comes out but is found to be broken, so all we have to do is use my key to start the car and we're on our way. Wake up to face the day. Ok, first take advantage of continental breakfast, then take cab back to the car secretly hoping the key will come out and the problem will be miraculously fixed. Wishful thinking of course, so we call the tow truck. It's an interesting study to observe people who pass by when you're experiencing car problems. You have the ones who walk by real fast without looking at you as if you are a pariah. Then you have those that just stare, like you've never seen a hood open before? And then there are the sweet and helpful ladies who offer jumper cables, or the men who think they know how to fix the problem but when they find out the key is stuck in the ignition they realize it is beyond their "know-how". Thanks for your concern, but Skeet's Wrecker Service is on its way (no kidding about the name). Even Skeet tries to get the key out, but it won't budge. We get a ride to the dealership with Dear Prudence in tow(my name for my car, I think everyone should name their car by the way, they have personality). The dealership people are real nice, (the advantage of breaking down in a nice small town instead of a big Northeast city for example). Wanda with the big hair & cigarette hanging out of her mouth tells us they will look at her in 10 minutes. So we sit in the lobby watching Little House on the Prairie and King of the Hill reruns on the TV. I read O magazine. I have never read it before, and it's filled with Dr. "I call 'em like I see 'em" Phil advice. Finally we get the verdict, it's just a blown fuse. The fuse kit costs $2.62, but we leave the dealership about $120.00 in hole after diagnostics and labor. I guess it could be worse, so I thank whatever forces are at work here and take off towards home. This of course does not end the saga. Being that we are on a very tight budget, especially at the end of the month, and I hadn't really factored in the $70 hotel stay, the $10 cab ride back to the car, the $85 tow and the $120 car repair so needless to say my checking account balance is at -$300.00 until payday on Friday after all the insufficient funds and overdraft fees the bank so happily assesses when you spend money you don't really have. I have begged Wanda not to send my check through, but it was too late by the time I called her and she was so sweet about everything even though I appear to be a deadbeat who writes bad checks. So I might be looking at even more fees, either from my bank who may or may not allow the check to go through, or by the dealership who will charge a return check fee if my bank bounces the check back. This is what you get for not have a savings account-I spent that all on my new house and stuff to fill it up with. Or not having an emergency credit card, which I incidentally have, but guess what? it's maxed out. Needless to say, I'm not that good with money. Well, I take that back, I'm great at spending it, but not so good at managing it.
I could be real bitter at this point, but for some reason I don't feel too bad. Believe me this is real progress. I usually am the one who likes to feel sorry for herself when bad things happen, oh woe is me! Or I might just feel grouchy and fatalistic. But not today. So, am I adhering to Possibility One or Possibility Two? I guess I would have to say that yeah, things went so smoothly and things happened to fall into place for most of the weekend. Yeah, maybe it was just bad luck that my car broke down, but it could have been worse. All in all, I'm here today, Dear Prudence is up and running again, and I will have money again on Friday. Not a bad weekend afterall.
posted by amyd | 2:02 AM
3 Comments:
You just have bad luck with cars. I'm sorry. A car hasn't treated you right since the Blue Bomber.
The blue bomber had its share of problems too, remember? The window that wouldn't go up, the slipping transmission, the hanging felt from the ceiling. But it did get me to point a to point b and sometimes to point c (depending on whether the party was moved). And that window problem-remember Angelo & the hanging tallywacker??
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