Dear Friends,
Another thought on road trips: It’s easy to get into an “Us against the world” mindset. I think TQ and I had that kind of thing going this past week. It was awesome to bond with her in that way, even though there was the nagging thought in the back of my mind that we may never drive across the country together again.
We were there, though, for four days and three nights. It was us against the road, the dog, boredom, and for her, my farts. Apparently, I was quite gassy during the night. We were sleeping in our motel room in Erie on the first night and she woke me up because I was killing her. Rhondi had made some fantastic bean and ham soup and I had that for dinner when we got to our room.
My bad, pimp.
Of course, it made me laugh and when I woke myself up with another one shortly after, I laid there cracking up while she made gagging sounds in the dark from the bed next to mine. She did laugh about it a little the next day and I think they died down by the time we were firmly in middle America.
There were moments where I thought about calls I needed or promised to make, but I didn’t want to upset the gentle ecosystem we had set up on our travels. It really was us against the world and I wanted to hold onto that feeling as long as possible.
It’s a good feeling, I think, and it is really hard to manufacture it. I know I have tried to get it going in different situations over the years, hoping others around me would buy in and feel what I was feeling about things that were going on in life. In many of the bands I have done, that feeling has naturally occurred and when you are in it with your bandmates, it is awesome.
If you have a really good team or partnership in the workplace it can happen, too. There were many times in the old Casa days, for example, when it felt like it was a small group of us working against the world to protect children, especially when good old lil’ G. Bush decided to cut the Violence Against Women funding by 2/3. It felt like nobody really gave a shit about sexual violence prevention after that. I certainly miss working with Stephanie on seemingly impossible tasks. She was the best at figuring things out in a pinch.
At this point in my life, though, nothing tops the feeling of being right there in the middle of something bigger than me or whoever I am with and just battling it out with my wife and my kids. You can solve, survive, thrive, all those things way better when you have someone fighting by your side. It’s not really fighting, too, when you are figuring shit out with people you love. There is a better word than “fighting” floating around out there just outside of the reach of my Sunday morning brain.
*****
If you are a fan of Billions, I hope you are watching these final episodes. Whoa, Nelly! The last few were awesome. Seems like the show is coming to an epic close. The anticipation is killing me.
*****
It has also been a pretty exciting time to be a sports fan in Phoenix. On one hand, I must admit I’m a little confused about how to watch the upcoming Suns games. I hate the idea of watching on my computer. I know you can cast things to your TV but that requires button pushing and such. I might give the ol’ digital antennae a try, too.
The (fuck Ken Kendrick) Diamondbacks have certainly been exciting, too. I watched a bit of their games from the road and also in Maine last week. What a great time to put it all together. If they can steal a game (or two) in Philadelphia, they will be in a good position to get to their second World Series. I would love that to happen for our community here in Phoenix.
The Coyotes have some good young talent it seems, too. I am not a hockey fan, for the most part, but I do like to see them do well. I think I have written a little bit about how they have seemed to be really poorly managed in the past, but maybe they have their ducks in a row now. I used to really enjoy going to the games. Casa was always getting free tickets back in the day.
Lastly, the Cardinals are fun to watch again, even though they might not win very much this year. I’m happy to have them build on their young talent and add some more good pieces in the draft. Seems like they are being well-managed again. Too bad the owner is an assclown, although maybe not quite as bad as that Nazi Kenny KendREICH.
I really don’t like that guy. Anyone who thinks Lauren Boebert is a good idea is a bad person.
*****
Two really fun interviews in the last few days happened. On Friday when I got home, I got to talk to Ian Astbury from The Cult. It was a lot of fun and he couldn’t have been nicer. He got a little out there, too, which is always fun. I like getting glimpses of the real personality when I talk to people like him. 16-year-old me was freaking out inside my head. Teenage Tom was seriously fucking giddy.
Yesterday I spoke with Niko and Eugene from Oxbow. I was really freaking out about that one, too, because when I saw them a couple of decades ago, they intimidated the fuck out of me. They are also one of the bands that are truly hard to describe. There is so much going on in an Oxbow record or live performance. I can’t wait to see them in November. I even volunteered to sell merch for them. Another cool thing for the memory bank.
*****
There was really no question, at the end of the day, of whether or not Aidan and Friday were going to fuck. Everyone on the set knew it was going to happen. Bob Bender even joked with Bobby Valencia, who had been in and out during much of the filming, that they might not even make it to Aidan’s trailer. Valencia said that Aidan was “Classier than that,” but admitted quickly that they wouldn’t make it off the lot.
The reality of the situation, though, was much simpler and some would even call it “romantic.” When the day did finally wrap, Aidan simply whispered in Friday’s ear, “I think I might love you. Want to come over for dinner?”
Friday was well past the “thinking” stage by the end of the day. No man had ever touched her with the type of affection Aidan had shown her. Despite how many cameras were rolling or how many people were watching, she was delirious for him and after the first take, she was his.
“Are you cooking?” Friday asked.
“I don’t really cook. I don’t even know if there is any food in the house. I usually just grab something on the way home.”
“You’ve been grabbing me all day. I suppose (and she paused playfully) you can just have me for dinner.”
“As much as I’d like that, I’d really like to be a gentleman and take you for a nice dinner,” before adding, “First.”
Friday was not surprised by this. She had been watching Aidan closely since filming started, and it seemed like he was a genuinely nice guy. He treated everyone with kindness and respect on the set and was just part of the team. It was really refreshing.
Being the daughter of two very famous people and a stunning young woman, Friday had seen her fair share of lecherous assholes growing up. Aidan was not the first handsome actor who had tried and/or succeeded in getting her into bed. He would be the last, though.
*****
See you tomorrow.
The Cobblestone Inn is a great place to stay in Erie, PA.
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