Day One: February 26, 2010 Omaha, Nebraska
sallyeharmon@yahoo.com
We left flowers in our front yard. We left mild days in the upper 50’s. We left our sweetie-pies; our daughter Allie and Max and Peppermint (our two pooches), plus our friends, family and students to return to the Midwest after two years. People back home on Portland, Oregon reminded us of what we were to face: The snow. The ice. The driving. The fatigue. The schlepping. Yes, there was all that and more. This tour, we’re doing just five concerts, but spread out in five states, totaling 2,800 miles in less than 12 days. We still have to deal with lots of obstacles, but it all becomes worth it walking out onto that stage; the house dark, the crowd big, the spotlight warm and inviting, and our hearts pounding. Frank’s smile when he looks at me through the piano playing his bass. (Frank wants me to put “blah blah blah” right now). Tough! It’s true!
Today after getting up at 3:30AM to catch a 6:00 flight, United let us check four 50-pound bags, (economy plus), and looked the other way at all our bulky carry-ons, (phew!). I have to give some of these airport people credit. Flying is not much fun anymore, and they know it. At the security checkpoint, we got smiles, humor, and I received a complement on my new jeans while getting a pat down!
The plan was to hang out in the big city of Omaha while we had a chance, spend a night in some romantic place, and then start our journey to Ogallala, Nebraska for our first concert on Sunday. But while floundering around downtown in our newly rented Jeep Cherokee looking for that perfect love-nest, Frank made a few wrong turns, got honked at and “the finger” on two occasions. This wasn’t starting out well.
Our apologies to the good people of Omaha, but exhausted and hungry with all their famous steak places not open until dinner, we decided to pull out.
About a mile or so on the way out of town, things started looking up. I shouted to Frank to turn into this place called, “Big Horn Mountain Barbecue.” Nebraska is famous for it’s corn-fed beef, and this place looked homey. We took a seat with animal heads on the walls looking down at us. I ordered the Brisket with homemade barbeque sauce and Frank had the breaded tenderloin. He has a thing for that, being from Southern Indiana. While waiting for our food, the owner asked out from the opening to the kitchen where we were from. We said, Oregon. He felt sorry for us because it is such an ugly place because of all that rain. We inquired about their weather and the conversation got rolling. He joined us at our table and helped with all our travel plans through Nebraska, even highlighting our map. Then the food came. His words quickly turned to garble as all I could think about was that this was the MOST DELICIOUS SANDWICH I’D EVER EATEN!!! The beef brisket had been smoked, melted in the mouth and the barbeque sauce had my head spinning. Frank crunched into his tenderloin very satisfied, as he and the owner, Chuck, spoke of more scenic routes on the Nebraska map. Life was good again. We pulled away with friendly smiles and waves and most defiantly we will return there at the end of our trip.
We headed west, and the good food in our bellies had us singing in harmony:
“Oh, we ain’t got a barrel of money,
Maybe we’re ragged and funny,
But we’re travelin’ along, singin’ this song,
Side by side.”
We laughed. Just then, at 65 miles-per-hour on a very busy interstate, a stray wheel came rolling at us! Frank swerved only as much as the other cars would allow. It thumped hard at our right side. We looked astonished out my window at an older Jeep scraping along the asphalt on three wheels. We found our way to the next exit and examined the car. Yes, there was damage, but it was still drivable. The wheel had followed us all that way without the vehicle! We doubled back and met up with the poor owner who was pretty stressed, and worried that he couldn’t take his girlfriend to the movies. Hey, we were all still alive! Cars whizzed past us as we stood on the highway’s muddy shoulder exchanging insurance information.
So, here we are at a very lovely Holiday Inn in Columbus, Nebraska. The bed feels fantastic. We’re pampering ourselves. I brought a few travel candles and we had Subway for dinner. There’s more than a slight aroma of cow (steer?) in the air. We made it!
Can’t wait ‘till Sunday…
ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz
P.S. Hey out there… contact me at sallyeharmon@yahoo.com. I’d love to hear from you!
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