Scott T. wrote on email this afternoon that he'd meet us on an early morning LSD ride tomorrow. His words: I'll meet you at the crossroads, but if I'm not there then don't wait up for me.
It struck me then that he has the makings of a great bluesman, in spite of being a diminutive, white, 40-something attorney. Check it out:
I'll meet you at the crossroads,
but if I'm not there then don't wait up for me.
Yeah, I'll meet you at the crossroads,
but if I'm not there then don't wait up for me.
'Cuz I'll be on the Tarmac,
Pounding out some zone L-3.
Okay, so I added the stuff about the Powertap L-3 training. But I think you get the drift. The only problem is he needs a nickname, and a guy who is 5'4" can't pass for "T-bone." Hmmm... maybe my readers have some suggestions.
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In the spirit of the United Way, I'd like to ask you to give to a charity this holiday. I call it the Jimbo Fund, not to be confused with the Jimmy Fund. Anyhow, the Jimbo Fund will be responsible for rescuing lonely, orphaned bottles of high quality bourbon from liquor store shelves. Too often during the holiday season, customers will buy 11 bottles out of a case of hard liquor, only to leave a poor, seven year-old orphan behind, all by himself on the shelf. The orphan often just sits there, languishing, for the entire holiday season. He has no way to see his friends Jim and Jack down on the bottom shelf, nor can he travel to see his Old Grandad, who is usually behind the counter of the liquor store over Christmas.
In short these orphans are living a sad life, and I propose to do something about it. I hope to adopt them.
If you want to help me adopt some orphan top shelf bourbons over the holidays, please send me a check for any amount, from $34.95, to $68.75 if you are a really caring person and not a worthless bastard. If worst comes to worst you can even adopt one yourself, but I have to warn you not to try unless you have some experience with these poor waifs. And I have to warn you, the 17 year-olds may look attractive but they are nothing but trouble if you don't know how to handle them. You'd better leave *them* to me.
If the Jimbo Fund is successful, I will have a drive to rescue orphan hams from Safeway around Easter Time. I know it's ambitious, but we have to do what we can to help find these worthy little ones a good home for the holidays.
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It's 4:56 AM. I'm sitting here, bleary-eyed, in tights, quickly finishing up a blog post I started last night before driving 45 minutes to meet friends, to go on a 3 hour ride in freezing weather before going to work, and wondering why my nose is crammed up with snot, why I feel bloated and edgy (not enough sleep, natch), and whether I'm going to have an enormous asthma attack mid-ride, and most of all why the hell I am doing this.
God, I love this sport.
10 comments:
If not T-bone, maybe lamb-chop.
If the weather gets too much you should come and visit. It got down to 70F overnight and is touching 85F most days. Our winters are appalling though, sometimes it's so cold we have to close the windows.
I am 5'9". I know I probably look smaller, but that's just perspective, because I'm so far away.....in front of you ;-)
I also have a Fender Strat in my bedroom along with a 100 Watt Marshall Combo tube amp. So, yes, I have dabbled in the blues, but not in several years.
I believe that Joe Metro, for reasons unclear to me, has dibs on "T-Bone." My dad has a nickname he's called me forewever.
This holiday season, I'm going to sit around the fire, sipping a nice Belgian lambic and listeing to my favorite 'cross bulesman Muddy Sidis greatest hits. "Can't Clip In" and Dropped Chain Blues" are 2 of my fav's.
Happy Holidays to all.
Mike, it ain't lambchop. Scott will pretty much rip your legs off on a cross course. He's not at the very front, but there aren't many people in front of him...
Scott, yeah, you do usually look pretty small to me. Generally way in front in cross or on the hills, and typically getting blown into the trees like Charlie Brown's kite on flat ground on a windy day. The one thing I know is on a group ride of any size, the odds of me being near you are smaller than the chances of paying less than MSRP on Assos gear from Competitive Cyclist.
Boz, so glad to have you as a commenter, and I hope the scene here keeps you entertained through the holidays.
Wow, I take a few months off and everyone has delusions of grandeur.
Scott? a Jedi knight?
ripping legs off? Yes, he is strong, but in the internet world there are a lot of cats out there. What is fast for some, is not so fast to others.
Scott is strong for his size, but not obscene, he is willey on a cross course and careful with his attacks.
I've never been crazed about monikers.
all in all, he has red hair, he is a lawyer, loves to split hair....any thoughts?
Well, among legit B crossers, Scott's pretty fast.
As for monikers, red haired lawyer...
Rufus T. Scott, Esq. Bluesman extraordinaire.
JWM here -- Yes I do indeed have dibs on T-Bone, though there is not much logic to it. The genesis was that I was registering for a firm retreat, and the form had a "nickname" block on it, so for the fun of it, I put in "T-Bone" to see if they would actually put it on my name tag. They did not. For Coppi purposes, much like a patent squatter, I simply declared one day that I would be called T-Bone. Bernard seems to like it.
BTW, for some unexplained reason I seem to be developing a decent closetful of whiskey, so while I don't know if I'll contribute to the fund, you are more than welcome to come by my "soup kitchen" some time over the holidays to partake.
Finally, getting back to the blues theme, Jimmy Witherspoon wins my best blues lyrics award at a PA jazz festival I attended (closely followed by most versions of Stoop Down Baby). He was ad libbing a song about how is "old lady" was nagging him about driving her to the dentist the following day. The song went something like this:
I'm not gonna take you to the dentist tomorrow,
'cause I'm gonna KNOCK your teeth out tonite!
BB King tops it for me in "Why I Sing the Blues":
"Been down in a ghetto flat, cold and numb,
I heard the rats tell the roaches to give the bedbugs some,
And everybody want to know, why I sing the blues.
I've been around a long time,
I've really had to pay some dues."
Also in that song,
"I bought you a Chevrolet.
You said, "*I* want a Caddilac."
I bought you a five dollar dinner.
You said, "thanks for the snack!"
I let you live in my penthouse,
You said, "it's just a shack."
I gave you seven children,
And now you wannna give 'em back...
And everybody wanna know, why I sing the blues...
I've been around a long time,
I've really, really really paid some dues."
Man. Good stuff.
Jim, you're too kind, but I'll accept it (and man do you have it right about me in a wind). Also, you have early morning readers. I got to work to find e-mails telling me that you were goofing on me.
Back to the blues, I was at Buddy Guy's club in Chicago 2 years ago on a weeknight with some clients. There is a not bad blues band of a couple of bland white boys up there, and damned if Buddy Guy doesn't get up there and for 20 minutes, totally impromptu, hold the place in the palm of his hand. Absolute magic. A true master at work (and I was 10 feet away). A client I was with, who was not a blues person, even said that after seeing that he could understand the power of a real blues master.
Scott -- pleased to meet you, hope you guess my nickname -- Thompson
It's 4:56 AM. I'm sitting here, bleary-eyed, in tights, quickly finishing up a blog post I started last night before driving 45 minutes to meet friends, to go on a 3 hour ride in freezing weather before going to work, >>>>>>
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I love your drive. A 3 hour ride before work sounds awesome.
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