California 2K3

From the outside, this place looked more like a convention center or worse, a casino. The inside was structured like a television studio, complete with stadium seating, video screens, and camera men. It was an interesting experience to witness a different way to practice faith and belief in God, but I'll stick to my current religion. The minister's speech was questionable to me, and there were several points that I didn't agree with, but to each their own. Craig's friend Gladys was a member of this religious community, and she enjoyed going to worship. That's what makes people interesting, their ability to choose for themselves what they like and dislike. I chose to not like it, but someone else may see it in a completely different way than I did. In an effort to be open minded and to accept people who make different choices than me, I will not say a bad word about that church on this here website. (Ask me in person, and you can just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip, that started with this TV man, religion was our plan. Tim was a mighty music man, Craig Pearman calm and cool, we started out at church that day, for a gospel lesson fool, a gospel lesson fool.

After the service, we decided to do something fun. (Don't get me wrong, God is a fun guy. After all, he did create water slides and the slinky.) I suggested the Universal City Walk, because it was a Saturday night, and that was a happenin' place. We wee closer to Downtown Disney, so that is where we ended up. While we were walking in, w saw this crazy speed limit sign. 14 miles per hour? Isn't that the most ridiculous arbitrary number that you have ever seen? Why not 15? Why not 13? I just don't understand why it was 14. That's just too weird for me to comprehend. So we walked along, and Craig pointed out that I didn't have a coat. I didn't really mind, because in Wisconsin we are used to the cold. But he wouldn't let me be without a coat, so he offered to buy me a sweatshirt. At first the only ones we found were Jack Daniel's and Batman hooded sweatshirts, and if I was going to get a sweatshirt, I wanted one that I would actually wear on a regular basis. So I suggested that we go down to the House of Blues. (click that link for it's website. I promote things that I think are cool.) For those of you who do not know, the House of Blues was started by Dan Aykroyd and James Belushi, and several other celebrities as a "home for live music and southern-inspired cuisine in an environment celebrating the African American cultural contributions of blues music and folk art." I thought that that would be a cool place to get a sweatshirt. When we got there, we heard the music of Styx, and then found out that they were plying that night! We thought they played last night (Friday), and went crazy. They showed the concert live in the gift shop and restaurant, which was going on right upstairs in the concert hall! Tim went crazy, shaking and jittering because he was in the same building as his idol, Mr. Tommy Shaw. Now that was a sight to see - Timmy jumping up and down moving to the music, listening to his favorite band and getting crazy. We stayed in that gift shop until it closed, and then watched the rest of the concert from the seating area of the restaurant. It was a night that Tim will remember for the rest of his life. Tommy Shaw made this kid feel like a million bucks.

They call Yankee Stadium the "House that Babe Ruth Built", so it only seemed right that I model the apparel for the "House that Dan Aykroyd Built". Dan, as you may not know, is one of my personal heroes. His work in both of the Ghostbusters films and classics such as the Blues Brothers and Dragnet (and The Great Outdoors) allow me to name him as one of the greatest of all times. I care very much for my gray-hooded sweatshirt (a color-changed reference to an Adam Sandler song, that's one for all you fans, I know there there are some of you out there.) Craig and Gladys and Kristin were excited that we cared a lot for Styx, and they respected our decision to stay in the House of Blues and watch our favorite band run through their repertoire of old and new classics. They went off into the Downtown Disney realm, and Tim and I reveled in the Styx glory of the night.

It was then that a strange thing occurred. Tim was jamming to Styx (as you can see in the video on the next page) when he met one of the coolest guys he will ever meet in his entire life. He finds out that Mike (pictured on the left) is a really nig fan of Styx. That was not all though. Turns out that Mike met Tommy Shaw many years ago (in the 1980's) because his best friend (who was on Charles in Charge) was in a band. Tommy came to jam with them. His drummer later became the lead singer of Kansas. Crazy stuff man. So Mike just happened to be in the gift shop that Saturday night, and Tim and Mike bonded, by crossing the age gap courtesy of Styx. Mike told us some crazy stuff (he was selling his house in the mountains, and Christina Aguilera came to look at it. He then told us that he was flying over the Grand Canyon on the way to his Arizona home. If you don't believe me, I don't blame you, because I didn't believe it at first. But he showed us the pictures that he took with his digital camera on his cell phone. He also spoke with such realism and sincerity that you had no choice but to believe him. He was so down to Earth and real that I believed every word that he said. Tim and Mike had a great time, and Tommy Shaw and the Styx gang put on one hell of a show. Jason (pictured on the right) was working at the gift shop that night, and he graciously allowed us to hang out and jam all night long. When it came time to close the shop down, he allowed us to stay through "Come Sail Away" and then he had to close it up (it was midnight after all.) We then watched the rest of the concert from the restaurant entrance (where the waiter/waitress seats you) and this weird guy was hanging out with us. I never caught his name, but he told us that he tried to sneak upstairs several times, and failed every single time. That guy was funny, and that night turned out to be the best one of the entire trip. The concert soon ended, and our group disbanded. Craig and the gang headed back to the car, and Tim and I grabbed one of Tim's CD for Mike to have, listen to, and enjoy. We parted ways, and left with the thought that a millionaire now owns a copy of Tim's CD. Wow. I'd be surprised if I would find a night that could even come close to comparing to how good that night was.