Quick Trip To Austin

 I am constantly reminded as to how I am the luckiest guy and how truly blessed I am. 

My daughter, Noodle decided to give me a special birthday present........albeit a month early........in the form of a paid trip to Austin to attend a Ringo Starr and the All Stars concert at the Moody Theater! Imagine that!
I got to see a Beatle!......and as a special bonus, my favorite musician Todd Rundgren was performing with him! This was really awesome. Not to mention that I got to visit with my daughter and two of my grandchildren. Can't you tell by the picture that happiness abounds?

It was one hell of a show! Totally awesome. Perhaps I will write some more about this but I am pressed for time, as always. I flew to Austin on Tuesday, returned home Friday night, stayed up all night painting crab shells, worked the flea market on Saturday, came home and agonized over the Orioles game and painted more shells and put together some display boxes.........oh yeah........I did manage to get an hour or two of sleep in between all of that. As I write this, me and Supernurse are just about to leave for the airport..........hehehehe..........oh yeah.........we are off to Mexico again for some rest and relaxation........same place as usual. I shall return to Baltimore  on the 19th. Not bad eh?

For those readers who ain't particularly interested in such goings on.....and only here to find out about some painted crab shells, feel free to search around the older posts. My sons will be handling the flea market biz for me until I get back.

See you soon!

Five Days With Signtopia Expansion Pack 2.1

I have been busy lately. The past three weeks or so have been a bit hectic, yet wonderful. First, since my last post on the blog, I have taken a trip to Tennessee for my Mom's birthday....spent four days there, then six days at home, and then off to Texas for five days.

Time flies........and so did I. Me and Supernurse flew to Texas to see our youngest grandchild and hand deliver some Nascar toys for him to play with. Not that he really needs any more toys or cars........or trains......he loves trains........but lately he has been enthralled with race cars........Nascar........zoom......zoom. Apparently his mom and dad have been unable to find any Nascar cars in Leander or the surrounding areas so they put in a request to ole Signtopia to track some down in Baltimore..........which I did..........at Ollie's. Aside from that........there was no special event or occasion to make the trip except that me and Supernurse wanted to see the rugrat play indoor soccer......his first foray into the world of competition with other rugrats.

There is no way we are gonna pass up that.

On this trip, he was a bit smitten with me. On past visits he was all about "Mom-Mom".......this time "Pop-Pop" was his focus.

Of course.............that is.......when he wasn't focusing on his cars.........hehehe.

He's a great kid and he takes the cars very seriously.

As if he was in dire need of more stuff, Supernurse goes and buys a racetrack for his cars........needless to say he was thrilled. He particularly loves it when they crash.

Supernurse was very happy and that alone makes me very happy.

It doesn't seem all that long ago that my little Noodle Girl was little. I miss the days when my kids were little........time flies by so quickly........and now she gets to experience what me and Supernurse have experienced.........and we get to visit and spoil her kid.....hehehe.

I am lucky to just be there to see moments such as this.

I spent alot of time corrupting my grandson..............you know what I mean........."brrrrt"......."what was that?"..........."A frog on a motorcycle!"........and "BRRRRRRRT!".........that was a "Monkey on a Harley".......hehehe. I spent the majority of the time tickling him and making him laugh.

I never envisioned this when I was younger..........but somehow it is as if it was all planned.

We managed to get to see him at a soccer practice during the week..........which caused me to have flashbacks to when I was the indoor soccer coach for a bunch of monsters in White Marsh.......what was I thinking.......oh well........this time I am a spectator.

And spectate we did. His real soccer game was Saturday morning at 8am.......8AM!!!!!!!!!! at the YMCA............8AM!!!!!!!.........arrrgghhhh.........this is the time when I just start to have vivid nightmares while I snore away for five hours. Oh well............no rest for the wicked.

It was great watching him chase after the ball.............along with all of the other kids at the same time..............knowing that while he was running after the ball he was making race car sounds (in his mind he was racing). Even when he stopped for a drink......it was a "pit stop".

They don't bother with the score at this age level.............which is a good thing because his team was slaughtered. Still.......after all was said and done.........both teams were winners and celebrated as such. Expansion Pack 2.1 happens to love tunnels because of his fascination with trains......so when the parents line up to make a tunnel at the end of the game, he was the first in line for it............

So what does he do after he gets through the tunnel?

He runs around everybody and inserts himself at the end of the line and goes through the tunnel again! Smart kid.........hehehe.

So that was it.......after his game we drove to the airport in Austin and headed for home.

This is what Washington DC looks like from the airplane. Supernurse slept on the plane.........me?.............no sleep for me. I listened to a podcast of the Mark Levin show on my iPod and chowed down on some nasty crackers that the stewardesses pawn off on people.

Back to the grind............we get home and Supernurse got ready for work......that's right.......she had to work that evening in the ER.

We must be crazy.

Related articles

• What A Trip - Part 2 (endoftheworld-signtopia.blogspot.com)
• Riviera Maya Vacation - Part Nine (endoftheworld-signtopia.blogspot.com)
• Christmas Eve 2010 (endoftheworld-signtopia.blogspot.com)
• Riviera Maya Vacation - Part Ten (endoftheworld-signtopia.blogspot.com)
• Riviera Maya Vacation - Part Four (endoftheworld-signtopia.blogspot.com)

Another Flight To Texas

It was time for another trip to Leander, Texas to visit the family members that decided that living in the Baltimore area was detrimental to having a decent life. For the record.......I cannot blame them one bit.........yet me and Supernurse stay in the Baltimore area. I do love Baltimore.......but it is out of necessity as opposed to anything else. Think of Baltimore as your own intestines..........yeah........you need your intestines regardless of all of the crap that goes through.

Anyway, there we were at the Baltimore-Washington-Thurgood Marshall-Sheila Dixon-Rawlings-Blake-O'Malley-DuBurns-ACORN-International Airport..........Supernurse took a nap as we waited to board the Delta flight to Atlanta. Once in Atlanta, we would get on yet another plane to take us to Austin. The only problem today was weather and the resulting chain reaction of delays. Our flight was delayed........but not too bad...........things only got worse once we got to Atlanta.

While waiting.......I looked around behind me and I saw a familiar face standing over to the side.
Look at the picture above and see if you see any celebrities anywhere.

Do you see a celebrity anywhere?............Look over at the right side of the photo.

No..........it isn't Mr. Clean...........

...............It was none other than Hall Of Fame Baltimore Oriole Cal Ripken Jr.........the Iron Man himself. He stood there quietly, by himself.........and as I looked in his direction I noticed that hardly anyone seemed to notice him standing there............I guess the party is over and he no longer gets people pestering him for an autograph. He still looks the same.....maybe a bit heavier and older..........but no entourage with him. Maybe folks did recognize him and did the right thing and held back and afforded him some personal space. Of course Cal was flying first class and he would get to board the plane before the rest of the Baltimorons that were waiting.

Anyway, we all boarded the plane and finally took flight.........in the rain. I had to sit next to this small man.....I will call him "Mr Fidgit". Mr Fidget spent the entire time fidgeting with his paperwork that he had with him. About ten folders of papers that he shuffled repeatedly. Most of those papers, from what I could not help but see, were regarding some sort of water purification equipment. This equipment was part of some plans for Israel. In particular, one of the areas was Galilee. It's not everyday that I see a plan for Galilee. It was a bit of a bumpy ride but me and Supernurse.......and Cal Ripken Jr.......made it safely to Atlanta.

Our connecting flight to Austin was also delayed...........and this time we had some icing on the cake..........as the crowd of people waited at the gate, we took notice of an unusual amount of handicapped people in electric scooters..........about eight of them.......also waiting to get on board our flight. THIS was also gonna delay the flight because there had to be extra attendants to help those handicapped get situated on board............the scooters are to wide to fit in the aisle on the plane.......special wheelchairs were brought out to get these folks to their seats. There must have been a convention of ........well.........I guess I won't say it.......but there must have been at least a convention of some sort......for people with their particular affliction.

Oh well.......so we eventually took off for Austin...........very late.......and finally, we arrived in Texas.

The adventure continues............

Todd Rundgren In Texas

There I was. Me, Supernurse, and three of the grandkids........sitting at BWI-Marshall-O'Malley- Dixon-Rawlings-Blake-Mfume International Airport......waiting for our flight to Austin, Texas. Gee......it was not that long ago that we had gone to Texas.....but here we go again. Hmmmm, this trip was gonna be special. Not only that we got to spend more time with Signtopia Expansion Pack 2.1 (newest grandchild).......but we would be there for our 29th wedding anniversary. My daughter, Noodle and her husband Number Cruncher had already told me that they just so happened to have acquired tickets to a concert at a club called Antone's, in Austin, for Saturday, July 19th. Ooooooh yeah...............it just so happened that Todd Rundgren was gonna be in Austin while I was there.

Anyone that knows me or has ever known me, knows that Todd Rundgren is my favorite musician. He has pretty much written and performed the soundtrack to my life. I have pestered many people about his music to the extent that I probably should have gotten paid for promoting Rundgren's music..........nahhhh........I would do whatever I can for free. Well, you can imagine how excited I was in anticipation of the show in Austin. Rundgren is not scheduled to take this show into the Baltimore area, at least not yet, the nearest show would be at the Borgata in Atlantic City in August at the end of this particular tour in the states this summer. Have I mentioned that I am a lucky guy?

Rundgren's newest and yet to be released "album" is called "Arena" and it is his take on arena rock. Todd has this thing about him that you never fully know what to expect from him with each new record. He has done it all and this particular album would be his return to a more rocking, guitar oriented style of music. Now look at the photo shown above.........does that look like somebody who just turned 60 years old and has been on the road and cranking out the tunes for over 40 years?

It was Saturday and the time had come. I had never been here before and had no idea of what to expect in regards to the venue. I knew what to expect from Rundgren.............and I really wouldn't care if he was gonna be performing in the worst of places. As it turned out, Antone's wasn't all that bad, except that it isn't very big and it was hot as hell in there.......then again......this was in Austin.

Okay.......so we arrived at Antone's to find this line wrapping itself around the block. Holey Moley! But this is a good thing though.....it is great to see so many fans for Todd. Everyone in line was nice as could be......very friendly, well behaved, and............uh...........well.............pretty much all in my age group......hehehe.......well....there were a few younger people and even some kids. Did I mention how hot it was? We waited for quite some time in line.......the line wasn't moving and we were supposed to be able to get entry at 8 pm and the show was to start at 9 pm. For whatever reason.....that did not happen........we waited for over one hour in line and finally we got in.

The first thing we did was get something to drink and go purchase a couple of concert t-shirts. Then we situated ourselves as close as we could get to the stage. Unfortunately, the majority of the front of the stage was already crammed with people but I found a space at the side of the stage where the sound and guitar technicians were located. So I had a side view......I ain't complaining one bit.

At the back of the venue is this "balcony/skybox" exclusive area for special people. I noticed that Michele Rundgren was sitting up in there. Michele is Todd's wife and I saw Todd in that "room" heading down the steps to hit the stage. While he was doing that, his wife got up and hobbled from one end of the section to the other to give him what appeared to be a "break a leg" smooch......hehehe.........it just so happens that Michele was wearing some sort of cast for her own broken leg.

The show was starting.

And there he was.......Todd Rundgren! It was instant glorious nirvana for me. He picked up his guitar, said a few words about the heat and Austin, and proceeded to rock everybody's world.

There was Jesse Gress on guitar, Todd Rundgren on guitar, Matt Bolton on guitar and keyboard, Rachel Haden on bass guitar and Prairie Prince on drums.

Both Jesse Gress and Rundgren, were busting strings.........literally........and those strings were replaced right there next to me. I had a good look at their guitars........particularly the green P-Project guitar of Todd's known as "Foamy". In the photo above, that guitar at the bottom of the picture is one of Jesse's.

They started off with Love In Action, Open My Eyes (Nazz song), Lunatic Fringe, Walls Came Down, I Saw The Light, Black Maria............and then hit us with 13 songs from the new album. Wow!

Non-stop........2 hours worth of flawless rock and roll.

Todd was in great form.....looked very healthy for 60........his vocals were in top shape and his guitar playing was blistering..........and he sweated in the heat like Baltimore mayor Sheila Dixon during a grand jury investigation.

Normally, Kasim Sulton would be playing the bass on most of Rundgren's tours, but this time Kasim was already committed as musical director and bassist for Meat Loaf. While it was a bit disappointing to not see him here, Rachel Haden was a pleasant surprise. She can hold her own on the bass and her backing vocals were good........and what the heck........she looks alot better than Kasim......hehehe.

There is one very noticeable thing that occurs onstage during this show.............every performer has a particular look on their faces throughout the performance. It is the look that they know they are doing something very special and very serious.

I apologize for some of the burred images.......it was difficult to get the proper settings on my camera............and hard to hold steady when I am experiencing something as wonderful and awesome as this show.

I must point out Prairie Prince on drums. At this show, I got the opportunity to be able to see him in action up close. I gotta say that he must be just about the best drummer I have ever seen, He beat the living crap out of those drums and it was a joy to watch. A few times he had some problems, I guess, with some of the sound equipment, and while keeping the beat I watched him still be able to communicate visually with his hands and sticks with the sound techs. Prairie Prince has been touring with Rundgren quite often and he was/is the drummer of The Tubes.

He also is an artist and just so happens to have a sense of humor. He was dressed up in a gladiator outfit..........well...........what else would one expect from the drummer from the Tubes?

The show went on and the band left the stage......the crowd was ecstatic and demanded more........we wanted an encore and an encore is what we got!

Todd dug deep into the earlier part of his career and cranked out "Couldn't I Just Tell You The Way I Feel" which featured the old Utopia kick line. And then.......it was time for the Utopian National Anthem which is the song "Just One Victory"...................the hair stands up on my neck when I hear this one done live and in person.

Prairie Prince tosses some drumsticks to a small kid at the front edge of the stage............

And then it was all over.................I was numb and in awe.

Over the years, I have always said.........."Good things happen with a new Todd Rundgren album".
I have also said............"Good things happen with a Todd Rundgren concert".

...........I never lied about it then, and I ain't lying about it now.

"Shining still......to give us the will."

Life Is No Longer Simple........As If It Ever Was

"My PopPop and MomMom took me and my brother and my cousin to Texas. We are having fun and so far we have been to Sea World in San Antonio and we have spent alot of time at the pool next to my aunt's house. It has been hotter than the salsa at The Oasis restaurant at Lake Travis. My skin is starting to get as red as my hair. Stay tuned because my PopPop will write all about this trip real soon."

Meanwhile.......here......chew on this:

This is a "plastic?" cup made from corn. Imagine that......I bet you didn't know that they can make a cup from corn...........hmmmmmmm..........now you gotta wonder about this...........you just have to wonder what a cup would look like if it was made from creamed corn..............

.............now you don't have to wonder anymore......hehehe.

Texas Trip - The Rodeo

While visiting in Texas........as it happened.........we were watching television at my daughter Noodle's house. It just so happened that my son-in-law Number Cruncher tuned into a channel with some bull riding competition going on. I remember him saying something about me getting interested........hmmmmm......well, yes....it was interesting. I did not quite understand why, who, or what the point of riding bulls was but I was watching the screen. Now I fully understand that this kind of stuff is a Texas staple........BUT..........this particular bull riding competition was being broadcast "live" from the First Mariner Arena in........BALTIMORE!!???.......huh? I travel hundreds of miles from Baltimore and I end up having to be subjected to Baltimore on television..........that alone has to be some sort of sign of the end of the world......hehehe.

Actually, Number Cruncher was warming me up for what was soon to come. He had plans to take us to Rodeo Austin that Sunday.

There I was.........looking at the Austin city skyline from the grounds of the rodeo.

And looking back..........beyond the sea of cars.........the Rodeo Austin.

These two were the reason for our visit. That's my Noodle Girl holding Signtopia Expansion Pack 2.1.........hehehe.

They really love their animals here...........I remember thinking "yeah....the only reason he kisses that longhorn is because it can't lick its.........well...........you know what I am getting at......hehehe. Yep.....that there animal is a bonafide Texas Longhorn.

It did not take very long before Princess Fartknocker found her way onto a horse. I stood there remembering a time when I was just a kid.........on a horse.............hmmm....maybe I will write about that one day soon.

In the animal world of things, there are stars of their own. This is one of the biggest stars standing right next to Princess Fartknocker and Supernurse.............of course.......it is none other than Elsie, the Borden Cow.

Princess Fartknocker enjoyed feeding the assorted animals in the petting "zoo".

Hmmmmm.......the significance of this picture......hmmmmmm. Well.......aside from just a nice simple picture of the two of them..............Supernurse just so happened to be wearing a Gilley's t-shirt that she got for riding the bull at Gilley's in Las Vegas.........and the sign above her head.........well............there ya go.

As for bull riding........one is supposed to ride the bull for eight full seconds without falling off. I could not resist taking this picture of a sign in one of the small shops inside the large arena.

And then I saw this sign..........

.........hehehe.......gotta love it.

Inside the large building was where the bull riding competition would be held. I was actually surprised to see how it looked inside. The last time I was surprised in that fashion, was when I saw the outside of the old Painters Mill Music Fair in Owings Mills, MD and thinking "uh oh" and then going inside and being awestruck by what I saw. Oh well.......never judge a book by it's cover.

This was a very decent facility.....I was impressed.

The competition was about to begin and the opening ceremonies fired up. The bull riders get introduced..........laser light show........and the ground is set on fire.......music is cranked up several decibels..........it is practically a rock and roll show!............wow! I didn't see THIS on tv the other day.

Yes...........cowboys do exist.

Nobody should ever question the patriotism of the folks in Texas. I felt good seeing this.........after all that has been going on in our lives recently in this country. Furthermore, they had no problem offending all of those non-religious, atheistic morons of the world, when they lead everyone in moments of silence for the fallen soldiers and begin the festivities with a very long prayer. Just maybe there is hope for this world........

...........and I really, truly, do hope that we all get through the mess we are in.....because Signtopia Expansion Pack 2.1 needs us to do better........the future is his and we have no right to ruin it for him. Here is where I gotta get political on you............on Election day, remember to vote every one of those bastards out of office.......every one of them. Overturn the entire operation.........after all.........if you have a glass of water of which half is a pollutant.......you cannot solve the problem by pouring out only a small portion of the solution in the glass. The water still ends up tainted.

It's a no-brainer, folks! (Note........I realize that there may well be some who read this and think "hmmm is he saying to vote for Obama?". Oh Please!..........Is he not a Senator now?..........yes he is........and that mean he needs to go away. So there.

Aside from bull riding, they also brought out the contestants for
"Best In Show". Prize cows and prize bulls. Exciting!.........hehehe.

Now THIS was far more interesting to me.......my very own cowgirl, Supernurse.

After the competitions, it was time for the musical entertainment. The Rodeo Austin is held something like two weeks or so and there is a major act booked for each night. Willie Nelson, Styx........a whole slew of acts.........and on this particular night we were to be entertained by one Rodney Atkins. I had no idea who he was, but I found out that he has had several number one records in the Country Music industry. It became quickly obvious that he is a fast rising country music star. The fans in the stands got all excited when the crews rolled out the portable stage. Everything was fully set up within the time span of one half hour. Wow!......a rotating stage at that!

I didn't take too many pictures during the show......and most of the ones I took were either too far away, or blurry. This is Rodney Atkins and his band........and I must say that they were top notch. Very, Very, Good.

The only way I could get a close enough picture of Rodney Atkins was to aim at his image up on the jumbo screens.

All in all..........the entire day at the Rodeo Austin was great. I really enjoyed myself there. I enjoyed myself the entire time we spent in Texas. I look forward to visiting again in the near future.

Someone once asked me........."What does it look like when you are up in a plane?"

This is how it looked on the way home.