The Core

The Core                                                                    768

What a ride it was home from Duluth, Minnesota.  The show was good, well attended with nice people, and before the show, Dennis Ross and I participated in an interview with a young lady doing a paper for school.  The room was very sparsely populated when we started the interview, and by showtime, the joint was packed.  I hate it when it turns out that way, I like to get a look at my audience before I hit the stage, to try and figure out what material I think they'll like, troubleshoot any possible problems (hecklers, loud celebrations, groups that really aren't there for comedy, etc.).  It was a nice experience, though.

The drive home was hell on wheels.  I took off at 8:20 CST, so I automatically switched over to Eastern time so I wouldn't forget later.  I hit Chicago by 4:00, and had to deal with rush hour traffic for at least two hours.  Oh, and also, my fan motor burnt out....the motor that imports heat and air conditioning into the part of the car where the people sit.  I had to make do with open windows for air conditioning, and then at night when it was cold, I had the heater on and the vents open, so the motion of driving at 70 miles an hour (or more....I'll never tell) drew heat into the passenger compartment.  $200 later, I got that fixed today.  Also, my car's been burning oil....I use the synthetic oil, the kind you can drain right out of the car and it keeps running....I checked my levels in Indiana, and found out why my oil light was flickering all day....I was driving dry!  $12 worth of Castrol 10W-30 and I was on my way.  I got an oil change today, so now I'm back to full capacity and ready for my weekend in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Music is always a subtext in my road trips, and this week was no different.  The highlight was coming home through Buffalo and hearing 97 Rock playing "The Core" by Eric Clapton off his "Slowhand" l.p.  It's one of my favorite songs ever, and I'd been waiting to hear it.  It was a nice way to spend some of the waning moments of my long drive home.

I'm bushed, bedraggled and bruised.  15 1/2 hours in the car really kicked the crap out of me.  I'm going to bed, and will report on the Allentown weekend on Sunday.

Have a great weekend!

Ralph Tetta

Rochester, NY