Why did the Turtle Cross the Road?

(Note: All pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.)

Newspaper article pics are up! Scroll down to the blog entry before this one.

I'm a hero now... So I was pulling out onto a winding two lane just after leaving Lance's house in north St Louis and I came upon what looked to be a rock sitting on the road ahead. It was a fairly big rock... wait! That's not a rock, that's a turtle trying to cross the road!!! So I swerved around the thing and pulled over into a gravel driveway immediately ahead and ran back to the turtle while waving traffic around the clueless fella. I'm dedicating this song to Sandy, the turtle and all those other people or animals who have had or wanted a hero in their lives. See the pic...



First off - April, May, & June Journey pics are up!

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Rewind to Wednesday of last week. I wanted to go to Joplin, Missouri for the tournament there, but I had no housing that I wouldn't have to pay for. Know that I've paid a total of $5 for housing on the Journey America thus far and wasn't thinking of changing that streak. So I called my Dad and told him the issue and he told me to come on in to Milo (I was in my home in Groveport, Ohio) and he had some leftover spagetti we could nuke up and talk about it together. By the time I arrived he was on the phone with an Irish Bed & Breakfast in a town 10 miles east of Joplin. 'What a great idea!' I thought. Well it was, because although they were unable to take my piping services as they already had entertainment, they were able to refer my father on to another bed & breakfast right in Joplin... They said they would be happy to have me! So thanks a ton Dad... I'm gone!
So I hit the road, Joplin bound in Summer, my ol' Bimmer convertible. That night I stayed with my good friend, Lance Vodicka (see pic) who is also on the tour. The next day I hit a bit with Lance on his own private court (see video of Lance's brother Bob and me on the home court, taped by Lance.)



Then I was off to Joplin, a four hour drive from Lance's house. I arrived there, signed in, visited the bus of Johnny Blazed, then headed to the Bit of Eden Bed & Breakfast. While there I found out that I was already scheduled to do a 7pm gig for the townspeople in the B & B front yard. It was about 5:30pm at the time. They had flyers out all over the place already and 33 people ended up showing up. The gig went well and the townspeople really enjoyed the pipes. Not to mention I got to meet some really neat people too (see pics.)







I had a match the next day at about 2pm. I didn't do well. I was out of practice and was up against a hard hitting, big serving opponent. It made for an ugly loss that I'm not too proud of.

I stayed in town for another two nights, as the Meekers graceously offered me a stay as long as I needed. About the Meekers, they are an older couple that were both schoolteachers but now retired. Marge is 75 and Bill is 80. You would never know if you met them they were that old. Bill gets up around 5:30am every morning and takes a long walk before beginning work on one of his newest house projects. Let me tell you, Bill is about the most interesting artist with an incredibly diverse portfolio of works that I have ever seen. He does everything from paint (every picture in the entire house!) to interior and exterior architectural design projects (see videos!) Marge is a writer and writes short romance stories. She is also an incredibly sweet lady with a big heart. She made me breakfast every morning exactly how I wanted it, plus much more. I was always healthily stuffed after breakfast. She also went on to make me lunch and dinner nearly every day too. Marge basically adopted me while I was there and I was definitely spoiled.



The amazing story of Bill & Marge

One day, I think it was last Sunday, Bill, Marge and I were sitting down in there living room downstairs having a great discussion when Marge decided to tell me an amazing story. Marge knew Bill for an entire two weeks before they got married and only one week before Bill proposed. They've been married for 54 years now! Imagine the guts it must have taken Bill to ask the question so soon! They scheduled the Wedding immediately for one week later and they're still together to this day. This story got me thinking... a lot. Even back then Bill & Marge's quick Wedding was a big exception to the rule, but what an amazing and beautiful thing.

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On Sunday night I drove back to Lance's in Saint Louis, and I stayed there until Thursday morning. In that time Lance and I trained intensely together, fellowshiped, and got some work done around his house. It was an awesome time and I'm looking forward to coming through there again in October. Thursday morning I got up early to drive to Columbus, as my flight was to go from Columbus to Greensboro that day at 4:51pm ET, for a wedding this Sunday in Concord. At the same time Lance was to leave to India to play in the Futures Tournaments there for 3-6 weeks. All went smoothly on my end, but Lance had a one night layover in Newark, as his first flight out was cancelled. He should be in India now though.

Here's a pic of Lance, his older brother Bob, and me at their home.


I am staying with Julie Sawyer (a fellow pro and good friend of mine - the one who gave me my stringer) now in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Yesterday was a great training day and I hope to do it all again today. I'll be greyhounding/flying back to Columbus on Monday to be with my family.

Signing off...

~ Nate

Newspaper Article Pics!

Homeward Bound - Part 1

I will begin with the final happenings of California in late June and early July.

The third picture is of Rob and I with the Vanderstoep family. They had us over for dinner on that Monday night the day after we went to the DeWaters, I believe. It was an awesome time and we made friends for life with them.
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Rob and I stayed three more days in Shingle Springs. In this time we got to eat another meal with the family of one of the ladies who work the front desk at the tennis club. In that time I played my pipes, of course (see pics.) Then later on that night we took a couple of the girls out to a pub where I was to play that night. That wasn't the best idea, seeing as they were 18 and it was a pub. I ended up singing on karaoke and breaking a few windows with my voice. Although I did call in advance to get permission for the younger ladies, we were kicked out shortly after (it was in a friendly way - no worries!) so we went to good old Marco's Cafe, which was nearly next door and hung out there for a little while before calling it a night. Here's the video of me playing at Coloma Club.



The final night in northern California was an interesting time as well. The deal was that Barbara (see previous blog) would teach me to dance if I taught her how to serve a tennis ball. Seemed like a fair deal to me, so after I taught Barbara how to serve we went out to a Salsa Dance Club that I found on the Internet in Sacramento. Well, when we got there we found that the place no longer existed... hmmmm. Where now could we take another two underage ladies (19) on a Friday night? How about a Hooka Bar. Why not? So while Rob, Kelly (a fellow who worked the front desk that wanted to come out with us that night as well) and the ladies were getting high off of hooka, I was getting high off of hummus... tons and tons of hummus. No, I didn't try any of the hooka. It just didn't look to appealing to me. It actually made for a great place to hang out and have some interesting conversation and a good time.

The next day Rob woke up a little earlier than I and began trucking the van down south again, destination Los Angeles. All was well and good until we hit the 'Grapevine', a 4,000 foot steap climb and descent about 70 miles north of L.A. on I-5. We had to stop and let Anna cool down a couple of times during the climb, which was an 'I think I can' time the whole way up, averaging 15-20 miles an hour. We made it though, and we made a video of the feat.



So what next? How about Huntington Beach, the surf capital of the U.S., and close to where I was to store my van with Rob's Uncle. (Above is a picture of Rob's twin neice's that he got to meet for the first time while there.) Here goes another story:

We could not find a parking spot anywhere in Huntington Beach, as it was the weekend before July 4th and loaded with people. Finally, Rob and I came across a block party on 9th & Orange that had a big blocked off parking space right in front of it. I asked Rob if we should park there. "Let's do it" he said, so I turned around and pulled up with the van while Rob asked if we could park there and frequent their party, as we were both quite hungry at the time. The lady asked if we were 21, asked for our I.D.'s. I showed her mine and explained that I am 24 and Rob is 21, so we are of age. All seemed good until another fellow homeowner from the block party came up and told us this was a private party and really isn't for younger people and junk like that. So I turned to Rob and told him, "Just tell him I play the bagpipes." Rob said the magic words and we before we knew it we were being treated like kings, with all the food, drinks, and attention we could ever ask for, along with a perfect parking spot right in front of the party. I rocked them a bit on my pipes and told them about why we were in Huntington Beach and before I knew it tips were coming in left and right... Halleluiah! We didn't just break even with our trip down to Huntington Beach from Sacramento... we made a profit. I played way into the night all around town while Rob carried the case and collected tips. Our first time being stopped by the cops was when we tried to play on Main Street in front of the Starbucks. Rob was carrying the case and waving a 'Tips' sign while I played. Yeah, it wasn't long before the cops were on us like a fly on a hamburger in the summer time. They wanted to write us a ticket, but I assured them we wouldn't do it again (such a treacherous thing as it was) and they decided not to give us a ticket... how nice.

The second time I got busted for playing was about 1:30am with my final go-round on the pipes, finishing at the block party (see video.)



Two mornings later I was leaving on a jet plane. and Rob was being picked up by his girlfriend in L.A. Here I go again on my own...

Signing off...

~ Nate

P.S. Part II will be up sometime tomorrow hopefully.

Becoming Famous! - Newspaper Article

Click here for my first newpaper write-up from El Dorado County, California's 'Mountain Democrat', the oldest of all California Newspapers.

To get you through the rest of your week...

Mike Holian, the man who taught me how to play the bagpipes, plays a familiar tune on his Uilleann Pipes.

This was recorded just two nights ago, Monday, July 2nd, after I flew in to Greensboro, North Carolina from Burbank, California.

I look forward to seeing you again this Summer Mike!



As if that's not enough, Mike has a Border Collie, Fiona, that is something else...