A Galaxie Far Far Away

As I sit in the Starbuck’s lobby in the Wisconsin Dells, my mind cruises over the last few days of travel, music, hotels, camping, dog walks, car repairs, and random odd looks from strangers.

Wednesday, June 1st.

Played a gig at Povlitzki’s in Blaine, Minnesota. Bob and I opened for the Marshall Star Band. We had a great time, talking about music, gear, and sub-nuclear physics. Wally, the leader of the band, invited us to his place the next day to hang out. It worked well for us, as it made the day’s drive relatively short, and gave us an opportunity to replace the fuel pump and valve cover gaskets on the Galaxie. A few hours later, Wally had hooked us up with a gig in the town of Tilden, Wisconsin, at a place called ” The Mason Jar”. Tilden was not on the map. Perfect. We had to get written directions from Wally. We played to about 20 or so people and had a great time with people dancing and heckling us to our amusement. We didn’t take advantage of the video bow-shooting simulation there, though we would have loved to. A bit intimidating at first, but we all got along great. Everyone there was super-nice and fun to play for. I’d like to thank the guys from Marshall Star, Wally, Keith, Kevin, Tom, and Boyd, for making us feel welcome in Minnesota. Thanks to Paul and Scott at Povlitzki’s for their kindness too. Thanks again to Jake and all the folks at The Mason Jar, It was a blast!

Friday, June 3rd

We’re at Wisconsin Dells now, after a couple of hours on the road, including a stop at Kaufman’s Kafe in Fairchild, Wisconsin. The food there was fantastic, and we enjoyed the flea market. Kurt got an old White Castle Slyder Pilot hat, soon to be a collector’s item. In the back lot we met Mr. Bill Barry, who was throwing homemade arrow-spears at a target. Look for him on video soon. He was an absolute gentleman, and taught John and I how to properly throw the spears at a target like the Australian Aborigines and Indians in Papua, New Guinea do.

As I write this post, we have less than an two hours before we’re kicked out of Starbuck’s, and David has gone to the campground with the keys to the Galaxie in his pocket. I have a door key, so Chris and I may be sleeping in the Galaxie tonight. The campground won’t let us in after midnight, and it’s 10 miles away. More to come…………….

Howdy from Blaine, Minnesota. We’re a bit north of the Twin Cities today. Arrived last night after a long day on the road and a run in with an angry motorist who summoned the local sheriff’s office and had us stopped for a bit. Here’s the story:
We’re on U.S. 12 and get detoured around some road construction. A woman gets behind me with her young child in the front seat. She tailgates me for about 5 miles, even though I’m traveling at the speed limit thru a construction zone. I edge to the shoulder three times, to give her the opportunity to pass, but she stays behind me. All the while, Chris is filming me talking about, well, you know, like, um, stuff and whatnot. The third time I give her room to pass, she finally unglues her front bumper from my rear bumper and passes. Immediately after she passes, we come to a stop sign. Chris turns the camera to her rear bumper to adjust the focus and fiddle with the light levels. In no more than 2 seconds, she exits her car, approaches the Galaxie, and begins to lecture me on the legal rights we do not have to film her. She then informs us that she has our license # and will call the authorities. I respond by saying, ” Okay”. She gets back in her car, and we have to follow her back to U.S. 12, as we’re still on the detour road. When she finally turns off, I give her a friendly tap of the horn, just like I learned in driver’s training, and we go on our way.

We did absolutely nothing to this woman. We did not pursue her, we did not harass her, we did not try to intimidate or film her. We had no interest in her until she began yelling at us. After she turned off, we thought nothing more of the incident, except that it was strange.

About 15 minutes later, 10 miles further up the road, I hear a siren. I look in my rearview, and see the flashing red lights of an emergency vehicle. I pull off to the shoulder, just like I learned in driver’s training, and wait for it to pass. For some reason, It doesn’t pass. I thought perhaps they had motor trouble, or maybe a flat, or the battery went dead.

Nope.

I was being stopped by the Sheriff’s department. The sergeant approached the Galaxie pretty hot. Maggie barked in attack mode, as she was not comfortable with his threatening presence. After ordering us to hold the dog down, he informed me that I probably knew why we were being stopped, to which I replied, ” No, not really”. He pointed at the camera and informed us that folks around here don’t like to be harassed with cameras. I assured him we had done nothing of the sort. He then inquired as to what we were doing, and I informed him of the trip across Northern America in my grandparent’s Galaxie that I loved as a kid, and how I was taking U.S. 12 and talking to people along the way and making a documentary film and everything and how you can get anything you want at Alice’s restaurant, etc., and that we had done nothing we considered inflammatory.

He took my license, and disappeared. We waited, and pondered the possibilities of going to jail. Chris apologized for having the camera, and I thought about all the things I wanted to say to people before I get locked up. Then we started crying, and we wept for a good 3 or 4 seconds. Then we got to thinking. This woman had followed me literally a foot or less away from my bumper for over 5 miles, then passed me in a no-passing zone, then exited her vehicle on a public roadway and approached me in a threatening manner. All the while with her young child in the front seat of her car. It didn’t make any sense. We decided that since we were telling the truth, it would all work out.

Well, the sheriff came back, handed me my license, and said ” Thomas, have a nice day”. I said ” Thank you”, and drove off. He said before we left that we weren’t breaking any law, and that he’s never had that happen before. Kind of like not paying for gas in Alliance, we gave them something to talk about.

Cheers from the road…….Pause and Reflect.