Well folks… The first couple of weeks I kind of stayed clear of any socializing while I settled in at #StovepipeWellsVillage… We do live on property, so I am weary of forming relationships with the wrong people… But soon I was inviting a few people I really liked over to #TheMillenniumFalcon…
Then Vic, above, invited me to go to #LasVegas to see #SupermanVsBatman….
Now by no means do I like #BenAffleck… I think he is one of the worse actors out there and my least favorite to play #Batman… But Vic’s enthusiasm about the whole ordeal got me excited… So I went to see it with him… I love to be around passion and Vic has a real passion for movies… especially comic book movies…
And as I expected it was god awful… Can we get #ChristopherReeves and #ChristianBale back please? And #JessieEisenberg’s portrayal of #LexLuther was the worst I have ever seen… Where’s #GeneHackman when you need him? It was almost like Eisenberg was trying to reinvent the character like #HeathLedger did with #TheJoker… Well Jesse, you failed miserably and every time you reared your untalented ass, it ripped me right out of the movie! God, it was horrible…
Well, as I enjoyed a night and day in #LasVegas, I started to get this familiar feeling… I couldn’t put my finger on it but I was having some major de ja vu…It didn’t feel like a regular excursion to the movies, it almost felt like an escape from home…
Now, I have to be careful about how I speak of Stovepipe Wells Village… They frown upon any discussions of work policies or any mention of management on my blog or social media… We sign a contract which states we will not say anything negative or controversial…
There are quite a few rules on site, considering the land is run by #NPS… It has been a long time since I have been subjected to so many rules… So, when I left with Vic to go to #Vegas, I had this sense of relief because I could do what ever I wanted in the City of Sin…
And when I started having people over, I would feel this crazy cautious feeling in my gut… I was weary of some who came in and comfortable with others… Not that we were doing anything wrong but this feeling wouldn’t go away… It wasn’t necessarily a bad feeling, actually it was exhilarating… but here I am a 41 year old man and I am having the fears of a teenager…
Then it suddenly dawned upon me!!! This is how I felt when I was in #HighSchool… You know, that feeling like you are doing something wrong all of the time because authority is always watching over you? That feeling of relief I felt with Vic was the same feeling I would get when I would skip school… Even though I would have a blast, always there was this fear of getting caught in the back of my mind…
Hell, while growing up, I always felt like I was doing something wrong… I remember looking at adults with guilt because I always felt I was going be lectured or in some sort of trouble… I try to remember this when I talk to the younger people… They don’t see you as an acquaintance… They see you as someone who could potentially get them in trouble… So they try to avoid conversation with older people… That’s how I felt when I was a kid at least… lol…
Now, Vic is actually my age but most of the servers, kitchen staff and workers here are younger than me, some older… Not that it makes a difference to me… If I like you, I like you regardless of your age… That’s why I have friends as old as 70 and others as young as 18…
I love to hang with older folks because of their knowledge and history but I also like to hang with younger folks because of their spontaneity and fresh view of life…
So, I figured why fight a good feeling? Why not just go with it? Who doesn’t dream of going back to High School and doing it all over again… I know I do and here I have my chance to do it again… well in my own demented mind at least…
And I know some of you are thinking that it sounds a little more like college than high school… I almost went with the college theme but during my short stint in college, I never felt this type of nervousness… I don’t think I ever felt more unsure of myself than when I was in high school…
Well, it isn’t high school without the cafeteria and yes folks, we have one of those… As I mentioned before, it’s called the EDR (Employee Dining Room…) But I’m sorry folks, the lunch lady with the mustache doesn’t work in our cafeteria… Well, unless Robert (a cook and Veteran) is cooking your food… Lol!
The #EDR is definitely like those cafeterias in high school… It’s done buffet style and after you get your food, you are looking around for somewhere to sit… And yes, certain people sit with each other and you can see some of the early cliques that have already formed…
I couldn’t help but feel nervous when I would go over and sit next to someone… Fearing the horrible rejection and ready to hear “There’s someone already sitting here…” I had more problems on the bus back in the old school days actually… but there were a few horrible rejections in the cafeteria also….
But as usual, I was quick to make friends… I instantly knew I was going to enjoy it here…
So, here’s a little blog about my new high school friends…
Let’s talk about Vic first…. I like to use the term “Sweet” when excited about something or I want to express fondness for something that has happened… Well, I would say ‘Sweet’ to Vic and he would always respond “That’s my name…”
It took me a couple of weeks to realize it was really his name! LOL! His full name is Vic Sweet! I thought he was just joking around… But of course when such revelations throw themselves upon #TheTravelingMac, he has to take it one step further…
Vic is one of my favorite people because he is so brutally honest and doesn’t even try to be… You know where you stand with Vic and there’s no mystery to it what so ever… So when Vic Sweet is aggravated, you are going to know it…
That’s when I decided to label the two prominent personalities that Vic likes to show… There’s not much more other than these two personalities and they are pretty straight forward…
First you have Vic Sweet… Vic Sweet loves to hang around, loves to laugh and is very sarcastic… everyone loves Vic Sweet and loves to hang with the sweetness that is implied in his name…
But then there is Vic Vinegar… Vic Vinegar is the person you don’t want to run into unless you have a really strong backbone… Vic Vinegar is abrasive, brutally honest and puts up with no shit… A lot of people are afraid of the Vinegar or are completely perplexed by him… Because you never know when he’s going to show up but definitely feel his presence when he is around…
I myself love the Vinegar and Sweet… I feel they both compliment each other perfectly… Where one lacks, the other makes up for it… And if you listen to both Sweet and Vinegar, you will understand the whole package… A puzzle I like to claim I have solved… But don’t get too confident because if you do, you will end up bringing out the Vinegar to set you right back into place… lol…
Then theres’ Ian… I immediately bonded with this kid… He’s 19 years old and what a cool kid he is… He works as a dishwasher and is a real go getter when it comes to his job…
We formed our bond the old fashioned way, with some music jamming… He would come over and play because the music we like to play is not accepted on property…
Not only would Ian come over and hang after work… he would sometimes come over and have some of my fresh brewed coffee in the morning… We would sit and talk for hours… Ian is the guy who hangs with me the most at Stovepipe Wells High School…
One day while we were talking, we noticed that quite a few other people on property liked the same music we loved so much… Especially our friends… So the next decision was really a no brainer for us… If everyone loves our music then why shouldn’t they get to listen it whenever they like… So we decided to form a band…
Ian is singer and guitar player in the band…
This guy is named Tony… He is quite intimidating when you first meet him because he is really tall and big in stature… Tony and I partied a little too hard the first night we hung out… So hard, he paid for it with a trip to the Millennium Falcon’s bathroom… I was petrified for my bathroom but when I went in, he hadn’t left a speck of mess… The cleanest sickening occurrence I have ever encountered and it sounded like a disaster while it was happening… I was expecting Armageddon in there… He was so embarrassed and apologetic but if there’s no mess, then why would I care… Actually I commend it!
Tony works as a cook at Stovepipe Wells… I always would make fun of him because he is so adamant on resting his steaks after they come off of the grill… A practice every chef should partake in…
You see, a steak still cooks when you take it off of the grill… so if you rest it for a couple of minutes after you remove it, you will actually get a more accurate temperature for your customer… A good chef will cook a steak to the temperature just below what they want… then they will let it rest and gradually let it cook to the desired temperature… So, if you want a steak medium, you should cook it until it is medium rare, just below medium and let it rest for a couple of minutes… Then it will be medium when it’s ready to go out to the customer…
I want to make a plate for Tony that looks like a bed… so he will have a proper resting plate for his steaks… LOL…
Tony plays percussion in our new band, of course…
And this guy’s name is Jordan… Yes ladies, he is as hot as he looks… lol… Actually when I first met Jordan I was immediately reminded of the character Travis Bickle in “Taxi Driver” played by Robert De Niro… The resemblance is remarkable!!!
Jordan is a server at Stovepipe… He’s more conservative on his views than I am but we really bonded… Jordan is in his early twenties and as he has been traveling, he has started to become what I like to call “Self aware…” I remember when it happened to me and it didn’t happen until I was in my thirties… So I am safe to say that Jordan is an extremely smart individual even though we don’t see eye to eye when it comes to politics and this world…
Can anyone say lead guitarist!!! Hello!!!
And we definitely can’t forget about this complete maniac… This is Dustin folks… A very talented saxophone player and a down right spaz… When you hang out with Dustin, there’s never a dull moment… He works maintenance on site…
I actually felt bad because I was not very friendly to Dustin at first…. He was one of those people I needed to know before I bonded with him… I found him to be a trouble maker and he kept on coming up to my RV… I don’t mind folks coming up but when there is a lot of traffic coming in and out of the Millennium Falcon, #TheEmpire starts to take notice… And I don’t need the Empire up in my shit… It’s hard enough being a smuggler in this galaxy these days… LOL!
I had a discussion with Dustin at first and I wasn’t very friendly… I would soon apologize to him for my stand offishness… And he understood why I wanted to stay so low key…
But he would soon become one of my favorite people on property… He’s one of those guys who is just naturally hilarious… He reminds me of Woody Allen actually…. He’s clumsy, has a great sense of humor (Especially when it comes to himself) and is a very loyal guy… I don’t think he realizes his full potential… A definite achilles heel when it comes to being young…
Dustin will definitely be the Bill Clinton of the band…
And here’s the brains behind the whole operation… Even though she doesn’t take part in band practice, she’s the level headedness that all bands need… A former music teacher herself, she has taken on the arduous task of teaching and forming our band…though she has never played the particular type of music we are playing, her participation at the practices is invaluable…. She’s like a Producer with a lot of creative influence…
Tracey gives legitimacy to what we are doing and didn’t arrive until later in the game… She just started coming over, with her flavored vodka drinks, and immediately became apart of the band…
Tracey is this sweet girl, who seems so innocent and contained but behind those eyes is a very complex lady who has experienced a lot more than the average person through her short lifetime… once you open that can of worms she becomes a puzzle which you have to piece together to truly understand…. but one of those really fun puzzles with unpredictable results…
Trust me, we will be talking a lot more about Tracey in the near future… wink… wink…
And you can’t have a band without a manger… And here he is folks… The man everyone answers to… BOB…
BOB is a true pioneer and is the type of guy who doesn’t follow tones… no… he sets them!!!
BOB saw a true talent in our practices and jumped right on board…
“It wasn’t the talent that attracted me, it was the attitude…”- Bob Quoted
We had trouble thinking of a name of this band but BOB knew the name before we even played….
“The Dip Shits” folks… That’s the name of our band…
Because I didn’t tell you something about our music that is quite controversial…. The Empire doesn’t’ like it played on this property… The whole reason we formed this band…
Just like how we all used to play tag as a kid, there is a safe place that is out of the Empire’s hands… It’s called The Millennium Falcon… And no matter how loud we play our music, the Empire can’t touch us in The Millennium Falcon…
You see, the Millennium Falcon is a docile and the Empire hasn’t gotten enough control to enter my docile… So as long as the #DipShits play their music inside, no one can touch them… And of course we are cautious to not attract any unneeded attention, so the Dip Shits keep their rehearsals quiet and secret….
Anyone can come over and watch us practice or can actually pick up an instrument and play… The Dip Shits realize their music is harmless and they want to play for everyone who wants to listen…. So if your not a huge big mouth or a complete asshole then your audience is welcome…
That leads me to a few other characters I should mention…
There’s Skye- who is like the Principle of our High School… She’s a cool Principle who secretly likes to listen to our music but usually likes a drinking party instead…
You have Lucas- Who is your typical conspiracy theorist nonconformist who never sleeps… Lucas will show up here and there and will jam for a few sessions on special occasions… but most of his time is mysteriously spent behind closed doors…
Robert- is a Marine Veteran who has fought for his country and who loves to reminisce about the old military days… Robert loves our music and listens to it all of the time… It never hurts to have a man in uniform by your side…
There’s Beau and Mandy- Mandy is pretty much the popular artist partier… She creates beautiful art but isn’t afraid to let loose after… Beau is her younger boyfriend who keeps to himself… They seem to be complete opposites but complement each other well in a social situation…
We have Lindsey- who is from Florida and is a personal trainer… She’s definitely the jock of the group… lol..
There is Eddie- He’s the boyfriend of Lindsey and they are a perfect couple… Eddie is definitely the class clown who loves to tease and joke… He does not like our music, which Lindsey will listen to on occasion… He’s a huge pain in the ass but he grows on you after awhile… LOL…
And then there is Craig- Craig is a huge Trump supporter… He’s great to talk to but we don’t see eye to eye at all when it comes to politics… He’s definitely the information guy of the school… You ever want to know what the fuck is going on, Craig will probably have all of the information, plus more… He is a huge supporter of our band!!!
The Dip Shits folks!!!! Where a bunch of rejects from every corner of this country came to form a band… Their music is known to be completely non comprehensible and has no rhythmic order what so ever… But it makes you feel good… And that’s all that matters in the end…
Somehow all of us rejects ended up together in one place… Most of us have little in common and come from all over this country… Some of us are trying to figure out what life is all about… Some of us are trying to escape because we know what life is all about… But we all decided one day to go to one of the hottest places on earth…
Did we know we would form a band?
No…
Did we know that our type of music would become so important to us and so prohibited in this place we chose?
Hell no…
Honestly folks, I don’t know shit!!! For some reason we all ended up here at this one moment in our lives…. And for some reason our music would become more important to us than ever…. We have been rejected from regular society… be it by our own choice or by the choices of others… We are here and we will play our music damn it!
Because we are the DIP SHITS damn it!!!! And we’re not going to take it… anymore!!!
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