I met with the accordion man about a new accordion. I played some beautiful instruments but I don't know if I'm in love with any of them. Also, they cost about 2 months of take home pay, I don't feel comfortable spending that amount right now. Sheesh.

We had a two day trip from Colorado to Las Vegas which was mostly through beautiful desert scenery. Sometimes I spent 7 or eight hours at a time on the vestibule watching scenery. During the trip one of our sound guys was having his birthday party on the vestibule. They borrowed my shaving cream to "pie" him. It's a tradition usually held up by the clowns but I've seen it on every circus as a rite and show of love and respect. It's pretty much the nicest thing you can do for someone around here.

Last week the clowns pied the associate performance director right out on stage just before the doors opened for the arena. It looked like a stealth operation where the clowns had to sneak up on her and hide behind props and set peices as they got closer, finally running up from behind and splatting the big shaving cream pie in her face.

Vegas is a strange town for me. Last time I was here was with Alison and it particularly highlights the emptiness of not having someone to enjoy it with. It's a strange place. Like another planet. It is strange that this has become an icon of Americanism. Unfortunate in some ways but I think there is something to be learned from it while one sits in a casino buffet at 1am whatching overweight, sun-burnt tourists drop their life savings one quarter at a time into blinking, buzzing machines which make unspoken promises of something more. I like do this while listening to the Alan Watts teachings about Bhuddism on my iPod.

If you have iTunes check out Sarah McLachlans's Playlist.
It's not songs by her it's songs she likes.

On the train from Omaha to Colorado Springs we crossed a time zone and while I was out on the vestibule I saw a caboose out in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't on the tracks, it had been moved out to a plot of land and converted to a beautiful home. I saw another one here on the tracks at an old, retired Amtrak station which was let to ruin. I've not seen one in use in my 37 years including the two and a half years I've spent living on trains. It did occur to me that I've never considered owning one even though I make my home on a train. Much in the same way I've considered owning a house when I've rented one instead.

The town here is beautiful because the people are nice, things are close together, and there is the backdrop of beautiful mountains. Yesterday I walked around for a few hours with Mike the bassist. We found a musical instrument shop with beautiful guitars, banjos, mandolins, and the best ukaleles I've ever seen or heard. The man there in the store makes them. One was priced at over $3,000.00 which seems to be a lot for one but I think it would be worth the price. I asked them who had used accordions in town as I've asked everyone I've met in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvanya, Tennisee and, Omaha since my own accordion was destroyed while being shipped to me.

He, like everyone else said that he knew no one. But he reconsidered and gave me the number of a place that used be in town but had probably closed.

A woman answered the phone when I called and I asked her if it was an accordion shop. She seemed surprized and I'd obviously caught this woman in her own home on her personal phone. I explained why I was calling. "I'll get my son-in-law", she said.

Then I heard her yelling to another part of the house with her hand over the receiver. "There's a guy here who works for the Barnum and Bailey, and his accordion is ruined. Do you want to talk to him?"

I heard someone pick up another receiver and I heard accordion playing in the back ground. Next I spoke to man named Dan Christain who said he'd come to the circus train the next day in the morning to look at my accordion.

This morning Dan came to the train took my accordion apart carefully and frowned at the sight of the hole which now goes through the body of the instrument clear into the chamber which forces the air through the reeds.

On Friday I'll meet Dan's father-in-law who will bring a few accordions for me to try.

Today I searched ebay for "caboose" and sorted the 4000 results by highest price first. The top two listings where real cabooses which where for sale for under $10,000.00 , considerably cheaper than a house. That is my new dream.

I still haven't created a podcast. I'm waiting to see if I can find my tape recorder and microphone. Actually Camilla is checking in my storage space in Somerville for that. It seems silly to buy anything I already have.

Wilkes-Barre was very nice (that's where I pay my school loans!). It's sort of old. There's an old Planters Peanuts factory right down town which has been shut down. I walked the 5 five miles into work each day while we were there. It felt good to get some excercise. It was so nice that I thought that when I make a podcast that it should be a travel show. You know, I could just walk around each town with my tape recorder and talk about what I'm seeing.

But I think there's going to be more to my podcast. I've been listening to Garrison Keillor's podcast and he has a way of creating a world in that five minutes. (That link won't work if you don't have iTunes. You can use this one: Garrison Keillor's Podcast). So I'm going to try to use music and real life events to create something that will be a good outlet for me.

I went to Memphis to visit Rachel for a couple of days while the train rolled on. I was on a little prop plane flying out of Wilkes-Barre. I tried to find a new accordion there but I only found a guy who makes electric guitars out of cigar boxes. He was happy to demonstrate but his playing wasn't suited to my tastes. He did go the extra mile though and demonstrate he could play (however poorly) using a spoon held in his mouth. I also met the good people from the Folk Alliance. They have a conference every year which showcases some world music too and I think I might attend next year.

On Thursday a flew on to Omaha Nebraska. Apparently the person who owns the train yard here doesn't like the circus and we almost got thrown out. I don't recall that happening before. There are grumpy looking sherifs all over the train yard and we're not allowed to go outside and walk around or barbecue. They've threatened to arrest us if we give them any trouble and they patrol outside the train day and night. It's very unfriendly. But I shouldn't be too surprized. Some people are afraid of circuses. I don't think this would happen if I were touring with a broadway show. And I'm sick of my friends saying "are they mean to the animals?" Jesus people! Do you ask cooks if they spit in the food? Do you ask your friends who are doctors if the leave surgical tools in patients? Show some fucking respect. I don't even say stuff like that to people who do screw up their jobs. It's not any of my business.

And another thing...(as long as I'm ranting here, and I promise this won't go on for much longer) If you meet me at a party or something and ask where I work and I say "a circus" don't say "what do you mean by a circus?". It's a freakin' circus, OK? there's no other word for it. Not even in other languages. Then when you ask me where I live and I say "a train" don't ask "what do you mean by train?". Sheesh!

Actually you're never going to have this problem because I'm going to whip up some story about being an accountant.

This is a spider who was making her home on the bridge in Harrisburg. Actually there were many bridges there.

Many bridges