October 31, 2009 Grambling, LA; Monroe, LA

I woke up later than I had intended to, and had to rush to get ready for the homecoming parade in Grambling. Although I was running late, I decided to eat breakfast at the IHOP in West Monroe, and then I drove the 30 miles into Ruston. I knew from previous years that there would be traffic gridlock from the Grambling exit on I-20, so I snuck around the back way through the Louisiana Tech campus onto Highway 80, and then up Stadium Drive into Grambling. I was later getting into Grambling than in previous years, so I had to pay for parking, but I was fortunate to find an inexpensive lot next to the Catholic church south of the campus. As I walked up Main Street toward the Student Union, I encountered a large crowd of onlookers waiting for the parade to come. The wind was chilly despite the bright blue sky and sunshine, and most of the parade-watchers had jackets on. There was another large group gathered on North Main in the Village, and further up the street, on the other side of the railroad tracks was the beginning of the parade. Ducking into Reali-Tees, I purchased a new Grambling shirt and immediately put it over the one I had on, but I was still chilly. While I waited for the parade to get under way, I noticed a number of new businesses in the Village- a chicken and waffles place which had taken over the old Tasty Foods, an internet radio station, Bud's Spuds and Spivey's Fried Chicken, to name a few. The world-famous Grambling Marching Tiger Band led the parade off, and soon things were underway, with kids scrambling out into the street to retrieve sweets thrown from the floats. Bands were there from Minden, Shreveport, Tallulah, Richwood and Ferriday, but this year's parade seemed smaller and shorter than in previous years. Afterwards, I was out of time on my video camera, so I had to run and get my laptop to offload footage, which I did while chilling in the Starbucks at the Student Union. When I heard the thunder of drums, I went outside to encounter the GSU Tiger Band on its way to the stadium, so, after making a run to my car, I headed over to Robinson Stadium for the game. Although the weather was sunny, and warm temperatures had been predicted, the wind was blowing and keeping things cool. Worse, the home side of the field was shaded, and got more so as the game progressed, but Grambling won easily over Mississippi Valley. When I walked out of the stadium, the informal car show was underway again this year. Cruising up and down RWE Jones Drive were candy-painted cars and trucks on rims, and some of them with trunks full of neon. Behind them came wreckers, apparently to tow those away who parked illegally, or perhaps who were pulled over with drugs, weapons or alcohol. Soon police cars with sirens screaming were racing down to the south end of the street, followed by an ambulance. I walked on back to the Student Union, where another large crowd, mostly students had gathered. Some of the cars that had been cruising Jones Drive were now headed down Main Street directly in front of the Union and dining hall. Eventually, the GSU band paraded down the street on their way back to Dunbar Hall, but when they got to the space in front of the Union, they broke into a performance for the crowd gathered there. Further up on the Quadrangle, they paraded into the band room, and the drumline, Chocolate Thunder did just the slightest breakdown routine before they too disappeared into the building. The homecoming concert was supposed to begin in a half hour or so, but I decided to go back to my car and head to Monroe for dinner. I headed to the Waterfront Grill on Bayou DeSiard, where I enjoyed a filet mignon dinner, and then I headed back over to Ruston to visit Dr. Reginald Owens, a former Grambling professor that now teaches at Tech. He and I spent some time catching up and talking, and then I headed back over to West Monroe, and, resisting the temptation to go to one of the club events, I returned to the hotel.

Monroe Scenes

October 30, 2009 Monroe, LA

I got a very late start heading out of town because my computer wouldn't sign on to the internet and I was on the phone with AT & T for an hour trying to get it working, only to discover that there was a neighborhood outage. I wasn't in a very good mood, and it was raining steadily, so when Boss King called and wanted me to meet him at Brother Juniper's for breakfast, I said "Why not?" and headed over there. That wasn't a bad way to cheer up, and soon I was on my way down I-55, but slow going since the rain wouldn't let up at all. Since I was running so far behind schedule, I decided not to stop in Jackson, and took the I-220 loop around to the westside and on to Vicksburg. At Tallulah, I stopped at the McDonald's for a cappuccino, and then headed on into West Monroe, with maybe about an hour to spare before the antique shops started closing. The rain had tapered off to just a drizzle, but rather ominous was the Ouachita River, which had risen so far above floodstage that it was currently just below the underside of the DeSiard and Louisville bridges. As I usually do anytime I'm in Monroe, I visited the antique stores in search of Grambling memorabilia, and this year I hit paydirt, finding Grambling annuals for 1959, 1960, 1963 and 1964 at the Cottonport Antique Mall. There was also one there from 1966, but I didn't buy it since I wasn't sure what else I would find at other shops. Down the street at the Ouachita River Trading Company, I found two more Grambling yearbooks, for 1991 and 1995, and then I headed over to Books-A-Million in Monroe to see if they had any new books about Monroe, Grambling or Shreveport, but I didn't find much there. The rain was starting to pick up again as I left the bookstore, but when I arrived at Portico Bar and Grill for dinner, it had stopped, and a beautiful rainbow had appeared in the east. For a moment it was a double rainbow, and then it became a single again, but an unusually perfect one, reaching the treeline at both ends. Inside, the restaurant was as cheery as ever, with a live band playing and waitresses and bartenders costumed for Halloween. Waiting for my filet mignon, I checked emails and noticed that Jimbo Mathus was supposed to be in Monroe tonight, playing at a bar called Coda, so I decided to go if I didn't end up over in Grambling. After dinner, I rolled past Carroll High and Wossman High looking for a high-school football game, but nothing seemed to be going on, except over in West Monroe. So I checked into my hotel room at the Jameson Inn in West Monroe, and then drove across the street to get a cappuccino at the Corner Coffeehouse. I had planned on calling my friend Dr. Reginald Owens who lived in Grambling, but I could not reach him, so I drove over to Coda, a new bar and grill in Monroe that had not been open last year, and got a table near the stage for the Jimbo Mathus show. Justin Showah, the owner of Hill Country Records came with Jimbo, and I got a chance to hang out with them briefly before the first set. Jimbo's typical rock/country/blues mix seemed to fit the crowd just right, the high point of the set (for me) being his trademark version of "Casey Jones." Thoroughly tired from a day of driving against the weather, I called it a day after the first set.

October 25, 2009 St. Louis, MO; Memphis, TN

Since the Soda Fountain Square restaurant I had enjoyed so much last year was now closed, I ate breakfast at the Soulard Coffee Garden instead, and then hit the long road back to Memphis.

Scenes from St. Louis and the I Am Music Workshop

October 24, 2009 St. Louis, MO; East St. Louis, IL

All of a sudden, it was winter, and I didn't prepare for it. I hadn't brought any warm clothes to St. Louis because I had naively assumed that the weather wouldn't be that different than what we had been getting in Memphis for the last week. So much for assumptions, and now I was shivering as I drove out to Uncle Bill's Pancake House on South Grand for breakfast. It was a great choice, a classic late 50's style place with a classic neon sign thrown in for good measure, and, not surprisingly, great food. Despite the cold, the weather was bright and blue, so, after I finished breakfast I drove across the bridge to East St. Louis to look for the Gateway Geyser and see if I could get a good photograph of the St. Louis skyline and Gateway Arch. Finding the park that contained the geyser was not easy, as it was tucked behind the Casino Queen, but I did find it. The geyser was evidently not working, but there was a large overlook facing the arch, and I climbed to the top of it to snap a picture. If the weather was cold on the ground, it was absolutely frigid at the top of the observation deck, so I quickly came back down. Driving out of the park, I accidently ventured into a warren of old streets through overgrown woods with one abandoned house at an intersection, but I was soon able to get back to the interstate. Given the area's proximity to the casino and park, I couldn't help thinking that it would make a wonderful Beale-Street-type entertainment district for East St. Louis.
When I got back to the hotel, it was time for the I Am Music Workshop events to get underway, and the events took most of the afternoon. I was on the distribution panel, along with representatives from Fontana Distribution and Jive Records. Afterwards, those two decided to go with me to dinner, so I drove them up to a place called Pi on the Delmar Loop in University City where we ate gourmet pizza and talked about the music business. It was nearly midnight when we left, and I dropped them off at a trendy hip-hop club on Washington Avenue near the hotel. I was too tired for a hip-hop club, and it was too late for me to make it to the Trio Tres Bien performance at Robbie's, so I returned to the hotel and went to bed.

Scenes from St. Louis and Cape Girardeau