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The End of the Year

And what an end of the year it's been!  Since I wrote last right after Thanksgiving, things have been a little...well, too intense at times.  Lemme tell ya about it....

On Saturday, December 9th I had just driven our Explorer over near Huntsville to pick up my boy Garret, who had spent the night at his Grandma's.  We came into town and had to stop at the light right in front of Walmart, about a mile from our house.  It's on US 72 that is a nice divided highway with a grass median.  I came to a stop in the left-hand lane behind one other car.  We had come to rest a few seconds, waiting for the light to change when BOOM!  There was a tremendous flash of light and I had the feeling of being propelled, like I had been shot out of a cannon or launched like a rocket.  It was a second or two of a sickening, helpless feeling, then nothing.

I came to and at first thought the car was on fire, but realized that it was the propellant from the air bags.  I looked at Garret who was staring at me wide-eyed in fear and I wondered what I looked like.  Was the top of my head blown off or what?  I knew we had been rammed from behind, as this was the third time in my life I've had this particular pleasure.  The difference was that the first two times I had heard the howl of tires locking up on the pavement as someone was trying keep from hitting my ass.  This time there was nothing.

About that time, I looked up from where I was slumped across the middle console and saw some people outside my door.  The door had been knocked open a few inches and was bent and they were trying to pull it open to get me out.  I yelled for them to get to Garret first, and they left me and ran around to him.  I noticed that the car was still on, so I turned the key off and pushed my way out the door, which sent a jolt of hot pain through my shoulders.  I was in a fog as I stumbled out and over to the median where the rescuers were walking with Garret, holding him up.  They laid him down on the ground and I knelt over him.

Garret was shaking like he was freezing and I knew he was going into shock.  As I knelt over him, the paramedics and cops were already showing up, and I later felt that we must have been out for a couple of minutes.  Garret later told me he woke up first and thought I was dead.  The paramedics came over to check Garret and put the neck brace and stuff on him, while I was asking him to squeeze my hand and move his legs.  I pulled my cell phone out of my holster and called Christie at home.  I knew I couldn't hear very well so I just asked her to listen and let me talk.  I told her what was going on, but my have been so incoherent that she didn't understand.  She called back screaming and I couldn't understand her and had to let one of the paramedics talk to her and let her know where they'd be taking us.  Some lady was trying to comfort me, but was actually leaning on my making my shoulders hurt, and I was gruff with her telling her to leave me the fuck alone.  If she ever reads this I apologize....

I looked over at the Explorer; it was obviously totaled.  We had been driven into the car in front of us and I couldn't tell if anyone from there was hurt or not.  The car that hit us was demolished in front;  it looked like an older car and I didn't see the person who was driving.  I went over to the Explorer to try to grab a few things, but was pretty woozy and everything was like walking in a fog.  The paramedics were getting ready to load Garret on the stretcher into the ambulance so I hobbled over there and tried to climb up, but had to have help getting into the tall vehicle.

We hurried over to the ER at the local hospital and the first thing through the door, I saw the welcome sight of Dr. Freming, the physician for whom Christies works.  They put Garret in one room and me in another.  My Mom and Christie arrived minutes later.  Mom was pretty calm, but Christie was almost hysterical.  I told her where Garret was and that he seemed to be all right and she took off in that direction while Mom stayed with me.

I was beginning to feel like  someone took me out back of the house and beat the living shit out of me.  Luckily, neither one of us had busted up faces thanks to the seatbelts and the air bags.  I had a slightly chipped tooth, but most of my injuries were from the shoulders down.  I could hardly raise my arms when they went to x-ray me.  They found only a questionable place on my right shoulder, and some possible cracked ribs on the left side.  Both of my shins were swelling and smashed from flying up and hitting the underside of the dash, my right one being the worst.  It looked like someone had put a junior-sized football underneath my skin.  I had abrasions, but more like a bad gym-floor burn; nothing that needed stitched.

Garret came back to my room and didn't seem to have anything wrong other than some bumps, bruises, and a rash across his hips where the seat belt bit into him.  I had to get a tetanus shot since I couldn't remember when I had had one last.  I also requested a drug and alcohol test, as I had a twelve-pack on the floor behind the driver's set that had shattered all over us, bathing us in Samuel Adams Winter Brew.  I didn't want to be held responsible for anything.  Dr. Freming gave me a bunch of prescriptions and we were released.

We didn't know anything about the other people in the other cars at the time.  Turns out the car in front of us was also totaled but the people in it weren't hurt.  We found out on Monday that the person that hit us was a 76 year old man who was on two heart medications and oxygen, lived in a retirement apartment, and was driving on an expired Ohio license.  He was the stepfather of a lady who works for a local attorney.  The police believe that he was dead already when he hit us, either from a heart attack or stroke.  Why couldn't the old bastard die in front of the TV, instead of out riding around almost killing people?  Of course, he had no insurance whatsoever, and we still don't know if he had anything else!  Thanks God I had uninsured motorist coverage or I'd be fucked.

By Monday, I could hardly move.  I wondered how the hell I was gonna to the Creed gig in Memphis like this.  I struggled through the week like an old man.  Garret, on the other hand, was up running all over the place the next day.  Ahh...the flexibility and resilience of youth!  I couldn't even blow my nose or pee without pain.

We had to rent a car for the Memphis trip, and since we didn't have that option on our insurance, it came out of my ass.  Thanks again, Mr. Wiggly or whatever you name was!  I was super-glad that I had gotten off that Friday from work or I would have not made it in the rush.  We stayed at the Marriot Downtown in Memphis, and they thankfully had some wonderful beds.  

The gig on Saturday was just incredible.  I think even more people came than last year.  We played a bit better and more relaxed as it had only been a year since we'd played that stuff instead of fifteen like it was the last time!  I felt that I moved around pretty well and hid the fact that I'd gotten squashed a mere week previously, but after it was over I was so tired I could barely move.  I don't think I even told Chip and James goodbye or Merry Christmas.  

Come Monday, I couldn't even move again, but slogged through work the best I could.  We had an over-active Christmas long weekend with family from out of town, buying a new car, and all the stuff that goes with having kids and Christmas.  It's been so busy that what I am really looking forward to is lying on my ass doing nothing tonight after I get home from work!

So right now the old bod is healing, but I'm still not all there.  I haven't been able to work out at all and that may be another couple of weeks in the future.  My shins still look really pretty with their lumps and scars, and I can at least pee without passing out!  But at the end of the day my back is tired and hurting and my shoulders hurt most all of the time.  I am determined not to let this be the turning point from where I go from being a mobile "older" man to a shuffling "old" man!  So, wish me luck and pass the Advil.

And if you're in the area, come see Blood River at the Sports Page in Huntsville on New Years Eve!

Keep on rockin'!

JimmyR  12/27/2006 

Am I Being Lazy on this Site or What?

Jeez, gimme a break.  I haven't written anything since WHEN?  I have to say in my defense that it's a measure of my busy life as much as laziness.  At least I hope so.  

You know I have to comment on the recent elections...a big "YEE-HAW" goes out to the American people for sending a heavy message to the Bush administration, letting those criminals know that you can't fool all of the people all of the time.  I read the other day on a motorcycle website that I subscribe to where one of my more knee-jerk Bushie brothers sour-graped the comment, "Oh yeah,  I guess everything is gonna be wonderful now!"  Well, no it isn't, actually.  And it won't be for a very very long time.  You don't monumentally fuck up something to the extent Bush has fucked up this country both at home and abroad and expect it to be fixed overnight.  It is gonna be tough, and I hope and pray that the Demos and everyone else can pull together and pull off something good.  Lord knows, I wouldn't want the job.  We need a hero to rise, and in a hurry.  Where are all the Washingtons, Jeffersons, and Lincolns when we so desperately need them?

As an aside to this:  I have the future Conservative plan of attack all figured out.  First, you screw up everything so bad that it is damn near impossible to fix.  Then, when you get tossed out of office, you run a guerilla campaign to make sure you can sabotage any effort made by the opposition, and you try to divert attention both from the real issues and the fact that our country is in the hole from what you did to put us there.  Finally, when the opposition gets stymied and mired down with the impossibility of achieving anything, you sweep back into power by making those who would move forward appear the scapegoat.  Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly, I know you!  They have never forgiven the American people for the audacity of re-electing Bill Clinton once they had control of the Congress.  Maybe what they didn't (and still don't) know is that the people are smarter then what they give them credit for.

Okay, enough political crap.  On to more fun things:  got another Creed outing planned for Saturday, December 16 at the New Daisy down on Beale Street in Memphis.  Last year was so much fun, and so successful that we had to put on another show this year.  The other four guys have already gotten together a couple of times and Steve Ingle tells me it's much smoother this year, seeing as how it's only been a year since we've played that stuff as opposed to fifteen like it was the first time!  I plan or driving up there for a rehearsal either this weekend or next. Can't wait!

As for Blood River, we are actually playing New Year's Eve at the Sport Page in Huntsville, Alabama.  We have been working on new tunes, both covers and originals, and we promise some kick-ass surprises at the show.  Also, we're finally gonna get our own website up right after the first of the year.  Trying to kick it up a notch with my homies!  We are sounding good, I must say.

Even my old Lord Tracy brothers have been busy.  They just recorded some new stuff in Dallas a few weeks ago, so hopefully there will be some new LT stuff out there in the coming months.  Yeah, I kinda miss it at times, but I am so over my head busy it's not all that big a deal.  It was my choice, anyway.  

If any of my old friends are still reading my site, let me tell you that I miss you and love you all more than you know.  Just because I don't call or email or write (does anyone write anymore???) so often doesn't mean I don't think about you.  To mein guter Freund Andy in Switzerland, we plan on seeing you next summer!

That's about it for now folks, take care and keep on rockin'.  And come and see one of the upcoming shows!

JimmyR  11/28/2006

Back from Vacation, Ready to Rock the Nation

Just got back from vacation on Sunday night, and now I am having the pleasure of getting the "Monday-morning feeling" twice in one week, since we were off for Independence Day yesterday.  Maybe I'm getting too old and jaded, but we didn't even go out to watch fireworks.  The kids are at their Daddy's so there was just no incentive.  We've been worn out from the trip and just stayed low-key.  A few Mojitos helped even out the mood!  I play to write about the vacation and comment on the shit state of air travel in the modern world very soon.  Watch the Opinions page.

On a very sad note, I had a voice message on my cell phone when I returned that informed me that an old friend had passed away suddenly.  Any of you old-timers from the Creed days remember the very able and affable team of Randy and Cindy Ridley, who ran a lighting company named Moonshine Lighting.  Randy suffered a massive heart attack late last week and died, leaving Cindy and a 14 year old daughter.  The funeral was Monday, and I was unable to attend, but Steve Ingle from Creed gave me the story of all the people who came.  

Randy was the nicest of guys, very mellow and unflappable in tense situations.  Even that time when he made the end of a very large screwdriver completely disappear when whilst hard-wiring the lighting into a building's main circuit he accidentally mated positive with negative.  Randy was tossed back about ten feet.  He just sat up, shook his head, said he was okay and went back to work.  Randy and Cindy both made the Creed gig last Christmas.  I had to pleasure of talking to Cindy for about 3 minutes.  The two were lifelong mates, friends, and business partners and I remember saying something that it was good to see two people still together after all this crazy life.  Lots of people knew these two and came to love them after doing business in Memphis for years.  Randy's mellow good nature will be sorely missed.  Our hearts and prayers go out to Cindy and their daughter.  God bless you all.

To end this short news story on a positive note, it looks as if the Creed Christmas reunion may actually become an annual event.  The target date for this year's extravaganza is tentatively set for the New Daisy on Beale Street in Memphis for Saturday, December 16, 2006.  Keep in mind this is not set in stone yet, but we all feel it will happen.

Hope you all are having a good summer so far.  Too damn hot for me!  See you in the clubs....this Friday at Freddy's in H'ville...

JimmyR  7/5/2006

A Good Time was HAD, Baby!

Jeez!  Did we EVER have a good time last Saturday night playing the Cancer Survivors Benefit 'way on the other side of Decatur at the Sports Zone.  It was more like a concert than a club gig, everyone was into it and pogo-ing down front of the stage all night long.  Blood River and several other bands including Black Label were doin' it hard for the cause.  But I got two words for ya:  Bishop Black.

Shee-it!  Fee-uck!

Those guys are now my new favorite band around here.  I just hung on everything they did, their set was flawless in their loosely-tight approach, and let's own up about that gee-tar player, Preston.  That's the kind of playing that moves me to wanna play more and more.  Whoo-hoo!  If you haven't seen them yet, you gotta or you are missing out!  So muh-fuckin' fine, lemme tell ya!

Our set was an absolute blast.  The crowd was well-primed by the first two bands, and the hillbillies was all likker-ed up and we flat-out rocked.  We had the best time and felt like rock stars.  Then Bishop Black got up and kicked everyones happy asses, giving all  my guys a much-needed rest before getting back up there with Craig as Black Label.  There was NO oxygen in the place, and I thought Dave was gonna pass out a couple of times during our frenzied set, but he pushed it on through the wee hours with the Label guys.  It was so packed that if you had a set, you didn't wanna get out of it, and if you didn't it was like standing in neck-deep water with a huge school of drunken fish continuously swimming around you.  

A good time was had by all, and I am still feeling the glow this morning.  That's what playing and drinking and brotherhood with all your buddies is all about!

JimmyR 4/12/2006

I Hate to Say It, But...

Well, well, well.  Lookie here.  Things are shaping up just as I predicted in this great land of ours.  Gas is sky-high, we're bogged down in another brewing civil war just like Vietnam (only worse since this one involves religion), we had a first-class natural disaster that was the most mis-managed cluster-fuck in recent memory, and the President was all set to give management of our ports to a Middle Eastern company.  It took awhile, but now most of the country is coming around to just how horrible a President George Bush, Jr is.  Why, oh why am I not surprised?

On the bright side, maybe it'll smarten the country up a bit, at least for awhile.  Happened right after the Nixon fiasco back in the day.  Too bad we usually seem to follow up a criminal Republican pres. with a lame-ass Democratic one.  Sooner or later, a real leader just has to emerge.  If that is even possible nowadays when you have to be superhumanly pc to get elected to anything above dog catcher.  I keep hoping; call me the eternal optimist.

Swinging into this year playing more with my band Blood River, which is great.  We're starting to finally feel natural instead of having to think about everything we're doing every second of every song.  Had a real smackdown at Freddy's the other week, and we're gonna be there again next week, Friday March 24th.  I am also feeling the yearning to do some more blues, and if I get the time and the proper guys together, would like to re-activate the JimmyR Band theme.  Any groove drummers and bass players out there in the northeast Alabama jungle that are interested, gimme an email.

One milestone in my life lately is that I have opted-out of a Lord Tracy gathering.  It's not a question of any bad blood between me and any of the members, it's just that I don't really feel it anymore.  I may expound on this in an Opinions piece, if I ever get the time as it is a pretty important line to cross for myself.  They may still be doing this year's guitar show in Dallas in April, and if they are go see 'em as it will be mayhem as usual.  It's just that I won't be part of it this go-round.

Take care, lads & lassies, and tip a pint of Guinness on St. Paddy's now will ya?

JimmyR 3/16/2006

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