Ring, Ring! Ring Ring! It 4 o'clock in the morning! Of course it is...it wouldn't be a week on tour if it wasn't. Hello all...1st day of the southern CA tour and things are interesting already. Lets start at the top. Drag my butt out of bed...somehow convince my Mom to go with me to the airport to save me the $100 it would cost for me to leave my car there. Get to Orlando...run through security...no issues...yeah! Sit back and have a baguette from the Starbucks inside. Nothing like a $6 stale pastry to get your morning going:) It's boarding time...get on the plane...its not too crowded. Well, that is its not too crowded except for my row. I have a seat next to the little known superhero "Emphysema Man!" Oh joy! I try to sit but he is "Spilling" into my seat with his superpowers. I decide to ask the steward..I mean flight attendant...I mean...let's just call him Serge....if it is possible to upgrade to the Economy plus section which is almost completely empty. He huffs and says I have to go back out to the counter. I say ok...go grab my ticket and start to make my way out of the plane...he meets me just outside the plane door and asks where I want to move to. I say just 3 rows up...he says "I'll take care of you." I swallow loud enough for first class to hear and manage to get out a Peter Brady "Thanks..." as my voice expresses my uncomfortableness with his eye contact through his custom Lens Crafters...if you know what I mean;) IT'S ONLY 6AM FOLKS!

Take a well needed nap on the plane for a couple hours and get up and catch up on my inbox. I decide to take a break from thinking that early and grab the new Esquire my Mom gave me for the trip (Gotta love Mom). It has Ben Affleck on the cover looking scruffy but sophisticated. A great article that shows how private he is and how he refused to pick up the reporter writing the story in his "Actual" car so he rented a car so that the reporter couldn't comment on anything about his car/life and make assumptions. Ben is a Boston boy so I have love for him and his man-friend Matt Damon. Another article in the mag talks about Tiger Woods and his comeback. I am a HUGE Tiger fan. I love how dominate he is and how much practice he puts in to make sure that second place might as well be last place. The article was written by a guy who hates Tiger. I thought to myself...wow, isn't it awesome that Esquire allows the mentally handicapped to write articles;)

Before you know it the plane is touching down at LAX. I grab my backpack and guitar and try to balance one on each shoulder as we de-plane. We get into the terminal and I make a bee-line to the bathroom. Too many sparkling waters:) I have my head down in a sleepy fog walking at New England pace (which is 8 mph faster than anywhere else) and barrel into the men's bathroom when all of a sudden I smack hard into a guy walking out of the bathroom. I look up stunned and low and behold...it's Ben Affleck. Really. Not some guy who kinda looks like Ben Affleck if the light is right and his head is turned to 47 degrees...this is actually Bennifer. I say sorry...he smiles and PUNCHES ME IN THE FACE! Just kidding...that would have been awesome though huh? He was kind and smiled and moved on with his morning. I think now how great it would have been for me to say something like..."Way to go DareDevil! What no superpowers in the Men's bathroom?! Aren't you supposed to sense that sort of thing Ben?!" But no...I missed my moment.

I head over to the next terminal as I have a connecting flight to San Diego. I look out on the tarmac to see a plane with propellors. FREAKIN PROPELLERS PEOPLE! Is this 1948? Have we not retired prop planes that carry large numbers of people? Oh wait. Is see my seat is 2C. I had a brief thought that I was mysteriously upgraded to first class. Instead I realize that I can spit to the back of the plane. Not comforting. I send a brief and probably worrisome email to my wife...just in case you know?

I land in San Diego after spending 49 minutes in heavy prayer and butt clenching. Now I have to grab my rental car and drive BACK TO LAX! Don't ask. I make it back in record time (1:58) and wait for Dave's plane to land. Have a bowl of rice at Panda Express...charge my phone...grab Dave and we are off to Westmont College in Santa Barbara for a 7:30pm show. We are going to be late. What can you do? It's LA.

We get to Westmont and have a great turnout for the show. The students were engaged and genuinely concerned for the captives. Wrapped things up there...got a late bite to eat and headed to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

What a day and its only DAY 1!
Peace&ChickenGrease,
BCM

The NFSC Backyard Abolitionist tour is back on the road this week in PA.  Crazy schedule this week.  The short of it is this: (Deep Breath) Flew to Pitt on Sunday..dinner appointment...Monday Luncheon...Monday night performance at Waynesburg College...I fly to Philly in the am on Tues...Meet NFSC VP Mark Wexler in Philly and perform at St. Joseph's College at 7pm...while Dave has another lecture at Waynesburg at the same time...Fly back to Pitt Wed am...Executive Luncheon...BAT show at North Way Church in Oakland PA at 7pm...Fly to San Fran at 6am on Thurs...do a BAT show at Univ of San Fran at 7pm...Friday iHOP in San Fran...Saturday off (Woohoo!)...Fly to Seattle on Sunday am...1:30pm BAT show at North Creek Presbyterian Church...iHOP after that...Fly back to San Fran on Monday am...fly back to Orlando Monday afternoon!