By now, you have likely read about my references to my 3-concert, 5-day hitchhiking adventure when I was a 20-year-old sophomore at Boston College that changed the direction of my life.
I have a similar story in 1978 also. I was in college in Shreveport, LA. I heard Jimmy was playing in Houston, TX. I had friends in Houston, so I asked them to get me a ticket. I took a greyhound there (no car). I got there a few days early and heard Jimmy would be in San Antonio, so I hopped a greyhound to SA where my parents lived. I begged my parents to loan me the car to go to the concert (and it was a LOT of begging). I talked with a couple of roadies when I went to buy the tickets and found out he’d be in Amarillo after Houston. Duiring the opening act (Amazing Rhythm Aces) I kept eyeing a second row center seat that no one was using, and during intermission, I made my way to the seat and acted like I owned it. I went to the Houston concert - had sucky seats. Took the greyhound home to Shreveport. Convinced my roommate to loan me her car and go with me to Amarillo. Now this was way before Mapquest and I really had NO idea how far it was to Amarillo. I worked 11 at night to 7 in the morning and we left at 8 am for Amarillo. I don’t even know what time we got to Amarillo, but we stopped at a gas station and asked for directions to the concert. We got there during intermission which allowed me to get right up front (hands on the stage) for Jimmy. (back in the General Admission Days) It was awesome! The Amazing Rhythm Aces came back on stage to sing an encore with Jimmy which they hadn’t done in SA or Houston. I remember I threw my name and phone number onto the stage hoping either Jimmy or Fingers Taylor (who I had a crush on) would call. I still to this day claim “If the phone doesn’t ring, it’s me” as being written just for me. 😂
Chris, I so honored to be taking this “journey”. Your writings were always inspiring and fun to read. As I told you before, I can’t wait to take this adventure with you and your pictures and stories!
Thanks so much Diane! To start this journey, I felt compelled to lay the foundation of the hitching adventure, which is the genesis of everything that follows. I am approaching this Substack project in chronological order. Next newsletters will consist of my efforts to find a way to tell my story in a feature film (obviously that never happened), my initial posts and what I call the "Magic of Facebook." Readers' responses really pushed me forward to re-focus on writing my book, then I connected with Bob Liberman. That is when things really started to take off. You can't even imagine some of the fun and wacky stories I have already heard, which of course will be in his book, while sharing the process of our collaboration, leading eventually to publishers and hopefully sales success. Stay tuned, and thanks again for joining me.
I have a similar story in 1978 also. I was in college in Shreveport, LA. I heard Jimmy was playing in Houston, TX. I had friends in Houston, so I asked them to get me a ticket. I took a greyhound there (no car). I got there a few days early and heard Jimmy would be in San Antonio, so I hopped a greyhound to SA where my parents lived. I begged my parents to loan me the car to go to the concert (and it was a LOT of begging). I talked with a couple of roadies when I went to buy the tickets and found out he’d be in Amarillo after Houston. Duiring the opening act (Amazing Rhythm Aces) I kept eyeing a second row center seat that no one was using, and during intermission, I made my way to the seat and acted like I owned it. I went to the Houston concert - had sucky seats. Took the greyhound home to Shreveport. Convinced my roommate to loan me her car and go with me to Amarillo. Now this was way before Mapquest and I really had NO idea how far it was to Amarillo. I worked 11 at night to 7 in the morning and we left at 8 am for Amarillo. I don’t even know what time we got to Amarillo, but we stopped at a gas station and asked for directions to the concert. We got there during intermission which allowed me to get right up front (hands on the stage) for Jimmy. (back in the General Admission Days) It was awesome! The Amazing Rhythm Aces came back on stage to sing an encore with Jimmy which they hadn’t done in SA or Houston. I remember I threw my name and phone number onto the stage hoping either Jimmy or Fingers Taylor (who I had a crush on) would call. I still to this day claim “If the phone doesn’t ring, it’s me” as being written just for me. 😂
Great story and memories! Thanks for sharing😊
You're welcome Diane. And thank you for the kind words.
Chris, I so honored to be taking this “journey”. Your writings were always inspiring and fun to read. As I told you before, I can’t wait to take this adventure with you and your pictures and stories!
Thanks so much Diane! To start this journey, I felt compelled to lay the foundation of the hitching adventure, which is the genesis of everything that follows. I am approaching this Substack project in chronological order. Next newsletters will consist of my efforts to find a way to tell my story in a feature film (obviously that never happened), my initial posts and what I call the "Magic of Facebook." Readers' responses really pushed me forward to re-focus on writing my book, then I connected with Bob Liberman. That is when things really started to take off. You can't even imagine some of the fun and wacky stories I have already heard, which of course will be in his book, while sharing the process of our collaboration, leading eventually to publishers and hopefully sales success. Stay tuned, and thanks again for joining me.