Just back from the road and feeling pretty damn good about myself today with the way things went over the weekend. First of all, the weather cooperated by warming up significantly, making unloading and loading sound equipment a less arduous task. When it gets below zero, plastic handles on speakers retract and are difficult to wrestle, and carrying items made of metal can be excuriciatingly painful.
I want to take a moment to say thank you to all the wonderful people who showed up for the concert at the Heyde Center in Chippewa Falls on friday night, beginning with my good friend Jerry Way who did such a good job of first calming me down a bit and then really setting me up with a nicely paced twenty minute set of his own original tunes.
As a writer, I appreciate what other writers are capable of and Jerry is a wonderful gem of talent -- the pride of Chippewa Falls -- and I thank him for not telling too many of the details of our early work together in bands.
I enjoyed the story of the little bar we used to work where the bath rooms were located right off and below the high stage at one end of the room. Every once in a while we would get an eye full of unintended intimacy. I mean, like -- OOPS!
During intermission a got a chance to visit with the Spaeths. The Lundholms, and Don Hodges, dad to one of my former students, Marilyn. He thought I wouldn't remember him, but I surprised him.
Even the lady that I got my first cat from when I became a single man back in '76 said hello.
Also my Irish radio pal Mr. Jay Moore and the lovely Sherry were in attendance. So good to see their smiling faces.
Unfortunately, I had to start the show with a disclaimer, telling the gathering that despite what the local papers said, I have never appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and I swear to God it was not I that put that disinformation out for dissemination.
I was extremely nervous at the beginning of the show, but it wasn't long before I settled down -- due mostly, I think, to the wonderful response I received from the audience.
I was also much relieved to find that I had sold more than enough tickets to pay for my fee and for the Heyde to actually make a profit.
My thanks to Deb Johnson (another former student of mine) for taking a chance on me and I hope that we can do it again some time.
I think next time it should be the "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" show that my brother John and I perfomed together years past.
Pictured is my boss from saturday night's gig at the Deep Lake Supper Club just off Highway 2 between Brule and Iron River, Mr. Greg Ogren of the Iron River Security Trust Bank
I started my show by saying:
"If you like the show tonight, my name is Larry Heagle -- that's "eagle" with an 'H" --- if you don't like the show, his name is Greg Ogren -- that's ogre without an "N". And of course, the bank employees got a hoot out of that.
Looking at the picture, either he is really tall or I am really short.
The banker treated me like royalty and insisted that i join them for dinner (something I rarely do becaue i don't like to perform on a full stomach) but how do you say no to prime rib???
So it was a great work weekend! and I was back here at the computer, warming the office with the help of the stove, by just a little aftger game time. glad to see the giants win. I would have liked to have seen the Washington Redskins give it to the Seattle Searats, but you can't always get what you want (to quote the great poet Mick Jagger).
So bring the Fat Poobah and his bald headed QB back to Lambeau!
I wonder if Hasselback will want to make a "we're gonna score" prediction this time.
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