Hello friends,

Happy Monday to you all! I write you from the warm and sweet smelling confines of a Dunkin Donuts shop in Madison, Wisconsin.  I’m here enjoying a few hundred munchkins and coffee before I start the work day. I’m really grateful for yet another wonderful opportunity to work for a magnificent individual on my pathway to my fifty state goal. You’ll have to read all about it on the gigs page once I’m done either tomorrow or the next day.   

After my last post on Thursday from a lonely rural library, an hour had not even passed when I got the call for this job some 80 miles away. My quiet desperation turned to joy, as it normally does now, when it became a reality. I pulled in the nearest gas station, bought a bag of chips, a bottle of water and chased the sunset all the way to Madison, blasting my favorite Mexican playlist and stopping to take pictures along the way!

The job itself is a bit complicated and hard on the body but the warmer weather continues to serve me well. I will leave here exhausted but energized for Minnesota, my next stop. I don’t have a gig there yet obviously but my gigs friend Patrick, from my West Virginia job, and I have been in contact since then and he has arraigned for some supplemental work for me while I secure that elusive gig in the Minneapolis area. That is one the most outstanding features of this adventure, people like Patrick who I only met for a few hours in one on the shortest gigs on the tour, would take so much interest in what I’m doing that he has gone out of his way to make my journey some much easier for me. Especially now six months in the trip when I feel my body struggling every day to keep up the energy level. On top of that he has also invited me to stay at his home some two hours north of the metro as I head to North Dakota next week! That’s one invitation that I will certainty accept with much pleasure and gratitude.

But first things first friend, I have to go now and finish up with Amadeus and Wisconsin. The donuts and caffeine are kicking in now so I have to let you go now! Have a great week and be safe where you may be. Thanks for checking-in and for supporting your local gigs guy.   #Yo-Ga-Fla

Juanjohn

Hello friends,

 I hope you are enjoying your day wherever it is you call home this Thursday morning.

 I am in the small town of East Troy, Wisconsin, writing you from the tiny public library. I am somewhat stuck in the area between Milwaukee to the east and Madison to the west.  I thought I had a landscaping gig already set up for today in Beloit, just south of Janesville but the poster cancelled my 8:30 appointment, claiming that her husband nixed the project due to the high cost of materials. I then jumped back on the CL to find something else. I put inquires in both the Madison and Milwaukee areas, so I sit here waiting to see which one might pan out and then proceed in that direction. I have few precious resources available so my only choice stay put and hope something comes through in the next day or two.   

I feel good about finding something soon and then heading north to Minneapolis, Minnesota. The weather continues to be agreeable and my spirits are high despite my tired soul. I can almost see the end of the road in my mind’s eye with only 17 more stops left on the list. I had originally predicted only 6-8 months on the road thinking I would be back in the AZ by the first of December at the very latest.  Not going to happen. There have been a few things that I miss calculated, time being the utmost. My latest forecast is to reach Honolulu, my last stop by the first week of January 2017!  My forty-ninth stop is San Francisco with my son Anthony and the grandkids and I plan to stay there a few days before completing the list of fifty in Hawaii.  But there is still plenty more miles to go and plenty of cold weather to come I believe before I can start to plan on being in California and Waikiki beaches! It doesn’t hurt to dream about it though, and that’s what I do during the road, down time and between gigs.

I have also noticed via the social networks and news feeds on my phone the reactions to the presidential election results because I don’t get to watch too much television on the road. There was bound to be a hangover on either side that lost, understandably so with so much passion on each camp. I share my web pages frequently on Facebook, Twitter and even on Google to try to distract my friends and family, if only for a while, from so much emotional turmoil invested with political issues. I hope my siblings who have been so distracted with the presidential campaign remember they have a brother somewhere in America waiting for a call or text to lift his spirits up every now and then!

Okay that was my rant for the week; I had to get that off my chest! Now I have to go back on the CL because ads pop up at any moment. Have a great rest of the day and thanks for checking in with the Johnny Man!   #Yo-Ga-Fla

Juanjohn

Hello friends,

I hope all are well this Monday morning. I write you from Naperville, Illinois, just east of Chicago. I have a few minutes to check in before I depart for my gig at 10 am. I was fortunate to score a job on my second day here after arriving yesterday morning. I kind of figured it would go well after seeing plenty of ads posted. This city is huge and I could probably find work every day if I wanted to stay or move here. 

I have been here before as a tourist back in the mid-nineties with my late mother and older sister. I don’t remember much about our visit other than falling asleep on the four hour tour bus that took us through some of the normal tourist spots including the Miracle Mile and Oprah’s house.  I’m here taking advantage of the good weather which is usually warm for this time of year. The traffic though is quite heavy no matter the time of day and most drivers seem to be really impatient and aggressive. I drove around yesterday and couldn’t tell it was a relaxing Sunday drive. The city’s M.O. is rough and straight to the point and I got a dose that right off to bat at a local north side eatery. Breakfast is my favorite meal out (after lunch and dinner) so I Googled something close after taking some pics at the Navy Pier. I followed the directions to the Horizon Café which had some good ratings on line. I arrived before the morning crowd and didn’t wait too long to be seated. The place was small and already full at eight thirty.

The host took my name and I stood by the door waiting for my table. I noticed the next table open had an outlet to charge my cell phone so I asked the gentleman if he could put me there. He rudely said no and he sat me on a tiny table squeezed between two other tables on the back wall. I was touching elbows with both parties on either side and could have easily eavesdropped on both conversations if I wanted to. So much for a relaxing meal I though as I took a look at the menu. The server was a young man (thirty some) who was buzzing around his station like the building was on fire. It took more than just a few minutes for him to come to my table so I flagged down the immigrant busy boy and asked him in Spanish to get me a cup of Joe. The server finally asked me if I was ready to order and I told him I was ready ‘a long time ago’. He quickly gave me a snobby look and rushed off after I placed my order. I was miffed not because of the wait, which I understand when it’s busy, but because he skipped me over and had approached the adjacent table first, who was seated after me. I didn’t think he even got my order correct and it was confirmed when he splashed the plates on my table. By that time I figured it was par for the course so I get let it go and shut my mouth for a change. The only saving grace was that the food was actually fresh and well prepared but Mr. Personality didn’t even bother to fill my cup or thank me for my patronage. Nevertheless I still tipped him, though it was the bare minimum. Welcome to the Windy City!

Tomorrow is national Election Day and I’m sure all focus is on the presidential race and by Wednesday morning it will all be over. I vast number of people will be disappointed I believe and the country will move on. I too will move on to Wisconsin after today and I hope the good weather holds up!

Have a wonderful day friends and thanks for your support.  #Yo-Ga-Fla.

Juanjohn

Good morning friends,

I write you this beautiful day from my Motel 6 room in Memphis, Tennessee. I apologize for no writing as of late but I was busy working on my two gigs. Two in less than a week is ideal for me especially since I’m behind with my projection.  I arrived here yesterday and decided to splurge on a motel room to escape from the backseat for a day. I can hardly call a Motel 6 a splurge, but just sleeping on a bed and getting a full night’s sleep does the Johnny Man some good.

I actually slept Saturday night at the Love’s truck stop just south of here in a small town of Senatobia, Ms. I left Starkville late and since I hadn’t decided at that point weather to head to Memphis or Little Rock, I just pulled in for the night at this facility. I figured I could decide in the morning, besides I was really beat from the pergola project. I arrived at 11:30 pm and after setting up my truck I bedded down for the night. At 2 am I was awoken by the sounds of music and people talking, lots of people! I sat up slowly and peeked over the backseat. Apparently I parked right in the middle of the Saturday, late night hangout for all the local kids! It was swarming with cars and people just doing what teenagers do on any given town or city in this country. Guys checking girls and girls wanting to be seen in all their best dress. I figured it was just a harmless gathering that I myself have been part of that scene some forty years ago. Even though I was parked smack in the middle of the crowd of cars and kids no one seemed to care about a weary, lonely traveler. I slid down back to my fetal position but I couldn’t fall back to sleep with all the music and laughter just inches away from my ear. I wasn’t too upset realizing that kids will be kids but I was more concerned about getting some rest for the next day.  After an hour or so the music and the laughter quickly subsided with the sounds of doors slamming and engines starting up. I sat up once again only to see a half a dozen patrol cars clearing out the lot with their p.a. horns and spotlights! Within minutes the entire parking lot was empty except for the gigs mobile and a couple employee cars from the 24 hour restaurant. I was worried for a few minutes thinking the fuzz (cops for you younger ones) would approach and question me. Apparently they noticed my Arizona plates and figured I was just a traveler. That was my Saturday night event in Mississippi.

 So I decided to come up to Memphis and have tentatively set up a moving gig in Arkansas for Tuesday. I almost feel guilty about taking the day off from the dreaded CL list and the daily grind of looking for work, but I have my heart set on making my pilgrimage to one of the most scared and holy of sites on earth: Graceland.

Yes friends, I am a big Elvis fan and had this on my list of must see places. As a baby boomer, I grew up watching Elvis and listening to his music. He was the Justin Bieber of his day, except he had talent. He was a bit before my time and when he died in 1977 (I was fifteen) he was already past his prime. But to me and many others he was the original rock n roll King! I never got to see him perform in person but I remember seeing footage of the ladies reaction when they were in his presence, usually accompanied with drools and fainting spells. Just ask your grandmas!

I’m also thrilled about the weather and the forecast for the month of November. The experts are predicting a warmer than usual fall for a lot of the places that I still have to visit on my route. With many more truck stops on the horizon I have been a little concerned about the cold. It also encourages folks to continue posting work on the CL as long as the weather is agreeable.  

That’s all for today friends now I will get ready for my Elvis tour this afternoon. I also remind you to see the new pictures I continue to download on the gigs album #2 page. Thank you for your precious time and enthusiastic support! Have a great day!    #Yo-Ga-Fla!

Juanjohn has left the building!