A Radio8Ball show is always a unique and, in my opinion, wonderful experience. It has elements of a game show with much audience participation. There's a spinning wheel and space-age technology involved. You'll see.
Rumor has it that during the show a clip from the new Sandman documentary, Roll Out, Cowboy, will be shown on the theater's screen. I'm nervous to find out which clip Director Elizabeth Lawrence chooses! Follow the film on Twitter.
The Olympic Mountain Range can be seen crisp on the horizon. Croci and rhododendrons are poppin'. Meanwhile, in the nation's capitol, where my girlfriend Hana is this week, they are preparing for the heaviest one-day snowfall in nearly 90 years.
Hana meant to fly to Syria today, but will wait. It's snowing in Damascus, too, she tells me.
Sandman 6:51 PM
The Anacortes show went well, although I had to sweat and struggle through a couple new songs. The audience was sweet and supportive (sold $150 in merch!). Staying with the Lunsfords at their goat farm was nourishing, as always, as was a spirited political discussion with Phil, Genvieve, and Jason during breakfast in town.
Sandman 11:20 AM
Hello from Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Bunnel, Florida. Fox News just reported sub-zero temps across the north, but here it's already 70 F.
Hana grew up in the little village of Espanola which is eight miles from here. It's the sticks. We hiked around her grandma's property and saw deer, armadillos, and wild turkeys. Her uncle Mark reports that panthers, bear, venomous snakes, and alligators can be found, too. Only fifteen miles away is a sandy ocean beach where, yesterday, we saw dozens of dolphins.
Sandman 8:10 AM
I'm in Washington, DC, today, meeting Hana's parents. Auspiciously, President Obama is giving his State of the Union address here tonight and the pressure is on. Go 'Bama go! You can do it! Knock 'em out.
Tomorrow we fly to Florida to meet Hana's grandma.
Sandman 2:28 PM
My new CD is getting mastered this week. I'd originally planned to call it All the Things I Done Wrong, but now I'm going withChemicals in the Wheat. The cover artwork, an intricate paper cut by my friend Nikki McClure, is of a man in a field working under ominous skies. He has a pair of pliers in his right hand and appears to be disassembling a barbwire fence.
The songs, mostly guitar-driven electronic Americana, total over fifty minutes.
They are:
Corpse
Michael Jackson
Strange Medicine
All the Things I Done Wrong
Day's Wages
Buddha Chant
Pegasus (You & I)
Mister, I Can't Save Your Daughter
O, Tsunami
Your Mind is Mine
Swine Flu
Back story to the title Chemicals in the Wheat: My Grandfather Nick Herak, Sr., who died twenty years ago, was a very Catholic and Croatian cattle rancher/wheat farmer. The palms of his hands would sometimes bleed like a stigmata. He'd joke that his affliction was a gift from the Holy Spirit. I asked Mom about this earlier this month, and she pragmatically blamed it on "chemicals in the wheat" that he encountered through daily work out in the field.
Sandman 12:06 AM
Hello from Olympia. I'm workin' hard on the upcoming tour and the new CD.
Hana and my's trip from North Dakota was pleasant. We soaked in a couple Montana hot springs, visited a handful of friends, raided a few thrift stores. Weather was nice. Roads were dry.
A highlight of our trip was driving to Yellowstone Park to soak in the Boiling River. As we were leaving the Park we witnessed an epic bighorn sheep battle. On a practically sheer cliff, seven huge rams fought for the affection of one ewe. It was a harrowing spectacle to watch these super-ovine creatures fall and plunge down the mountain. Broad horns smashed and echoed across the canyon. Boulders clattered onto the road. The beleaguered ewe got the worst of it, it appeared.
Trucking has been keeping me busy this month. I just got off a six-day long haul to Minnesota, Calgary, and Vancouver. Tomorrow I leave for three more days. Next weekend my winter vacation begins. Hana and I leave for Olympia, WA, to drop Gilda off with friends, and then we'll fly to the Florida and D.C. together to meet her parents and Grandma. From there, she'll fly to Syria for four months to study Arabic. Soon after, I'll begin my winter/spring music tour.
I'm already beginning to miss North Dakota. All this snow has been fun to play in.
Sandman 8:55 PM
My winter and spring tour begins in February. Would anybody out there like to host a house concert? Other people's houses are my favorite kinds of venues.
Sandman 2:52 PM
Hana and I spent the last two days in blizzardy Killdeer town celebrating Christmas with the grand/parents. Look at these snow drifts that welcomed us back to our house in Dunn Center today!
Youngsters showed up at Dunn Center City Hall to let old Sandy Claus in on what they wanted for Christmas. I'd listen, ask a few questions, and then hand each one a brown paper bag filled with peanuts in the shell, an apple, and a candy cane.
I can't say I did the greatest job of playing Kris Kringle, but I enjoyed trying. It's possible I was the only one Mayor Brown could find who could fit into the suit!
Sandman 4:35 PM
Grandpa and Grandma invited Hana and me and the folks over for a lutefisk supper last night. Lutefisk is cod Jell-O mixed with lye. The sad part is that I'm beginning to like it. Hana about gagged.
One good thing about lutefisk is, if placed strategically, it will keep raccoons from living under your house. Come spring, though, you might find some Norwegians under there.
Sandman 12:32 PM
My dear friend and neighbor, Vivian (Rayma Marian Morrell) Knutson, has crossed over the Great Divide. She was 84. A week ago she was as vivacious and nimble as a cat, buzzing around her house listening to Christian talk radio and taking notes. She reminded me of a pioneer woman. From my porch I would often see her hauling two sloshing five-gallon buckets of water for her tomato plants. She was a bona fide cowgirl until the end.
From her obituary:
[Vivian] thoroughly enjoyed riding her horse, Snip, to and from school and had other horses throughout her youth, including Fleet and Coalie. Part of her was a daring tomboy who was thrilled to be her dad’s farm/ranch helper. She loved trailing cattle to and from her father’s homestead in the Little Missouri Badlands. She loved to reminisce about her youth and especially enjoyed growing up with her Kling cousins.
Vivian had a heart as big as Dunn County and spent most of her life serving her family and others. She loved family trips, camping at Voigt’s Bay, her father’s cabin at Lake Ilo, family reunions, history, holidays and picnics. She pursued her passions with gusto and will be remembered for growing cherry tomatoes year-round, baking delicious buns and taking photos of everyone and everything that touched her heart. She enjoyed studying God’s word, was an avid Christian-radio listener and freely shared her faith with anyone. She loved half cups of hot, hot coffee and the challenge of serving good, hot meals to horseback riders moving cattle to or from the Badlands.
Vivian has been woven into my life since I was in first grade, when she was my first Sunday School teacher. Earlier this year I volunteered to drive her to Bismarck for some errands. When we arrived home, she handed me a check to buy two wooden rocking chairs for my front porch. When I protested, she told me to think of the chairs as a housewarming gift. She said she wanted young people stay and flourish in Dunn Center, and she hinted that a second rocking chair might help attract a partner into my life. Perhaps I have her to thank for my girlfriend!
Hana and Vivian became friends immediately when they met in June. Vivian hired Hana once a week to clean her house, organize pictures, and curl her hair. Hana and I are both very sad this week. We wish there was still a light on in the old house across the street.
The funeral will be this Wednesday. I'll be trucking and, unfortunately, will miss both the wake and funeral.
My new CD, All the Things I Done Wrong, looks to be complete soon.
Song order:
Corpse
Michael Jackson
Stomach's on Fire
All the Things I Done Wrong
Day's Wages
Buddha Chant
Pegasus
Mister, I Can't Save Your Daughter
Tsunami
Your Mind is Mine
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dunn Center is looking Christmas-y today. Snow has arrived. The post office and city hall both put up their plastic trees.
Also, two Black Angus bulls broke through Vivian's fence and are roaming through town.
Sandman 3:15 PM
Spent today driving around on an ATV and clearing trails on Killdeer Mountain. With all the noise I created using the chainsaw, I still managed to see much wildlife: turkeys, deer, songbirds, and a curious ermine that reminded me of a skinny cat. I also saw what looked to be a wolf's paw print in a gopher mound. No sign of mountain lion, but they're around. A hunter saw one on our property last week.
November has been beautiful. The temperature reached 63 today. October was miserably cold and wet.
Sandman 6:04 PM
It's Veterans Day again, Grandpa Sand. You've always told me war is hell. I believe you. I pray that I never get shot full of shrapnel, witness the gory deaths of friends, nor have to kill at close range, like you did as a First Lieutenant in WWII. Thank you for your service abroad.
Thank you also for being an active local citizen with a strong voice. I'm posting a short part of a letter you just submitted to The Dunn County Herald regarding national health care reform:
"What if Medicare could be raised high up in scope and national kindness and human dignity? What if it could become a comprehensive program to protect us all from sickening anxieties and the resultant deterioration of family morale due to unmanageable health care costs?"
Bob Sand, Killdeer
Gramps, I appreciate your bravery on and off the field and for always challenging your fellow Earthlings to strive for peace and justice.
Sandman 7:46 PM
Steady truckin'. Just returned from Vancouver, BC, this morning. 'Twas nice to breathe fresh northwest air for an hour. Upon return, Montana roads were icy and travel was slow.
Happy night-before-Halloween! I'm about to watch a scary movie with my sweetie.
Sandman 10:06 PM
