Not much to write about today, so expect some tangential episodes where you’ll hear tons of useless, but hopefully interesting trivia and stuff.

Woke up just before 6am (I slept late!) and got some work done, just not the work I was planning to do. I still have to write up a contract for a professional trumpet player to play the solo on “Land of Make Believe” at our bell festival - a Chuck Mangione classic that has been set for handbells in such a way that you need at least two more arms to get all the notes. Meanwhile, the trumpet player gets all the attention. But hey, it’s Chuck Mangione, so there has to be a trumpet player. If he goes “full Chuck” and plays the solo on a flügelhorn, even better. Chuck made the flügelhorn famous playing the theme to the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid - even though most people just thought it was a weird-looking trumpet on that album cover.

I played trumpet in Marching Band and Concert Band from grade 7 thru college, and for a couple of summers, I was in the inaugural band of “Jazz Connection”, a community based jazz band made up of high school students from the region. Whenever I got the chance, I would play flügelhorn on the solo work, as I found the mellower tone worked better with jazz than the bright notes you get from a trumpet. So if this guy wants to flügel it, awesome- if he wants to trumpet, it will probably mix better with the handbells, anyway. Whatever he decides, he needs a contract and I still have to write it. Maybe tomorrow.

OMG - I looked up Jazz Connection - not only is it still going, it still has the same director. Holy cow. We started that group in 1984!

As long as we’re digging up the past, there’s ancient video of me playing in my high school marching band. That’s me on the right, having a duet with Stephen Kloesel in a song called “Rainmaker”, which I could probably still play from memory today. I wonder what Kloesel’s up to these days?

The video was taken by one of the parents who had two kids in the band at the same time. This was 1985, so it was a crappy VHS camcorder, which has probably been copied eight or nine times before being transferred to digital. It’s grainy and very low-res, but hey, I can hear it and still remember how it goes, so that’s fun. (The duet begins at 0:50) And this was at Texas Stadium, where the Dallas Cowboys play, so I guess we made the playoffs that year.

Where was I? Oh, yeah.

So we had a quick donut and coffee at Tims, then I got some more stuff done, answered a bunch of emails from handbell players who are coming to the festival, and got an email from one of my team that he’s set up a radio interview for me in a few days on Daybreak Alberta, so that will get the word out about our concert. Sweet.

Lunch was with Judy, a longtime friend and cousin of Rob’s and her husband Wayne, neither of whom I’d met before. They were both absolutely delightful.

…and before you say, “where are the food pics?”

According to the menu, that’s a “Nashville Hot" chicken sandwich. I asked the server if it actually was that, or if it was just a spicy chicken sandwich and whomever wrote the menu didn’t know any better. She described it to me and I knew it was not even close to a real a Nashville Hot, but I ordered it anyway and it was absolutely delicious. One of the best chicken sandwiches I’ve had. So yay. (The second cup of dipping sauce is Valentina hot sauce, which goes really well mixed with ketchup).

For those who don’t know the gastric nirvana that is Nashville Hot chicken, it goes like this:

1. marinate your chicken in a mixture of buttermilk, pickle brine, hot sauce, and egg in the fridge overnight (or longer)

2. toss the chicken in flour and salt, then dunk it in the marinade again, then into the flour again. Brush some marinade onto the chicken, then let it dry out for about 15 minutes

3. Fry the chicken in hot oil until done.

4. pour a mixture of melted butter, lard, cayenne pepper, and brown sugar over the chicken.

5. Slap it on a bun (for a sandwich) or a slice of white bread with a couple of pickle chips and you’re done.

Is it hot? Well, duh. It’s literally in the name. HOW hot it is depends on what kind of hot sauce it’s marinated in, how long it marinated, and how much cayenne goes into the sauce at the end. It can be “I can’t feel my face” hot in the mid-range all the way to “is my will up-to-date?” hot at the high end. It’s insanely good, but hard to find an authentic one.

All too soon, it was time for Judy and Wayne to head back over the water on the SeaBus, so I said goodbye to my new friends.

Back to the hotel and the “I’m going to get some more work done” fell victim to “I’m going to have a nap.” Funny how that happens.

Before long, it was time to meet Jon and Lisa again along with our friend Erika who rolled up in her adorable little red convertible MINI Cooper. We went back to King Taps, the same restaurant where we’d just had lunch. Erica absolutely refused to have her photo taken, so you’ll have to settle for another food pic. This time, it’s a “power bowl” of quinoa, apples, kale, shredded chicken, white cheddar, puffed wild rice, raisins, almonds, and cucumber in a honey vinaigrette. It was crazy delicious, even better than that wanna-be Nashville Hot sandwich I had at lunch.

Not gonna lie, I ate the entire thing not remembering that “puffed wild rice” was a thing and I thought that maybe those curled, crunchy things were crisped insect larvae. That would’ve been a first for me, but it wouldn’t have mattered, since this was the best thing I’ve eaten since the trip started.

After that, the last big project was to write this post.…and that’s about it for today.

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