Category: Travel
nighttime at the Candlewood Suites
here in this bounded collection of beige halls
where the men with salt-&-pepper mustaches
walk slowly in their Steelers jackets
toward numbered metal doors like monastic cells
stuccoed walls & half-used bulletin boards
with notices of faceless, voiceless welcome
the heater kicks on for a few minutes
then the room sinks back into silence
on the tiny stove sits a tiny pot beside
a tiny coffee maker that holds enough for (only) one
outside the window the trucks moan across the overpass
sucked into the night forever in a moment
/ / /
Jason Crane
17 January 2018
Pittsburgh PA
travelogue
for Irene
Delaware:
looking through the fake
plastic clock
with its fake plastic workings
ooohing & aaahing
at the insides of books
Bellefonte:
crammed in the back
of a distillery
new & old friends
still stuffed from
a fabulous dinner
The Bronx:
figuring sure
we can park here
I mean what’s the worst
that can happen
right?
Manhattan:
a short tour of the places I hold dear
then drinks on St. Mark’s Place
not far from all the dead poets
& front-row seats for SIMON
(some fronter than others)
State College:
sharing the stage
trying through a dozen lines
to make sense of a world
that too often tips over
into madness
The Future:
the fun is not knowing
no map, no GPS
just a road that looks long
but could be a mirage
“there be dragons” – let’s go
/ / /
Jason Crane
July 2015
State College
I took a hundred-mile ride today in the company of my pal Wiggus, who rides a sweet Triumph motorcycle with a much bigger engine than Zaphod’s. I didn’t ask him, when it was all said and done, how much slower than normal he’d had to ride, because I was afraid he might tell me. Truth be told, I don’t think he had to throttle down that much. Those winding Central PA roads tend to even out the size of one’s engine.
So that’s the route up above. Believe me when I tell you that the map can’t even begin to represent the beauty of this drive.
The first part of the ride, over the mountain in the direction of Hungtindon, was one I’ve taken a couple times before. In fact, I first did it on Vroomfondel (photos). And I rode part of Route 305 just the other day. But today we took 305 much further. And it was stunning.
I don’t have a picture of most breathtaking moment, which was coming around a corner to see a wall of mountains to the right and a mile-wide swath of farm fields between the road and the mountains, all of it stretching away over the horizon. I can’t remember if this happened before or after Martinsburg, but I do remember the tingle that ran up my spine when we rounded the bend and saw this majestic vista.
We made it to Martinsburg only to discover that Mamie’s Cafe, our destination, was closed on Sunday. I peeked in through the window and it looked lovely. A counter covered in pastries and cakes and pies, with classic round tables and wooden chairs visible through an archway. Definitely worth a return trip.
Wiggus knew of a place in Huntingdon, so we headed up Clover Creek Road and over the mountain to get there. At one point we were passed, fairly dangerously, by four guys on crotch rockets. They whipped around Wiggus and me and the car ahead of us, all uphill around a blind curve. All four survived. Later we were passed by their two friends, one of whom barely missed hitting an oncoming Harley, the driver of which was not amused, if his gesture was any indication.
The joint in Huntingdon was also closed, because this is central PA, so we ended up getting drinks and snacks at Sheetz and then coming home via 26.
Going back up the mountain on 26 I started losing power, but Wiggus pointed out that it was likely a fuel delivery problem, and when I thought about it, that made sense. I was nearly out of gas, going up a steep grade with the throttle wide open.
We parted ways to our respective homes shortly thereafter. A fabulous day, and definitely not my last ride with Wiggus.
4 CommentsPerusing Steve Williams’ Scooter In The Sticks blog, I came across this line from Lao Tzu: “A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” This is similar to the idea of “pashal,” which I’ve explored in two poems.
The quotation and the concept are apt descriptions of today’s ride. I was sitting on the couch around 5:30, listening to the Red Sox and playing Triple Town, when I suddenly realized that I wanted to be on my scooter. Five minutes later I was out the door with no idea where I was headed.
I drove north on North Atherton, heading toward Park Forest and beyond. Wound through some neighborhood streets till I ended up on Valley Vista Drive. Because I seldom know where I am or where I’m headed (I’m stilling learning my way around), I ended up crossing back over Atherton, onto the expressway. I got off at College then took a random right onto Puddintown Road. And that led to the adventure.
Eventually, after exploring a few small, newly built neighborhoods, I took a left onto Rock Road. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Later in the ride, I figured out why I knew it. I zipped around the curves and up and down the rolling hills. As I came around a turn, I passed Big Hollow Road to my left. I decided on the spot to try it, so I turned around.
It’s a paved road with trees close in on both sides. I love this kind of riding. I was minutes from home but the densely packed strip malls of my neighborhood were hard to even imagine in this setting. And then, not to far along, even the pavement was gone and I was on a narrow dirt road.
As you know if you know me, I never wanted to live in Central PA, but having a scooter has given me a greater appreciation for the countryside here. I can leave work or leave home and within 10 minutes be in a dense forest with turkey vultures lumbering through the air just above my head. I saw three of them on Big Hollow Road, both as I was going out and coming back. They were in the same spot both times — a rocky dip beside the road. I couldn’t see what they were eating.
My Aprilia Scarabeo 150 has two things that make it especially fun: a Rotax engine and big wheels. The former means it goes much, much faster than a typical 150cc engine. The latter means it handles dirt roads with relative ease.
Down the dirt road we sped, passing even smaller side roads, most of which were probably private roads leading to a single house. Eventually, even the dirt road ended. There was a nice house with a big yard at the end. Just to the left of the road was a path leading off deeper into the woods. The path was two sets of mostly overgrown tire tracks. Of course I took the path.
Eventually I came to a gate. I had absolutely no idea where I was, or where this path might lead. I now know it’s the Arboretum To Spring Creek Canyon Trail (PDF brochure). I walked up the trail just enough to realize that bug spray would be essential to any enjoyment of this path. I’m not ashamed. I’m more of an indoor kid.
Click for larger versions.
Then it was back to Rock Road, which winds along Spring Creek, hugging the water tight. Water is very important to me. This is one of the few times in my life I haven’t lived near a big body of water, usually either a Great Lake or an ocean. I get a thrill each time I spot a creek or a pond. And I’m still excited by the feeling of cruising along on Zaphod beside running water.
I stopped at a wooden bridge across Spring Creek that served as the entrance to someone’s driveway. I-99/Route 220 passed overhead like two massive contrails. I thought about how people had probably used Spring Creek for transportation hundreds (thousands?) of years before anyone thought to mar the landscape with highways.
I continued down Rock Road till it met up with Fox Hill Road, which runs past the airport. It was then I realized why I knew Rock Road — I use it, briefly, when I take the back way to Bellefonte. I watched a single-prop plane land as I passed, headed for home and more baseball.
Last week I took my longest scooter ride so far: 500 miles from State College, PA, to Rochester, NY, and then on to Canandaigua, a small town in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. I took this ride to have lunch with some friends. Admittedly, this is a crazy way to have lunch.
The real question, of course, was how Zaphod, my Aprilia Scarabeo 150, would perform at highway speeds for an extended period of time. The answer? Like a total champ. Sure, I got passed a lot, but not like I was going backwards. Just like I was going a bit more slowly than everybody else. And I had way more fun than all those cars.
I left around 7 a.m. on Thursday. It was cold, just on the edge of too cold for my First Gear jacket. I have a mesh jacket with a rain liner, and I had a long-sleeved t-shirt under it. I did a little bit of shivering, but I’ve always been very susceptible to cold.
I took smaller roads as far as Williamsport: 45 to 192 to 445 (past Krislund, where my friend Stacy Tibbets was a camp counselor), then on to 880. It was a gorgeous ride, particularly in the mountains around Krislund, where water flowed down the rocks and across the road. The fog was often thick and visibility was low in spots, although the sun did its best to break through.
From Williamsport on I switched to the highway. My first stop for gas was at Cowden’s Market near Hepburnville, PA. It’s a nice little market with everything a traveler needs, including live bait. I ate a bit of my sandwich and took a few photos.
After about 4 hours on the road, I made it to 86W, where there were signs regarding two kinds of rattlesnakes. I have a family connection to the latter kind, as my great-great-etc uncle John Flanders fought in Sullivan’s army. I addressed this in my poem “I Am Not An Indian.”.
I was a little worried about being on the highways until I actually got on them, and then the worry evaporated. I’ve always been a ride-in-traffic kind of bicyclist, and that same feeling came back quickly on the scooter, even at high speeds (by which I mean 65 or 70). The engine’s temp gauge was great the whole way, and as the sun came out and the morning turned to noontime, it warmed up, too.
Finally, 6 hours after leaving my apartment, I made it to Rochester, about 40 minutes late for lunch.
However, I’d been updating Facebook the whole way (shocking!) and so my friends has just ordered when I arrived. Here they are:
These are four great human beings.
I worked with Rome in the Green Party, and he then became my campaign manager when I ran for city council in 2003. He also gave me one of the nicest gifts I’ve ever received, modeled after something his own dad had received when he ran for office (more successfully than I did).
I met Chuck at Jazz90.1, where I was station manager and he was a DJ. Chuck has one of the greatest radio voices I’ve ever heard, and he’s a quality guy from top to bottom. And he knows his soul jazz. Chuck was also the host of many a fine Tunes Night, where he and Bob DeRosa and I would get together and play music for one another.
Otto is one of my best friends, and my brother from another mother. I also met him at Jazz 90.1, where Otto hosts the Sunday Music Festa. I wrote a poem about Otto for my first book, and he’s been a regular presence in my life for more than 10 years now. Just one of the best people.
Bobby D was part of the aforementioned Tunes Nights, but I think we actually met in connection with his Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camp, where adults get to work with jazz professionals in a very relaxed environment. Bob plays bass and makes music happen.
We had a fun lunch — lots of laughing, great Golden Port dim sum, and the kind of atmosphere that only comes from not having to explain everything.
After lunch I rode down Route 96 toward my parents’ new home. I grew up in Canandaigua, but my parents moved from there to Manhattan and then Cape Cod, only recently relocating to Cheshire, a little hamlet outside of Canandaigua. I hadn’t been to their new home yet, and we’d only recently been back in touch, so I was excited to surprise them.
On the way there, I stopped at the house where I grew up, on Knapp Road in, technically, Bristol. Knapp Road is one of the dividing lines between Bristol and Canandaigua. Our side of the road was Bristol, but our mailing address was Canandaigua, and I went to school in Canandaigua. Here’s the house, although it looks quite different with its dark stain:
And then I arrived in Cheshire, where I hung out with my parents and my sister:
My mom asked if I wanted to stay the night. It’s time to come clean: I’d packed my toiletries in case she asked. Thanks, Mom! We had a long conversation on the front porch, then a lovely dinner, and then we rode into downtown Cheshire [pause for laughter] to get ice cream. Mom joined me on the scooter. She and my dad are both motorcyclists, although they got rid of their bikes not too long ago. I think they should get bikes again.
I meditated and went to bed early so I could get up and be on the road by 7 the next morning. Which I was, after eating a nice breakfast made by my mom.
I did the entire ride back on highways, because I had to get to work. I’m the boss, but I still wanted to get there close to my normal start time. Well, the first bit wasn’t on a highway — it was on Route 21, which winds down the end of Canandaigua Lake to Naples and beyond.
It was very cold again, but the day warmed up nicely as I went along, and I made it back in 4.5 hours, which is about an hour slower than the same trip in a car. Not bad at all. The success of this ride means I’ll be taking even more of them, of course. Stay tuned.
2 Comments
Today my friend Gina became the owner of my previous scooter, Vroomfondel, a Bintelli Sprint 50cc. As you can see, she’s quite happy with her decision. We picked him up from Campus Skooters, where he was having a headlight replaced. We took a quick spin over to Sheetz for gas and a snack before driving to Webster’s so I could finish out my workday. As soon as work ended, we were back on the road.
We cruised west, stopping first at the new location of Far Corners Asian Market. They didn’t have any good soy sauce, though, just Kikkoman, so we moved on.
Gina has lived in this region a lot longer than I have, so she had some great ideas for smaller roads to try. We headed in the general direction of Gatesburg, PA, west and a little south of State College.
Central Pennsylvania is gorgeous. No two ways about it. Everywhere you look there are rolling hills and picturesque farms and tranquil cows.
I’d never ridden with another scooter owner, and it was a blast. We rode side by side when it was safe to do so, and I enjoyed the speed limitations placed on the ride by Vroomfondel’s smaller engine. We moved through the countryside fast enough to get somewhere and slow enough to see what was around us. At one point, two horses galloped alongside us as we passed their corral. A few minutes later we spotted a heron (or maybe a crane?) lifting off into the air.
We entered Halfmoon Township, the most sparsely populated of Centre County’s towns. It covers 15,000 acres, most of which are occupied by cows. We stopped to visit a beautiful Quaker cemetery on Halfmoon Valley Road. Question: Does anyone know where the township got its name? I can’t imagine there’s a Henry Hudson connection, and I couldn’t find the answer online.
As the last rays of the sun broke through the clouds, we returned to State College for some Mexican food. I love cruising solo, but cruising with a friend is a special joy all its own.
My original plan was to ride to Rochester, NY, and back today. But the weather forecast convinced me otherwise, showing big storms along the route and flash flood warnings on my return. Instead, after a quiet morning drinking miso soup and listening to podcasts, I popped out the door and onto Zaphod (my new-to-me Aprilia Scarabeo 150) with no destination in mind. A pashal, I think it’s called.
I headed out Blue Course Drive and just kept going, eventually meeting up with Route 26 and then with Route 45, which is the path I decided upon. I’d been on it once before to go to Shingletown Gap, but I wasn’t sure where it went after that. I saw a sign for Lewisburg, home of Bucknell University, and decided to make that my destination.
Right at the beginning of the trip, Zaphod hit a mileage milestone:
Little did I know, because I really don’t know the area well at all, that 45 runs right through Millheim, the place people always mention as an exception whenever I talk about how right-wing Central PA is.
Millheim is a lovely little oasis, with an art gallery, at least two excellent music venues, and a nice coffee shop.
All but the latter were closed at 11 a.m. on a Thursday, so I stopped to take the photo above and then moved on down 45, not stopping again till I reached Lewisburg.
Lewisburg is a pretty town. It looks more like my image of a college town than State College does, but it also seemed very boring. In its defense, the semester is over, so maybe the place is crawling with students during Bucknell’s school year. But Penn State’s year is over, too, and State College is still lively. Quieter than normal, certainly, but not a ghost town like Lewisburg. Still, there were quite a few nice buildings to look at. And they have public poetry, including a poem by Natasha Tretheway, who just ended her term as poet laureate of the United States.
I took the obligatory scooter photo and pointed Zaphod west to go home.
On the way home, I stopped in Millheim again to visit singer/songwriter/community organizer/event guru Erin Condo. If you haven’t yet, you should hear Erin’s album Love And Lightning, which you can buy here. Erin was at the Bremer Town Ballroom, as were her two little boys and her sister-in-law, who is also a friend of mine. We had a lovely visit. In fact, I wrote a poem about it. Then I drove home just in time to beat the rain.
My scooter riding wasn’t done, though, because Erin played later in the evening at The State Theatre as the opener for Iris Dement. I rode into town wearing a bow tie under my bike jacket. And a shirt and pants and stuff, too. Erin played a set of her songs. She’s a great storyteller.
Iris Dement was, as usual, completely wonderful. In fact, the whole day was just perfect.
2 Commentsmidway, Allegheny Mountains
midway, Allegheny Mountains
parked at a gas station
for iced tea and chips
I check my email
read your unexpected message
it snows for the rest of the trip
but I don’t mind; in fact I smile
the whole way to Pittsburgh
24 January 2014
Pittsburgh
anywhere
(for Bernie and John)
who wouldn’t want to get into the police box
tie your fate to the whims of a mad explorer
touch down everywhere and everywhen
never quite knowing what lies beyond the door
my older son says he wouldn’t want to go into space
which makes me sad, because as a child (and even now)
I wanted to go into space more than almost anything
but he’s grown up in a world without human spaceflight
a time when we’ve stopped reaching for the stars
(an idea even Casey Kasem understood)
when we’re content to limit our vision to what’s easy
rather than set our sights on what’s just beyond reach
so, with no real-life exploration to inspire us
I’ll do the next best thing — I’ll give my boys a box
that’s bigger on the inside, that can go anywhere
and I’ll use it to show them they can go anywhere too
15 December 2013
Oak Street
I hesitate to write this, but 2012 may have been the most tumultuous year of my life. (Dear 2013, please don’t feel you have to break any records.)
Toward the end of 2011 I met someone who in 2012 turned out to be one of the great loves of my life. By the end of the year, she was gone, we were finished, I was in Alabama and my show was over. I also spent half the year without a home of my own, and several months of it traveling more than 13,000 miles on Greyhound buses.
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| From Bushwick and more – Dec 2012 |
JANUARY
New Year’s Day 2012 included an interview for my former show, The Jazz Session, and a trip to the Museum of Modern Art in my former city with my former girlfriend and our former roommates. (Sensing a trend? So am I.) I did a lot of interviews in 2012, including with some major names in the jazz world. January was a good month for drummers – I spoke with Jack DeJohnette, Matt Wilson, Barry Altschul, Aaron Staebell and Deric Dickens. I also gave a talk at the annual JazzTimes conference. My topic was musicians telling their stories. You can hear the entire thing here (and see part of it, too).
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| From Trip to PA: Feb 4-5, 2012 |
FEBRUARY
Early in the month, I went to State College to visit my sons. For various reasons, my visits to PA were usually quite short. This one was just overnight. Back in NYC, I interviewed Charles Mingus’s widow, Sue, and saw great shows by Pete Robbins, James Shipp, the Mingus Big Band, Tim Berne’s Snake Oil, Peter Eldridge & Matt Aronoff, Enrico Rava, Ken Filiano, Vernon Reid, Myra Melford, Jeremy Siskind and The Wee Trio. (In one month!) I also went to a Vegan Shop-Up at the wonderful Pine Box Rock Shop in Brooklyn. I met DJ Soul Sister and Jeff Albert for the first time in person, and interviewed jazz giant Jimmy Heath at his Queens apartment.
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| From Warm nights, warm days in Brooklyn |
MARCH
The month started in fine style with a show by Matt Wilson’s band at Dizzy’s. I’ve never been a huge fan of that club, but I do love me some Matt Wilson, and his show was hugely entertaining and musical. A few days later I traveled to Jersey to interview Billy Hart. I also saw a show by one of my favorite singers, Trixie Whitley. I went to State College again, this time for my son John’s sixth birthday. My sister, Gretchen, went with me. Carmen Staaf and I got together for the first of a few sessions of my poetry and her piano playing, although we never ended up doing a gig. I also hung out one-on-one for the first time with my friend Sally, who would go on to become an indispensable part of my life. On the 18th, a gang of us got together at the apartment my girlfriend and I shared to read Walt Whitman’s “Song Of Myself†(the 1855 version). It was a moving experience, as it always is. I went to Albany for one day to visit my doctor. My partner and I went to see Nellie McKay perform a show about Rachel Carson at some ultra-swanky place where we clearly didn’t belong. The show was worth it, though. We also went to another vegan shop-up. Oh, and I took my sister’s cat to the vet. Although this trip was no big deal, Chloe would go back to the vet later and be given a few months to live. But by the end of 2012, it turned out she was fine. I still don’t understand what happened.
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| From Trip to PA: April 26-28, 2012 |
APRIL
I went to a CD release party for Theo Bleckmann’s album of Kate Bush songs. It was so good – a real show, not just a performance of the songs. I took an extended walk around Washington Heights, one of my favorite parts of Manhattan, and talked with a friend about my role as a father. I saw Natalie Cressman play at The Jazz Gallery, months before she would become the final interview I conducted for my show. For the first time ever, I showed up at an interview without my recorder (the aforementioned Theo Bleckmann), so I had to go back home. I took the self-guided East Village Poetry Walk, which I can’t recommend highly enough. You can download the guided tour here. I saw my pal Josh Rutner play gospel music at St. Peter’s Church in Manhattan. It’s the “jazz church.†I interviewed Dave Brubeck’s son Chris in the Teddy Roosevelt Room at the Museum of Natural History. I went to a tribute to the poet Philip Larkin. Paul Simon was one of the readers, making it the only Paul Simon performance I’ve ever attended. I went back to State College to see my older son, Bernie, play saxophone in his first school concert. On the last day of the month, I interviewed one of the smartest people around, guitarist Vernon Reid (of Living Colour, etc.). Other shows I saw in April: Romain Collin, Jo Lawry and Kate McGarry.
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| From Daryl Shawn & Todd Reynolds at The Firehouse Space, May 2012 |
MAY
In May I met and interviewed vocalist Maria Neckam, whose album Unison was one of my favorite records of the year. I saw my pal Jill Knapp in New York, who would become my first host in June at the start of my tour. I interviewed my good friend Nicky Schrire, whose Freedom Flight was another of my faves. I also heard her perform at Rockwood Music Hall. At the beginning of the month, my girlfriend and I learned that we would have to move out of our apartment. She moved in with her parents, but I had nowhere to go and no money. So I decided to go on tour instead, taking The Jazz Session and my poetry around the country. At the end of the month, my friends Andrea Wolper and Ken Filiano hosted a farewell dinner for me. I did a ton of interviews in May, and also saw shows by Gregoire Maret (whose final song with Raul Midon was one of the live highlights of the year for me), Daryl Shawn and Foolish Hearts.
Me, somewhere.
JUNE
On June 1, my girlfriend accompanied me to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, where I boarded a Greyhound for Wilmington, DE. I stayed with Jill for a few days and had a great time with her and her partner, Matt. I also interviewed the guitarist Judith Kay. Then I went to State College to spend a couple days with the boys before heading south. I ended up doing an interview there, too, because Barry Kernfeld, the editor of the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, lives in town. On the 5th I went to Shepherdstown, WV, where I gave a poetry reading and interviewed Jeff Cosgrove. On the 7th I went to Washington, DC. I attended a tribute to the poet Gwendolyn Brooks at the Library of Congress and met poet Sandra Beasley, whom I subsequently interviewed at a nearby coffee shop. I was also briefly naked in the Library of Congress because I was very overdressed and stripped down in the men’s room so I could put on cooler clothing. Certainly a career highlight for me. While in DC I did a freelance interview for an education company, and jazz interviews with several musicians. I saw a show by saxophonist Brian Settles. On the 10th I went to Richmond, VA, where I stayed with drummer Scott Clark and then with guitarist Scott Burton. I interviewed both of them, too, as well as educator Doug Richards. I read poetry at Chop Suey Books and saw a show by Janel & Anthony, who were kind enough to come to my reading. On the 14th I traveled to Charlottesville, WV, where I met my Twitter pal John Mason and heard John D’earth play at the club that launched Dave Matthews’ career. I was interviewed on WTJU and I did two interviews for my show, too. On the 16th I took a long bus ride to Nashville. I did a poetry reading there the following day and conducted several interviews, including with Jeff Coffin, saxophonist for the Dave Matthews Band. I spent most of my time with Jeff and fellow saxophonist Evan Cobb, who has a great dog. I heard the Nashville Jazz Orchestra perform and saw fantastic shows by The Time Jumpers and the comedy/country team Doyle And Debbie. I did another radio interview, too. On the 20th, I went to Knoxville, TN, where I interviewed pianist Donald Brown. I also took a canoe trip on the Little River and did a poetry reading. On the 23rd I took an insane bus trip from Knoxville to NYC to see my girlfriend. Then on the 26th it was back down south, this time to Raleigh to meet Twitter pal David Menestres. From there it was on to Atlanta, where I interviewed jazz organist Matthew Kaminski at his day job – as the organist for the Atlanta Braves. On the 29th I traveled to Auburn, AL, at the suggestion of Twitter pal Patrick McCurry. I did a poetry reading at The Gnu’s Room bookstore on the 29th and was interviewed there for public radio on the 30th. Little did I know the role Auburn would play in my future.
A second line in New Orleans.
JULY
On July 2 I realized a lifelong dream when I traveled to New Orleans. I went to Jeff Albert’s Open Ears Music Series and also went to several second lines to commemorate the death of Uncle Lionel Batiste. I spent a week in New Orleans before heading back north to New York to see my girlfriend, then to State College to spend time with my sons. I stayed in State College from July 18 through the 25th, when my debit card was hacked and I had to travel to NYC to get a new one. I returned to State College the next day and stayed till August 3.
This happened in August.
AUGUST
I spent the weekend of August 3 in beautiful Tarrytown, NY, with my girlfriend. Then it was back to State College until the 7th, when one of my relatives by marriage, um, caused my plans to change. In somewhat of a scramble, I went back to New York, where my sister and my friends Daryl and Deborah were kind enough to give me places to stay. While I was back in NYC, I saw shows by Keith Ganz, Aaron Parks, Josh Rutner & Twelve Gates, Fay Victor and Jersey Band. I also did a solo two-day meditation retreat. At the end of the month I flew to Detroit as a guest of the Detroit Jazz Festival.
With my friend Mike and his son Jack in Mississippi.
SEPTEMBER
I spent Labor Day weekend in Detroit at the Jazz Festival. I MC’d a few shows, including one by the wonderful David Binney. I interviewed Geoffrey Keezer and Donny McCaslin, and did my third interview (the first one face-to-face) with Sonny Rollins. After the interview, Sonny and I and our mutual friend Terri spent an hour or so talking about life. It was beautiful and humbling. On September 4, I took a bus to Windsor, Ontario and then a Greyhound to Ottawa to stay with my pals Renee Yoxon and Craig Pedersen. While in Ottawa I did a Skype interview with the Upaya Zen Center, where I planned to go stay after my tour. I also interviewed bassist John Geggie and journalist/pianist Peter Hum. And I locked myself out of the house briefly. On the 9th I took a train to Montreal, where I met and interviewed Twitter pal (and pianist) David Ryshpan and stayed with David’s friend Sarah MK. The next day was my 39th birthday, so I treated myself to a little boat trip. Sarah and her friend gave me a little cake and sang to me, which was lovely. I also saw music by the Kalmunity Collective. On 9/11 I went back to NYC, where Jonathan Matz, a listener to my show, kindly offered me a place to stay. I had a small birthday dinner with friends. I met the guitarist Joshua Maxey for pizza. I saw shows by the DIVA Jazz Orchestra (with the wonderful Nadje Noordhuis), The Respect Sextet and Anat Cohen. And I did the final interviews for my show. On September 21 I got back on a Greyhound bus and went to Jackson, MS, to spend a week with my friend Mike Roberts and his family. Mike and I were union organizers together, and he’s one of the most important people in my life. While I was there I was accepted to the Upaya Zen Center and made plans to go there in October. On the 28th I went back to Auburn to stay for a couple weeks.
The Gnu’s Room in Auburn, AL.
OCTOBER
In early October, Tina Tatum offered me a non-paying job as the assistant director of The Gnu’s Room. I accepted, canceled my trip to Upaya, and decided to live in Auburn. I went to State College for a few days to spend time with the boys, then headed back to Alabama. I did a poetry reading at The Gnu’s Room on the 12th and attended the store’s fall music festival the next day. On October 19, I posted the final episode of The Jazz Session. I saw quite a lot of music and heard several authors read. Late in the month, my girlfriend and I had our come-to-Jesus conversation about the end of our relationship. At the end of that same week…
With my pal Marie, who plays in a band called HeY!ALLigator.
NOVEMBER
…I missed Bernie’s 10th birthday, the first of my sons’ birthdays I’d ever missed. Between that and the break-up, I was thinking I’d made a horrible mistake. By Monday, though, I decided I needed to stick it out in Auburn for a while and take a shot at rebuilding my life. So I made a one-year commitment to myself to stay. I went hiking at Chewacla State Park and at Lake Martin. I went to a Diwali celebration at the university. I saw lots of music at The Gnu’s Room and heard Katie Martin perform several times. I went to Thanksgiving at the home of Tina & Kelley (owners of The Gnu’s Room) and made another Thanksgiving dinner with a friend. And I did the first interview for a new podcast series based at The Gnu’s Room. And at the end of the month I had my heart broken in what turned out to be the real end of the love story.
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| From Christmas In PA (2012) |
DECEMBER
In December I was hired by the College of Human Sciences at the University of Auburn to do web work and create content for the college’s various sites. My first full-time job in two years. I also signed the lease on my first solo apartment in two years. Thanks to some help from a very generous friend, I was able to fly to State College to spend Christmas with my sons. I met several new friends, too. As the year ended, I worked at The Gnu’s Room while the university was closed. I moved into my new place on December 27. And on New Year’s Eve I was on my weird built-in couch relaxing with a cup of tea.
So there you have it. Twelve months of change, travel, love, loss, music and discovery. Who knows what 2013 will bring?
5 Comments(6 October 2012) STATE COLLEGE, PA — I spent 29 hours on a series of buses on Thursday and Friday traveling from one football-crazed college town to another football-crazed college town. I live in one and my kids live in the other.
Partway through the trip I posted a blog entry telling everyone about my move to Auburn, Alabama. I think these two tweets sum up the general reaction:
@jasondcrane I’m having a hard time processing that tweet.Mostly the Alabama part.
— Julie White (@CCedJWhite) October 5, 2012
@jasondcraneIs this the Brooklyn Jason Crane …Alabama !?
— Roberto Hewitt (@robrunner67) October 5, 2012
Although of course these two folks and many others extended congratulations. I’m still very happy with my decision. I think it’s going to be quite an adventure.
Maybe it’s because I’ve taken so many of them recently, but these long bus trips are really starting to take a toll on me, both mentally and physically. My long ride a couple weeks ago from NYC to Jackson, MS, and my long ride this week from Auburn to State College, caused my ankles and feet to really swell. For some reason, both trips had very short layovers between segments, meaning no time to get food for hours and hours at a time, and no time to walk around or stretch. I think by the time I arrived in State College, I was a couple steps away from insane. And I get to do it all again starting on Monday when I go back to Auburn.
I sat in the back for most of the trip, which I don’t normally do. I prefer sitting closer to the driver, where things tend to remain a bit more normal. I spent several hours next to a guy who was dipping chewing tobacco and spitting it into a Mountain Dew bottle. He was friendly enough, but he made a racist joke partway through the trip, then spent a while shining a laser pointer out the bus window at the cars passing on the highway.
Greyhound stations now feature a series of posters introducing individual employees. In Charlotte, I saw one for a woman named Errogant Jenkins:
Luckily most of the buses had electrical outlets because I was on the heavily traveled East Coast corridor. That meant I was able to use my laptop. I watched The Magnificent Seven for the first time and liked it a lot. It’s a Western remake of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai with a cast of big names, including Yule Brynner, Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson. (I never realized before how much Steve McQueen and drummer Matt Wilson resemble one another.) I also watched The Breakfast Club again, along with several episodes of the Canadian sitcom Corner Gas, which I learned about via my pal Otto Bruno.
I arrived at my kids’ house in State College, but they weren’t home yet. So I went jogging. For nearly everyone who knows me even a little, it will be shocking that I would go jogging (a) at all and (b) immediately after 29 hours on a bus. With my swollen legs and feet, it was a little uncomfortable, but it was nice to get out and move around a bit. I meditated when I got back and the boys arrived while I was doing that. Here they are, in all their glory:
We played frisbee, had dinner, went to the park, then watched a movie. Then we all went to bed at the same time, about 9:45. Them because they’re young, and me because I’m old. And even though I’m not going to Upaya, I’m still maintaining my up-at-6-to-meditate-and-jog schedule.
It sure is nice to see my sons.
Leave a CommentI’m not writing a travel diary for yesterday because I didn’t do very much. I did, however, spend time at my pal Patrick’s house with his wonderful family. Here’s a shot of me with his youngest son, John:
(29 September 2012) AUBURN, AL and WAVERLY, AL — When I did the Jazz Or Bust Tour this summer, a big part of the tour was finding places where people had created their own scenes. Today in Waverly, Alabama, I found another one.
The Fall Boogie is a companion to the Old 280 Boogie, which happens earlier in the year. This is the first year the folks at Standard Deluxe, a screen-printing shop in Waverly, have tried a Boogie in the fall. Judging by the success of today’s event, I’m guessing it won’t be the last.
The idea of the Boogie is simple — put a bunch of good music, food and people in a gorgeous country spot and let the party happen. The Fall Boogie featured nine bands, plus food, drink, desserts, pottery, jewelry, graphic art and more. I went there with Patrick. We arrived around 2 p.m., in time to see Katie Martin, who we also saw last night at a taco truck in Auburn. Martin has a great voice and a real talent for songwriting. She was joined by a bassist for a few songs. I would have loved to hear her music with a drummer, too. She has only a MySpace page, and you know how I feel about those, but here it is.
The food on offer included chicken and waffles, beet sliders and fried Snickers bars. Here’s a photo of the latter two:
I’m not a fan of beets, but I did try a bite of Patrick’s fried Snickers bar. It was possibly the sweetest, most calorie-laden thing I’d ever put in my mouth. One bite was more than enough.
After Katie’s set, the sound engineer, Mark, put on Youssou N’Dour’s 1990 album Set. This is one of the most important records of my life. It’s what got me into West African music and started me on a much wider musical journey. I bought the album in a record store in Sendai, Japan, when I was an exchange student, and I played it multiple times a day for months. Hearing it ringing out over a field in Waverly, Alabama, was a pretty magical experience.
Up next was a great, four-on-the-floor electric blues set from the Tony Brook Band. I really liked their tough, take-no-prisoners sound.
Patrick and I had to split after Tony’s set, so we missed a lot of music. But what we saw was fun and the whole vibe was so welcoming. Kudos to everyone at Standard Deluxe for making it happen.
When I arrived back at The Sharpesonian, there was a package for me containing my new samue (sam-oo-ay), which I bought to wear at Upaya Zen Center.
(September 28, 2012) JACKSON, MS to AUBURN, AL — I’m sure Birmingham is a lovely town, but seven hours in the lobby of its Greyhound station didn’t make much of an argument in its favor.
I left Jackson, MS, just before 11 p.m. on Thursday, arriving in Birmingham just before 3 a.m. the following morning. To get from Jackson to Opelika, AL (the closest stop to my destination, Auburn) meant a 6.5-hour layover in Birmingham in the wee hours of the morning. Needless to say, there wasn’t much to do and nowhere comfortable to sit. I ended up sleeping on a metal bench for two hours with a pair of my shorts balled up under my head for a pillow. But first I used my TV-B-Gone to shut off CNN on the one TV blaring in the lobby. No one seemed to mind, given that everyone else in the room was also trying to sleep — or at least relax — on a metal bench.
I spent a couple hours of my layover watching Stop Making Sense, Talking Heads’ concert film from 1984. Dear All Bands, if your concert performances aren’t this good, it might be time to rethink.
The small connector shuttle from Birmingham to Columbus, GA, arrived just before 10 a.m. It stops in a bunch of little towns, including Opelika. In a gas station at one of the stops, I saw this for sale:
Needless to say, it was very hard not to buy this shirt.
I arrived in Opelika right on time and my friend Patrick McCurry picked me up. We stopped at The Gnu’s Room on the way to my temporary home so I could see my friends Tina and Maddie. Then it was off to the home of the wonderful Rachel Sharpe, a relaxing little hideaway she calls The Sharpesonian. Rachel’s in Texas, so at the moment I have the place to myself.
I showered (huzzah!), changed my clothes and rode my bike back to The Gnu’s Room to work on a freelance project for a couple hours. Later that evening I met up with Patrick again and we went to a taco truck on the corner of Gay Street and East Samford Ave. Those of you reading this is New York City or other major metro areas may be saying, “Ho hum, a taco truck,” but in a place like Auburn, this is not a common sight.
We arrived in time to catch a short set by singer/songwriter Katie Martin, who had a great whiskey-and-cigarettes voice and a muscular, bluesy guitar style:
At the end of the set, Katie was joined by singer/songwriter Marie Robertson for an unusual performance. I caught a couple minutes on video:
It was hard to top this performance, but Patrick and I headed over the Piccolo’s, a jazz room that’s part of The Hotel at Auburn University. The room was packed to hear Roman Street, a band that I guess can be best described as Django-Reinhardt-style jazz. They were obviously sincere, but I was underwhelmed by the too-loud set list, which included everything from a very slow version of Django’s “Minor Swing” to instrumental, two-guitar covers of “My Girl” and Pachelbel’s Canon. There were some decent moments of improvisation, though. The best part of the evening was the conversation Patrick and I had with three other musicians — Alina, Nicole and Lisa — who were also there at the show. All three are classical musicians and educators with often acerbic senses of humor.
I’ve been keeping an early-morning schedule to prepare for Upaya. That, coupled with the two hours of sleep I’d had the night before, meant that by 11, I was fading fast. Patrick took me home, where I meditated and went to bed. I decided to turn off my early alarm so I could catch up on sleep.
I really love Auburn. I could definitely see myself living here.
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