JOURNEY

FT Atkinson, WI
Fireside Dinner Theatre
January 1st 1996
8am
Head splitting
Took a long pull of water
Climbed into my friends' Toyota Celica
Alone
Snow slowly falling
Peaceful
and pretty
but there were many miles to cover
Slammed the door
Started the engine and took off
WISCONSIN
Snow
MINNESOTA
Snow
NORTH DAKOTA
Snow
MONTANA
Snow flakes flying right at you
Then parting as the Celica hurled down the road at 80mph
It was somewhere in Montana that it became hypnotic
The background was black
with white spots swirling around
Couldn't sleep
Didn't want to
There was a picture of my black lab Lucy
Taped to the dash
She was sitting on the front porch
Waiting for me to come home
Well, I did stop the car and closed my eyes for three hours in Montana
The wind buffeted the car
It was cold
Really cold,
My buddy needed me to drive his car back
He left for a last minute concert opportunity
Sure, I said
But 20 plus hours in I was gripping the steering wheel
Hard
Pulled over to puke once
The constant thick blanket of white was mesmerizing
Hour after hour
Somewhere in Montana I began to feel dispirited
Why am I pursuing theatre?
Why am I in this distant tundra alone?
I was pondering quitting performing
A song comes on the CD player I'd never before heard

Just Wait

Blues Traveler

If ever you are feeling like you're tired
And all your uphill struggles leave you headed downhill
If you realize your wildest dreams can hurt you
And your appetite for pain has drinken it's fill

I ask of you a very simple question
Did you think for one minute that you are alone
And is your suffering a privilege you share only
Or did you think that everybody else feels completely at home

Just wait
Just wait
Just wait
And it will come

If you think I've given up on you you're crazy
And if you think I don't love you well then you're just wrong
In time you just might take to feeling better
Time is the beauty of the road being long

I know that now you feel no consolation
But maybe if I told you and informed you out loud
I say this without fear of hesitation
I can honestly tell you that you make me proud

Just wait
Just wait
Just wait
And it will come
Just wait
Just wait
Just wait
And it will come

If anything I might have just said has helped you
If anything I might have just said helped you just carry on
Your rise uphill may no longer seem a struggle
And your appetite for pain may all but be gone

I hope for you and cannot stop at hoping
Until that smile has once again returned to your face
There's no such thing as a failure who keeps trying
Coasting to the bottom is the only disgrace

Just wait
Just wait
Just wait
And it will come
Just wait
Just wait
Just wait
And it will come
Just wait
Just wait
Just wait
And it will come

It was a spiritual moment
I drove on, tears rolling down my face
I was aware I was in an altered state
Hours upon hours of staring at the same scenery
It felt like God was speaking to me
Directly
Onward I flew down the highway
IDAHO
Snow
I crossed into Washington ELATED
My home state
Then it stopped snowing and dense fog rolled in
Could hardly see 10 yards in front of the car
Went from 80mph to 30mph
and that was probably too fast
but when you've been doing 80plus for about 30 hours
It's a hard transition
Got up and over the Cascade Mountain range
The skies clear
Hit 60mph
and Seattle rush hour traffic
5MPH
Bout 12 miles from my Shoreline home
Took over an hour
All in all the trip took 36 hours
But
IT DID COME
A couple months later I booked a National Tour and my career began