Tom Ray

Just when I felt like it was finally summer, the cold sets in. It’s like someone flipped a switch that effected the Midwest.

I’ve mentioned before my position on winter, questioning why I live here. But that’s not what this is about.

One summer in my youth I read the book On the road by Jack Kerouac.

It was a 1970’s reprint I found in a resale shop bin. Like most people, after reading it I wanted to get in a car and drive across the country. So me and a friend did just that.

We took off in his pick up truck and headed to Portland Oregon to visit a friend.

I shit you not, we made the trip in 24 hours. No stops, just drive.

When we arrived, walked into my friends apartment, he handed me a beer. The next thing I remember is waking up the next morning kneeling on the floor face down with that same beer in my hand. Passed out instantly.

During our time there I stopped at a used bookstore and found a paperback copy of another Jack Kerouac book. Doctor Sax.

It was the tail end of summer. After about a week we headed back home.

At home the seasons were starting to cool. Autumn.

I started reading the book while riding in the moving truck I worked in. It’s a very different book than on the road.

He describes a childhood in a small town and a mysterious entity that haunts him.

The description of this time was just so close to the way things were as I rode in this truck. It stuck.

This weather always reminds me of this book. And instead of my hate for the cold. This change has a tendency to inspire. It’s like a time portal that takes me back to that moment.

I’ve been a comic book fan for many years and have always wanted to go to a comic con.

I usually remember that it’s happening after the fact, missing out and thinking next year.

After that happening again when I missed another San Diego comic con I was determined to get in the next one I saw coming up. Any where.

Found Wizard World in Chicago. Near by drive, happening this year, done. Booked it.

When I went there this weekend I had an idea of what to expect from things I’ve seen.

This is different when its in front of you. The fact of walking around a corner in a hotel and coming face to face with person fully decked out as Captain America.

Is it OK to laugh? I mean you can’t just pretend when you see that and act like everything is all chill right?

After heading to convention I realized that they will stop to pose with anyone. So being noticed is expected. It’s just not something my brain is used to having to figure out.

Aside from that, I had only a few goals I wanted to accomplish when I got there. On the roster there were a couple people appearing that I wanted to meet.

First one was artist Dean Haspiel. I discovered him years ago.

Before it was so easy to create a webcomic online he started a collective called Act-i-vate.

It was a collaborative with other artists that made some amazing webcomics and his was a series called Billy Dogma. I really dug his style and wanted to meet him.

Found him right away. He signed a book for me. I told him I was from Madison. He had an interesting story he told me about a kid he knew growing up from here.

Dean is from New York, when he came to visit his friend he took him to a Woolworths store.

He was all excited to show him that it had an escalator. Which was pretty funny. I’d like to think we’ve gotten a little more with the times since then, I hope.

Next was Jodi Sweeten, aka Stephanie from Full House.

My son was a big fan of this show growing up. When she asked who to make the autograph out to, I told her to sign it for my son. I said I really wanted to meet her just to make him jealous.

Burt Reynolds was there as well but sadly any opportunities to see him were all sold out. I was pretty bummed about that.

After a full day of seeing other things, headed back to the hotel.

Walking towards the side entrance I looked at a guy standing there and recognized him and pointed like, ‘hey aren’t you?…’

His first facial expression was that of someone thinking he should run. Then I just said, “You’re from the show The Wire, right?”

It was Seth Gilliam.

My wife and I are currently in the middle of season 4 of the show right now. Saying that he then looked relieved and said yes and talked with us for a bit.

I have not watched The Walking Dead, and I guess he is on that show right now.

After telling people I know that do watch that series I understand why he was first thinking to run. I guess from what I’ve heard his character is not a very liked man.

After talking a bit I thanked him, shook his hand and went inside.

Later thinking back on this day I realized something. I felt weird about wanting to take a picture with any of these people as I met them.

I thought it would seem intrusive. So I never did.

Is that weird?

I’m happy with my stories that I have about meeting these people. But everyone asks why I didn’t take a picture. The entire event is about taking pictures of things.

I guess I just felt it would take away from talking to them as a person I think.

But I did get a kick ass picture with the Knight Rider car. I mean that’s just a cool thing to do right!?

This weekend was a big one for college towns. The day all the new students move in.

Of course for those of us that live in the town regular, it effects people who rent, such as my son.

Which in effect falls on me to help for some reason?

But that’s not what this is really about.

The name of the day reminds me of a song I wrote quite some time ago called “Moving Day”. Wrote it with a person who is long since dead to me (long story, maybe another time).

Ironically, it was about two people that were only together out of spite to prove the other wrong.

But it’s not the song that I want to talk about– it’s the creation of it.

Back then, him and I worked in a moving truck together. Creating songs while working in a truck was possibly one of the best set ups ever.

We would get in the truck to go to different destinations each day. While riding in the truck we bounced lyrics and melodies to each other. Writing them down or recording them on a mini cassette we brought with.

At the end of the week we would have a fully fleshed out song. All while still working our job. Working and creating something at the same time. Brilliant.

That was a while ago. I no longer have that job.

With text and email these days, I can still achieve collaboration, at least for lyrics.

The thing I really miss, really wish I could do more of is the melody part.

Being able to make noise in a truck. Working out harmonies and vocals. I haven’t been able to get the same interaction since. I really miss that part.

The closest I’ve come to recently is audio messages in Facebook messenger.

Still can’t compare to what I remember about songs on a truck. But it’s a start.

Years ago I decided to stop pirating software and move to open source tools.

It was difficult at first but you adapt.

During this time it’s gotten a lot more mature. Even a bit more well known as open source projects have become more popular.

I started to seek out distributions that had more focus on these tools. One of them was Ubuntu Studio.

Its a Linux operating system geared directly towards musicians, video makers & designers.

I’ve been very happy with it and what it has installed right out of the box.

Ardour for multi-track recording. Inkscape and Gimp for artwork. Kdenlive for video, among other things.

They even have a live bootable DVD you can download to try it on your computer first without installing it.

On the podcast that I do, Music Manumit, we were lucky enough this week to talk to Kaj, the person leading this project.

You can have a listen to the interview on the site. Ubuntu Studio - 150816 - Music Manumit Podcast

I thought about the smell of a library today. Not really thought, more like it hit me for a brief second while I was driving my car.

My mind is easily triggered by scents & smells. Happens all the time. Burning leaves, perfume, food cooking. They’ll make me think of things easily. But they’re also pretty easy to come by in day to day life.

But not the scent of a library?

I haven’t even been in one for years yet it was the first thing I could identify when the smell went by. Most of you know what I mean without even having to describe, it’s that distinct.

Aside from that, it flooded my head with thoughts related– grade school books, campy inspirational art posters, the first CDs I ever got.

Oh man, I remembered that. They were Bob Marley, Miles Davis & Jimi Hendrix. I still can’t listen without remembering the way it felt when I got those albums there.

I know that there was absolutely nothing new or unknown about those artists. But back then the experience of finding it and taking it home just to listen without risk, without charge, really made me feel that I connected with something.

I think I liked those albums more because of that. I felt connected on a personal level and the artists didn’t even have anything to do with it. Hell, 2 of them were long dead at the time.

I think if I would have had to buy them to find out what they sounded like, I may have even been disappointed. Weighing everything against how much it cost me just to find out.

And there would be no feeling in time connected to it, the way the smell of a library seems to be.