Hey Jakey,

Boy, I wish I had taken you with me today. There were more babies there than I could shake a stick at. Not that I shook sticks at them. I guess Monday at the Rib Cookoff is kind of slow. I parked ridiculously close. I had a BBQ pork sandwich, garlic fries and cole slaw. I've been chasing the garlic fry dragon for years now, ever since some kick-ass fries I got at the Garlic Festival in Gilroy. None have measured up since, today's included. But the pork was tasty.

So, I'm pushing 40 here. Bear with me, yet again, I reverted back to being a giddy teenager today. I sat and watched Cracker's sound check at about 1-ish, then waited around under the oppressive sun for them to come back for their 3:00 show. I drank about $12 worth of Diet Cokes and almost passed out from the heat.

But it was a wonderful show. They played alot of their old stuff that I haven't heard in a long time. I have a feeling they "dumbed down" their set for a Reno "rib-munchin'" kinda crowd. S'okay with me. The Cracker shows I've seen now in Reno have been pretty cool, in that you don't get that Cracker "clique" showing up. These people swarm around at the more metropolitan shows, like back in the Bay Area, and play this hideous game of one-upmanship that leaves me feeling icky and sad for them. They'll seek me out, cuz they vaguely recognize me from previous shows, then proceed to tell me that, "I'm the guy who maintains their website," "David called me last night," or "This is my 5,906th show," or "I gave Johnny a massage last week." I mean, how do you compete with that, even if you wanted to. This one girl confided that, "Yeah, I don't think the band considers me a real friend yet, but I'm working on it. I'm almost there." Ew! Of course, the next night, this same girl tells me, "Yeah! You should've stuck around last night after the show, we all went back to their hotel and drank beer by the pool!" Sigh. You really can't win with these people. Yes, Reno is much, much better.

Always glad to see Victor Krummenacher sitting in on bass. If I ever did get to sit down and talk with anyone in the band, I'd love to talk to Victor. He's the art director at the Bay Guardian. I'd love to give him my resume.

And really, JH does love me. I can see it in his eyes. He does this thing, this thing that drives me absolutely bugnuts. He looks you in the eye, smiles, holds it.... holds it.... and won't look away until you smile back, then he nods and continues with his guitar-god business. He's done this at almost every show I've been to. Of course he does it to every girl who stations herself in front of him at every show, but only you and I know, Jakey, that he holds a very special place in his heart for me. He smiled at me a couple times, and then he stuck his tongue out at me when I took a picture, and I stuck mine out at him. Herewith, the money shot:



For this, and for this moment alone, I put on a nice bra and begged your daddy to tell me I was pretty before I left the house this morning. His parting words to me as I walked out the door: "Just don't fuck him, please." Sigh, you gotta love 'im. He sure puts up with a lot.

If I'm pushing 40, JH is pushing 50, if he's not already there, but he's still probably the cutest man to walk the planet. Here's another photo, slightly more flattering:



And, just for context, here is a photo that I took 13 years ago at the free Live105 show in Golden Gate Park. They opened for Wire Train:



Johnny, if ever you read this, thank you for being you. Over and out.

Okay, back to momma-hood. I'm going to make dinner now. Love you!