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Donuts should come before love.

 I’ve been thinking about this story for a while now, and it makes me laugh whenever it pops up in my head.

I figured I should write it down before I forget about it. 

I’m going to preface this by saying that I’m a pretty traditional person. I read a newspaper that I can hold in my hands, and the hill that I’m willing to die on is that books should not be charged. (No Nooks for me.)

I’m also showing my age here, which is all right. 

So, I’m a pretty traditional person. That also applies to music in my life. 

One thing I’m excited about is to own a house again so I can get a record player. Doing things old school and the traditional way means something to me.

On the way to work in the mornings, I’ve been thinking about this a lot. When I listen to music, especially if it’s the first time listening to new music, I try to listen to music in the order that’s laid out on the album.

I listen to the first track, then the second, then the third. 

I believe that artists put songs in that order for a reason, and I believe it’s meant to be heard that way.

My favorite love song of all time is a bluegrass song by John McCutcheon called ‘Along Came You.’ 

I first heard that song when I was 22 years old, and I’ve loved it ever since. I remember hearing it for the first time live in Winfield, and I remember thinking to myself that if I ever get married, that song is going to be my wedding song.

The wedding part of my life isn’t working out so well right now, and I haven’t been listening to a lot of love songs lately.

I’ve been kind of hooked on killing people in New Orleans songs instead.

But this week, for whatever reason, I’ve been giving love songs a try. I play ‘Along Came You’ on repeat when I drive to work in the morning.

Remember when I said that I believe in listening to songs in album order? I think it means something. It’s just meant to be listened to that way.

On John McCutcheon’s album, Passage, the most beautiful love song I’ve ever heard, ‘Along Came You,’ is preceded by a song about donuts.

It means something, guys.

Every time I listen to my favorite love song, I have to listen to ‘Ode to a Krispy Kreme’ first. You better believe I know all the lyrics, and I have a mini dance session in my car every morning as I sing about donuts.

And on my wedding day, if that day ever comes, I’m 2,000 percent sure that before my first dance with the love of my life, I’m going to play that damn donut song first. 

I believe that things happen for a reason, and I believe that oftentimes, donuts should come before love.

Heart on Fire in the Devil's Playground

 

I can't promise a full wall of text about this topic, but I will share some thoughts and some pretty pictures with you.

I had a few hours to kill one night in the Springs. I didn't want to go.shopping, and I wanted to do something mountainy.

I've been to Pikes Peak before when I was little. Like, maybe 5 years old. Why not go again? I just got new tires on my car, my battery is brand spanking new, and I am an excellent driver. 

Also, that was a very bad decision on my part. 

I did not make it to the summit, and I am not sorry about it. I made it to the Devil's Playground, which is mile 16 of the 19 mile journey. The elevation of that point is not easily Google-able, as I spent about five seconds trying to figure it out, but let's just say that it's between 12,000 and 13,000 feet.

It occurred to me driving up this damn mountain that although my tires are brand new, they are from a store that rhymes with smallmart. And when sheer death is a few inches away on the right side of me, I thought that maybe entrusting my life to smallmart maybe wasn't the best decision I've ever made. 

I do stupid things on vacation all the time. Parasailing, a private plane tour over New Orleans, swimming in an underground cave in Mexico. 

I can officially add attempting Pikes Peak to that list. 

And I'm never doing it again.

Never never never.

Also, I would be the worst person in the world to travel with. I can't tell you what I can tolerate and what I can't tolerate, danger-wise, until I'm there in person and I can feel the vibe of the place.

And it turns out that my tipping point is a place called Devil's Playground.

Not today, Satan.  

Not today. 

And not ever again. 

I took that screen shot of the sing that I was listening to when I officially made the decision to chicken out. I was listening to Eric Church's Heart on Fire, BECAUSE MY HEART WAS LITERALLY ON FIRE.

The only other thing I will add is that it was 100 degrees in town that day. When I turned around, it was 54 degrees. 

Rolling down my windows and getting that sweet mountain air is about the only good thing that came from that trip. 

I went to a craft store awards, because dammit, I deserved it. 

We see you.

I'm going to take a little bit of time in this next post to talk about the performers.

Yes, I know, I'm skipping all over the place. Whatever. Let's roll with it, here.

So the weird thing about the concert was that Eric Church’s fan club members, the Church Choir, did not have seats directly by the stage.

Those seats were reserved for rodeo sponsors. That’s fine, and money and rodeo sponsors talk, but those people were not die-hard fans like the rest of us.

It didn’t take Eric long to spot us, the Church Choir, over to the side of the stage.

He gave us attention the whole night.

In the photo above, he was singing "Some of It," which is always a favorite of mine. He looked right at us, the Choir, and smiled.

He acknowledged us all right, from the flag the people in front of me were flying to the records we held up during the song Record Year.

(His words: "I see you. I can't get to you. But I see you.")

We see you too, Eric.

We see you.

The seating situation was kind of lame, and something that I've never encountered at one of his concerts ever before.

But the weather was beautiful, that big Wyoming sky was the backdrop, and I had a really good time going to a rodeo that's better than my hometown's rodeo.

Overall, it was solid.

Solid.

Plus, we got this update on his social media accounts after the show.

I think he liked us.

:)

---

This is the first time I saw Ashley McBryde perform, and I loved every minute of her.

My only complaint is that the show should have started sooner so she could play longer.

She talked a lot during her set, which I liked a lot.

She thanked the people in the crowd for bringing kids to the show. In her words: "If kids never stand there (in the crowd), they'll never stand here (on the stage)."

:)

She also said that the fans don't show up because the artist shows up, the artists show up because the fans show up.

She has a point there.

Overall, I'd give her a 10/10.

I appreciate a good cheatin' song, I appreciate a good 'find yourself' song, and I appreciate a song about killing someone (it ain't murder if I bury you alive, Martha Divine).

She's also solid. Plus, it was her birthday that day.

Thanks for working on your birthday, Ashley. It was pretty badass.

Colorado

 I had this blog thing all planned out.

I was going to write about how a third party site, one I’ve used for the past 10 years, totally burned me and left me without a hotel room at night hundreds of miles away from home.

I was also going to complain that two AirBnBs canceled on me.

And then I was going to throw it out there that I couldn’t get the key code door to work at 2:30 a.m. at one place I stayed at.

And then there’s that whole replacing my brakes thing for too much money because I am a dumb tourist sometimes.

Also, I paid $4.50 a gallon for gas.

At one point, I thought about just throwing in the towel and going back to Kansas. Nothing was going right and I was in a bad mood.

But I’m not a quitter. 

And what followed was a day and a night of family, friendship, mountain rides, food, alcohol, good conversations and jokes and laughter that I haven’t had in a really long time.

I challenge everyone reading this right now to go to nature, turn your phone off for a weekend, take a trail ride through the rainy mountains, and try some moonshine in what’s probably the most beautiful place in the world.

And then go back into town, get yourself some McDonalds, and then TikTok yourself into oblivion. 

It’s wonderful.

Best weekend ever.