Sandman's Journal

The last ten days have been wild. I'll be brief.

From Dallas, Nima and I boogied to Austin for a fantastic show at Baby Blue Studios. The show was set up by the coincidentally-named Austin L. Jones. He bought a butt-load of Lone Star beer, and a Texas-sized crowd magically appeared. Awesome! From Austin we rolled west.

On April 2nd, we arrived in the magic west-Texas town of Marfa just in time to see my favorite artist Camp Boswell's whimsically eerie, border-war art show--marijuana, guns, liquor, briefcases of cash, and buzzard-like spy cams, all carved from wood. See Camp's giant spur (click on it to see details).

On April 3rd Nima and I played a most pleasant house concert in the kitchen of Camp and his wife Buck. It was our best show of tour and a morale-raising way to wrap up the southern leg of our journey.

On April 4th Nima and I parted ways temporarily. He drove to Big Bend National Park, and I flew to Minneapolis. That night I stayed with my friends Brandon and Nitali, who had picked me up at the airport. The next morning they dropped me off at the Mall of America, where I met with Shawn Goodall for a fish run to Toronto.

The two days of driving were uneventful, except for some powerful storms in Michigan and Ontario.

On April 7th Goodall dropped me off in Fargo, where I met up with Mom and attended Dale Bentley's Farewell Celebration at the the historic Fargo Theater. I was listed as the ceremony's officiator. I'm a rookie Reverend, and handling a memorial service proved to be harrowing duty--especially after just climbing out of a long-haul semi. Dale's family appreciated my effort, though. I enjoyed all the music Dale had requested: bagpipes, cello, and an opera singer named Angel Lira. Dale, a fan of Scottish culture, was buried in his kilt. He will be missed by many people. I am lucky to have known him these past few years.

Now I'm home in western North Dakota. Yesterday I visited the parents and grandparents and Killdeer Mountain, where wild crocuses are blooming by the thousands, most of the snow is gone, and the beaver dams are full. I pulled ticks off the horses. Spring is here, in force!

On that note, my cousin Kirby and his wife Megan just gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Her name is Cora Bailey Sand, and she's gorgeous! Congrats, Megan and Kirby. Can't wait to meet her!