I left off at Cinema Wasteland, which was the first weekend of the year. Filled with fun and far too much alcohol, where I learned that my friends Vodka and Rum still do not get along.
The following weekend was spent in the wonderful wilds of Wooster, Massachusettes, at the Rock 'n Shock convention. This was our first show as guests of Camp Motion Pictures/Bloody Earth Films, as we previewed A Feast of Flesh for the first time. We've been hearing about this show for years, primarily from our friend Joe Knetter. And it turned out to be as much fun as he'd promised. The Red Sox landing in the playoffs and the Patriots making a good start out of the gate, however, lowered attendance quite a bit, I'm told. It was a slow show, monetarily-speaking, but the fun flowed like wine. Highlights for us included partying with Dave and Cathy Wilber (aka the "Superfans" from the Unconventional documentary) who are super-cool people. Thanks very much to you both for the hospitality! Another highlight was talking with Angela Bettis and Kevin Ford, who were also super people.
The lowlight for me in particular was a nasty cold I'd picked up the week before that refused to go away. I finally hit the "enough!" point on Saturday and started taking handfuls of whatever was handy - Day-Quil, Sudafed, generic cold medicine - anything that would just make me feel marginally better. The primary result, aside from transforming into a walking Meth lab, was that I tended to travel in a medicinal bubble, not unlike Glinda the Good Witch's preferred mode of transportation, and was on at least a seven second delay all weekend. And if you've ever flown with a congested head, I'm sure I don't have to discuss the misery with you here! But, at least I had Henric Couto, Justin Wingenfeld and Paige Davis, my longtime friends who accompanied my misery.
Miraculously, Amy and I found ourselves with a free day after the show. We weren't due back at the airport until late in the afternoon, so we drove down to Salem, Mass. (hey, we waited an hour for that rental car, we were going to make use of it!) It's not often we actually get to SEE any of the places we visit for shows, so it was cool to walk around and see some of the history of our country. Although I find it odd that Salem became a mecca for Wiccans, due to the people who were hanged there for witchcraft, despite the fact that the actual Wiccan religion was not in practice there at the time of the hysteria. I have to say that it was chilling to step into the main cemetery in the middle of the town and have to cross the thresh hold that was inscribed with the oaths of the condemned and their exclamations of innocense.
We did not, however, get to see any more of Boston than the famous skyline, with which I was familiar as a rabid Boston Legal fan. We are making plans to go again, though, and spend more time in the area. I love to see parts of America that aren't connected to hotel lobbies or airports.
More soon!
