About two hours before the jam, we received a call from Seven of Swords from Stillwater, letting us know that they were not going to risk their equipment in the rain. Totally understandable, but they were going to bring the flatbed trailer and the cover for the trailer to ensure the gear didn't get wet. So, what were we to do? Adapt. Improvise.
As you know if you've been following this blog, I have had more than a few problems with my Chevy pickup truck and have had numerous diagnostics done wherein the answer from the mechanics to the problems have been, "Gee, I can't figure it out." My truck decided to remind me as we were out getting tarps for covering that there is, in fact, a God and I am not Him. After swapping out vehicles, we arrive at Paradise Farm and get the tarp put up along with the gazebo - not an easy task.
By the time we get that completed, it's about 30 minutes until guests are to arrive and it hit me: No one has fired up the grill yet. We had a bunch of hot dogs to cook, some sausage to get simmering and food to prepare. Fortunately, we had some volunteers who were ready, willing and able to get the job started.
People started arriving just as we were putting in place the music equipment and the music began.
Keep in mind, the rag-tag group of misfits have only really practiced together twice so our song set is pretty limited. Even so, we still had a great time and at the end of the day, we raised money for the Mid-America Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America, ate some great food and played some music. And yes, there is video of the whole disaster to follow real soon.
Again, thanks to everyone who came out. We got to see some old friends and meet new ones.
We will be having another one closer to the end of summer and maybe, just maybe, we won't have the rain to contend with and our group will have practiced.
