Davy's On The Road Again Ch. 16

"First off, I changed all the batteries into these new Korean ones. They hold more juice, they take less time to juice up and they're a little lighter than the others. They're also easier to monitor with the new dashboard display I installed. The gauges are a bit larger and a bit brighter but they have a bit of a retro "Harley" look that I like.

I changed the carpeting to an easier-to-clean yet more bouncy feel. I also ran the carpeting up along the floor moldings. I also changed the galley appliances...the stove is more efficient and the microwave is more powerful. I also added a more powerful washer/dryer. You see, I'm thinking "baby" here, Davy. With the baby in mind, I reconfigured the bedroom layout. You've lost some living room space but gained a bedroom alcove for a crib. I also installed a layette in the bathroom. Let's see...let's see...there are new and larger HDTVs...a few more speakers and a more powerful amp...iPod adapters...hmmm...oh, dig this...in the console next to the cockpit, I added a coffee warmer next to the cold box...down in the storage bay where the mics and the P.A. resides, you'll find a larger, more powerful telescope...and here's the best part. After driving Big Chocolate around and loving every minute, I decided to build a 'bigger' Chocolate. When that's done, I'll swap with you and keep this for myself. Waddya say?"

"What can I say, Elon? It's a deal."

"Good. Consider it a good business move on my part. After all the great press and especially the Vanity Fair piece, I have a few orders to custom design some. One of them is going to run well over $2,000,000.00. But the truth is, Susie and I fell in love with this bus. That may be why I replaced the mattress, too."

It will be some time before we venture out on the bus again so I insisted that Elon and Sue drive it back and keep it for a while but he wouldn't hear of it. In a sense, it worked out as I have several friends all clamoring to borrow it.

I've got all these things I have to catch up on. Shadow wants me to fly down to L.A. to listen to his remixes at Shangri-La but I think I'll bring him here to listen to them. We can always recut any parts here and, at the moment, I really don't feel like traveling. Tim and I also want to give the studio a work out. I know that in a few months, Mark, Ma, Sebastian and some others want to record. Where better than here? Plus, I have these beautiful guitars here. Nah, I ain't goin' nowhere.

I want to catch up on all my business with all the songs now available on iTunes. I understand that I'm getting big play in Europe through Spotify. So I want to sit down with Danny and see what's up. As far as I'm concerned, this is all "found" money. I also want to catch up with YouTube as there are a lot of tour performances online. But the quality can't compare to the stuff that was professionally filmed which I hope makes it's way into theaters (although HBO is probably where the film will end up.) Wherever it finally lands, it will bring even more attention to the cause and more money into the food pantry coffers. And that reminds me, I'm going to have to fly down to L.A. for a board meeting about the tour proceeds.

And then there's our property acquisitions and restorations under the Roadwarriors, LLC. banner. I'd like the 'fresh air' camp to proceed quickly and that's my first priority. I've been looking at several requests to acquire and/or fund some local properties that need restoration. And then there's our little shopping mall near the airport. So my plate will be full for some time to come.

Amy is busy interviewing doulas and nannies and a small house staff. I met one girl and I knew that Amy would never hire her because she was just too damn good-looking. After she left, Amy told me that while she seemed very competent, her ass was just too fine to sashay around her house.

"In my home, my ass has to be the best!" I couldn't agree more. Still, with a vacation from sex for a while, it would be nice to taste some new tail. Instead, I'll have to be content with jerking off. I can live with this.

As I sit beside a warm fireplace and look out at the fresh snow covering the fields and the mountains, I think about all the blessings I have received, especially in this past year. Yes, our bundle is coming. Each day brings us closer to the delivery and all the new blessings he will bring. I find myself thinking about my legacy to him and I am reminded of a conversation I had with Mark and Neil one night soon after the Washington show. We were talking about how it used to be back in the sixties and how it is now that we are in our sixties. I recall that conversation this way:

"It was easier to mobilize people then. Our songs were 'calls to action' and our audience responded. It's harder to get people to react today so, in that sense, we've done a pretty good job on this tour. We did what we set out to do which was raise money to fill the food pantries around the country so our own hungry could make it through the day."

"Sure, but back then, it was easier because they had the draft and nobody wanted to fight a pointless war and die. They'll never bring the draft back because they know they'd never get reelected. So I'm saying that there's no one going for the throat...kids today have to work hard to find a job just so they can survive."

"So, you're saying that unless there's a war going on, people can't be motivated?"

"Sure, to some extent, that's true. It's got to be knocking on their door for them to get up and answer it. But what is our purpose, really? It isn't always to get people to act politically although it might be sometimes. Our job is to create our art. We're not in our twenties anymore and we can't get twenty year olds to man the barricades. That's over. It's up to the new twenty year olds to pick up the torch...we can only pass it to them."

"I agree. I play fiddle. That's what I do. It's sort of like, sometimes, I play loud and other times I play soft. Sometimes I use my drawing power and my artistic gift to help to spread a message, but that's just the bonus of celebrity, nothing more. What I do is make music and I am glad there is an audience. You know, when I first got this calling and went on this adventure called 'music', it was to satisfy myself. Your music must satiate you first. Because only by satiating ourselves can we truly inspire others. You don't give people what they want, but what they need. And that's our legacy."

"Exactly. And we're lucky in that regard. Our music is recorded for posterity so our legacy will live on. Whatever we do politically is for the here and now and will be forgotten. Our music will go on."

Neil and Mark were right. The music lives on and that is the legacy we leave to the future. It was good then, it is good now and it will still be good years from now. One hundred years from now, perhaps some of my songs will gladden a heart or two. If anyone cares to explore my life any further, I hope they will discover that here was a guy who not only made music and expressed his soul through his art but also lived and loved with a passion and a gusto and a humility for his place in the here and now.

The next time I write to you, it will be all about our new baby boy. Life will change but as good as it is, it will only get better.

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I thank all my faithful readers for following the story now through sixteen (!!!) chapters. You've been very kind with your praise and encouragement. It has been fun to write and, in some parts, to relive. My trusty dog and I will be going on the road for several weeks on a high adventure. I'm sure that I will have new stories to relate.

Keep those beautiful comments coming, vote early and often. If you have any questions, please email me and I'll be glad to respond. Any names and persons used in this story are purely coincidental, fictional, nonexistent and utterly intentional. All the lyrics are copyrighted, too. If you want more of the music, listen to "The Ol' Hippie Show" on podarama.com. And, thanks again.