Secret Journey

Upon a secret journey...

I met a holy man...
His blindness was his wisdom...
I'm such a lonely man- The Police



Lawyers! It's just blueberry picking...







I received a message from Vincent.  "Hey, would you like to practice jam with myself and some friends?"   Having played with him before, I eagerly agreed.

"Where and when for this thing?"  I asked.   "East Bay Baptist Church, just a little outside Callaway, tonight around 7" he responds that he leads the music ministry.  "I will be there" I hit send on my phone and look up the place on my GPS.  "Wow"  I think to myself.  It is way out there.  I figure I need the practice, so I get home from work, clean up and make arrangements with my wife to steal her Mustang over a quick bite to eat.

I go to pack up my favorite bass and remember that it has some, AHEM, less than religious stickers on it.  I grab another bass that is less likely to immolate in a church and head out the door.  I take Business 98, which is an adventure in of itself across Panama City and Springfield and then out into the woods.  Just as I am about to give up on finding it, my GPS tells me to turn right and that my destination was at the end of the road.

I pull into the parking lot and notice that I am the first to arrive.  I look around and notice an agritourism blueberry patch next to the church and this makes me laugh.  Not for long.  As the sun dips on the horizon, the bugs find me.  I run back into the car and call Vincent,  he answers that he is almost there.

Two other people show up, and Vincent introduces us.  They are a married couple named Geoff and Malinda.  I ask if they are members of the church, and they indicate that they belong to another congregation.  We head into the place and chat while Vincent fumbles with the keys,  and turns on the A/C and lighting.

We enter what I guess is the chapel, and I notice that drums and a keyboard are already set up.  I open my bass guitar case and realize that I had forgotten to put new batteries in for my active pickups and also forgot a strap.  It seems I always forget something.  Vincent obliges me, and proceeds to adjust the mics and sound board.

We run through a few of his original songs, that I am getting more and more familiar with and have quite a bit of fun.  Malinda plays some solo keyboard and sings, and I was blown away by it.  Geoff is quite a solid drummer as well.  As always, I question my skill level, but it all seemed to work okay.

We part ways afterward, but not before exchanging social media contact info.  About a year and a a half later,  this came in quite handy when Geoff contacts me about coming to his house to rehearse with another musician that he knows that goes by the moniker of  "The Himalayan Hendrix".   If it works out, we may play some gigs together.  More on this in a future blog.




When I arrived home, my wife asked "How did it go?"
"I am now a Scientologist" I answered.
"That is all they need, NOW" She responded.
"Just call me Xenu" I replied.

What else could I say?

                                                        Stir up that MONKEYDUST!


© 2020 MATT COLEMAN ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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