My Fair Lady - Mississippi One-Nighters
We were supposed to leave the NOLA hotel between 9-9:30am.
Per my custom I got up two hours before that to have coffee and breakfast and get my soul into my body before the travel day.
Around 8am, though, a message went out to from management that we'd be leaving between 10-10:30am instead.
I wasn't surprised. There was a big winter storm moving through Mississippi, and I guess the hope was to delay travel and see how things played out. "Stop and assess," they kept calling it. I think that for FINANCIAL reasons, what they were waiting for was an official cancellation from the theatre...thereby allowing the touring company to recoup some monies. Something like that.
Regardless, we had to be out of the hotel before noon.
The drive to Jackson was only about 2.5 hours, all on I-55 which is an interesting highway and probably some kind of engineering marvel, because for miles and miles, it is almost entirely built on the water. From this highway you can see swamps, and weird little houses built on stilts or DIY pontoons, like so:
(stock images)
We stopped at a Walmart, and perhaps because of the state of emergency it was very poorly stocked. I crossed the street to explore a local grocery, where I admired (but did not buy) this massive jar of pickled pig feet.
As we piled back onto the bus we were informed that the show in Oxford had officially been cancelled (by the venue, $$$) so we would be staying the night and an extra day in Jackson instead. This news was met with cheers and high fives. I'm sorry for the weather, the lost revenue, and the disappointed patrons :( but also, I would much rather be safe. No show is worth trying to drive in dangerous temperatures, on a sheet of ice, to go see.
The hotel was only 15 minutes from the Walmart. We got there around 3pm, and I spent a little time unpacking and asking myself, do you need anything? Because if you do, you have to get it NOW.
I have been through many severe weather events and state-of-emergencies in my life: floods, hurricanes, and blizzards mostly. And one thing I know is that the clock is ticking before you no longer have access to goods and services AND you may not be able to leave your house after a certain point. This is why people buy up all the bread and milk at the store. Sometimes it's an overreaction...and sometimes it's being prepared.
I decided to Uber to the nearest grocery, knowing full well that the clock was ALSO ticking on how much longer ride services would be available. I didn't need much but got what I hadn't seen available at the Walmart: Greek yogurt, some lower sodium soups and prepared meal options...and most importantly, a jug of distilled water. Jackson does not usually experience single-digit temps like this, and they're about to be in it for several days. During that time, uninsulated water pipes could burst leaving us without running water. This is not paranoia, I am speaking from experience. Plus, Jackson was under a boil water advisory just a few days ago. Go figure.
I barely, BARELY managed to get a ride back to the hotel (I really should have done the grocery run before unpacking.) Back at the hotel it was only 5pm but I put away the food, showered (because the pipes might be frozen in the morning, people), and got into pajamas. The sun had set and I knew there was no point going out any more, because if businesses weren't closed yet, they were about to be.
Sure enough, the cast chat was filled with exclamations over how "early" everything was closing, and people out trying to find food and water in the dark in 10°F weather. I was actually a little flabbergasted that so many folks didn't seem to understand what a "state of emergency" entails. Hopefully it'll be safe enough for some businesses to reopen tomorrow, otherwise some people might find themselves in trouble.
There was nothing to do but chill, drink hot tea, and appreciate that I was safe and warm.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday morning I had breakfast and entertained myself by watching cars slide around on the icy road.
At first it was only police cars drifting carefully through the empty early morning intersections.
But soon they were joined by civilian cars...and I'm guessing many people in Mississippi aren't used to driving on a slick of ice.
I only saw this one car get stuck, everyone else was able to kind of creep along and slide around corners.
I saw a few pedestrians carefully picking their way around. It's only a thin layer of ice, but it doesn't take much to make walking and driving dangerous. In New York there would have been brine and rock salt on the roads, and plows making the rounds, and everyone would have gone about their day no problems. There is no infrastructure for that here, and what equipment there is is being used in higher-traffic areas like the major highways.
Anyway, there was nothing to do but ride it out. The high for the day was 26°F with an 11-degree wind chill, so I felt no motivation to go outside. The situation reminded me of a circus train run, actually. When our train was moving between cities, you had only whatever food was on hand in your room, and whatever was being served at Pie Car. The train could take days to reach its destination, so all you could do was eat, drink, nap, walk up and down the train cars, spend time on the vestibules if the weather was nice...and just CHILL.
So that is what I did. Breakfast, then walking through the hotel's conference rooms and up five flights of stairs, for exercise. Watched some live action Yu Yu Hakusho. Lunch, another five flights up and down in the stairwell. Working on Foodie Finds. More anime. A snack and some TikTok, and Lap Three in the hotel stairwell. Then a shower and dinner.
Throughout the day people were in the chat trying to find food or seeing if anyone wanted to go out (to where? everything was still closed and there were no Ubers.) The hotel did offer food, but last I heard there was a 45-minute wait for food because so many people showed up for dinner, and they were quickly running out of their already-limited menu items. I hope that the majority of our group was able to get what they needed to keep themselves fed and entertained. As for me, I had plenty. Fresh water, butternut squash soup with pistachios and wheat bread for dinner, hot tea and chocolate for dessert. Sometimes being prepared pays off. I felt bored but it was ultimately no different than any snow day, and I was still very grateful to be safe and warm. Tomorrow, businesses should start to reopen.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, and the sun was out and the weather was cold but clear. There were beautiful frost patterns on my window.
There were still spots of black ice on the roads, but overall everything had melted and temps were supposed to jump up to more "normal" winter temperatures in coming days.
I had a slow breakfast and scheduled myself a doctor's appointment, and took stock of my food supplies and options. We travel to Lafayette tomorrow and now that restaurants are open I decided to enjoy a nice sandwich or something and save my nonperishables, since we probably won't have much time to source dinner before the Lafayette show. So before sound check I walked to Martin's, a local bar and grill, for a redfish sandwich.
Walking downtown Jackson was kinda depressing. Lots of burnt-out buildings (I overheard some cast who have been here before saying it's been like that for years with no updates or changes) and lots of closed businesses. It's definitely a depressed town, a food desert to boot, and when it's this cold no one is out and about so it resembles a ghost town. The bar at least had some locals in it, but otherwise I didn't run into a single person on the half mile walk.
At the theatre it was cold everywhere we went. I was glad for my black fleece to keep me semi-warm, but my trombone was cold AF so I kept putting my mouthpiece in my pocket when we weren't playing.
After sound check, ate my fish and chatted with bandmates about this and that but mostly circus stuff because our bassist asked about my time with Ringling...and as you all know by now I LOVE to talk about the circus, so he got an earful whether he wanted it or not (sorry Abe!)
Then our show, which was uncomfortable due to the cold but the audience seemed to have fun, so it wasn't bad for a one-nighter. At least we finally got to play a show!
--------------------------------------------------------
Tomorrow we bus to Lafayette, LA. We arrive just an hour or so before sound check and then the show, so there won't likely be time to see the town or sit down at a restaurant. I might order something for delivery, haven't decided yet. But the temperature will be blessedly warmer so we are all looking forward to that! And after that, San Antonio for two days!
My schedule is about to get a bit crazy starting this weekend.
I've got another gift card from my sister to spend in San Antonio, and have a haircut there too at one of my favorite salons, both of which will be difficult to squeeze in because it's a weekend and we've got matinees.
Then in Columbia SC I have my virtual doctor visit followed by my very first masterclass at the University of South Carolina!
After that is Greensboro where I'll spend time with my Aunt and Uncle (I've already got them tickets to the show.)
And then Pittsburgh where we'll FINALLY be somewhere for a full week, but it's my 40th birthday and I've got family coming to see the show and visit, plus the band wants to do something since it's both my birthday and Joel's (trumpet)!
And in between all of this I'm still running Megan's Foodie Finds.
It's a lot, but hopefully it'll be interesting and fun!
Per my custom I got up two hours before that to have coffee and breakfast and get my soul into my body before the travel day.
Around 8am, though, a message went out to from management that we'd be leaving between 10-10:30am instead.
I wasn't surprised. There was a big winter storm moving through Mississippi, and I guess the hope was to delay travel and see how things played out. "Stop and assess," they kept calling it. I think that for FINANCIAL reasons, what they were waiting for was an official cancellation from the theatre...thereby allowing the touring company to recoup some monies. Something like that.
Regardless, we had to be out of the hotel before noon.
The drive to Jackson was only about 2.5 hours, all on I-55 which is an interesting highway and probably some kind of engineering marvel, because for miles and miles, it is almost entirely built on the water. From this highway you can see swamps, and weird little houses built on stilts or DIY pontoons, like so:
(stock images)
We stopped at a Walmart, and perhaps because of the state of emergency it was very poorly stocked. I crossed the street to explore a local grocery, where I admired (but did not buy) this massive jar of pickled pig feet.
As we piled back onto the bus we were informed that the show in Oxford had officially been cancelled (by the venue, $$$) so we would be staying the night and an extra day in Jackson instead. This news was met with cheers and high fives. I'm sorry for the weather, the lost revenue, and the disappointed patrons :( but also, I would much rather be safe. No show is worth trying to drive in dangerous temperatures, on a sheet of ice, to go see.
The hotel was only 15 minutes from the Walmart. We got there around 3pm, and I spent a little time unpacking and asking myself, do you need anything? Because if you do, you have to get it NOW.
I have been through many severe weather events and state-of-emergencies in my life: floods, hurricanes, and blizzards mostly. And one thing I know is that the clock is ticking before you no longer have access to goods and services AND you may not be able to leave your house after a certain point. This is why people buy up all the bread and milk at the store. Sometimes it's an overreaction...and sometimes it's being prepared.
I decided to Uber to the nearest grocery, knowing full well that the clock was ALSO ticking on how much longer ride services would be available. I didn't need much but got what I hadn't seen available at the Walmart: Greek yogurt, some lower sodium soups and prepared meal options...and most importantly, a jug of distilled water. Jackson does not usually experience single-digit temps like this, and they're about to be in it for several days. During that time, uninsulated water pipes could burst leaving us without running water. This is not paranoia, I am speaking from experience. Plus, Jackson was under a boil water advisory just a few days ago. Go figure.
I barely, BARELY managed to get a ride back to the hotel (I really should have done the grocery run before unpacking.) Back at the hotel it was only 5pm but I put away the food, showered (because the pipes might be frozen in the morning, people), and got into pajamas. The sun had set and I knew there was no point going out any more, because if businesses weren't closed yet, they were about to be.
Sure enough, the cast chat was filled with exclamations over how "early" everything was closing, and people out trying to find food and water in the dark in 10°F weather. I was actually a little flabbergasted that so many folks didn't seem to understand what a "state of emergency" entails. Hopefully it'll be safe enough for some businesses to reopen tomorrow, otherwise some people might find themselves in trouble.
There was nothing to do but chill, drink hot tea, and appreciate that I was safe and warm.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday morning I had breakfast and entertained myself by watching cars slide around on the icy road.
At first it was only police cars drifting carefully through the empty early morning intersections.
But soon they were joined by civilian cars...and I'm guessing many people in Mississippi aren't used to driving on a slick of ice.
I only saw this one car get stuck, everyone else was able to kind of creep along and slide around corners.
I saw a few pedestrians carefully picking their way around. It's only a thin layer of ice, but it doesn't take much to make walking and driving dangerous. In New York there would have been brine and rock salt on the roads, and plows making the rounds, and everyone would have gone about their day no problems. There is no infrastructure for that here, and what equipment there is is being used in higher-traffic areas like the major highways.
Anyway, there was nothing to do but ride it out. The high for the day was 26°F with an 11-degree wind chill, so I felt no motivation to go outside. The situation reminded me of a circus train run, actually. When our train was moving between cities, you had only whatever food was on hand in your room, and whatever was being served at Pie Car. The train could take days to reach its destination, so all you could do was eat, drink, nap, walk up and down the train cars, spend time on the vestibules if the weather was nice...and just CHILL.
So that is what I did. Breakfast, then walking through the hotel's conference rooms and up five flights of stairs, for exercise. Watched some live action Yu Yu Hakusho. Lunch, another five flights up and down in the stairwell. Working on Foodie Finds. More anime. A snack and some TikTok, and Lap Three in the hotel stairwell. Then a shower and dinner.
Throughout the day people were in the chat trying to find food or seeing if anyone wanted to go out (to where? everything was still closed and there were no Ubers.) The hotel did offer food, but last I heard there was a 45-minute wait for food because so many people showed up for dinner, and they were quickly running out of their already-limited menu items. I hope that the majority of our group was able to get what they needed to keep themselves fed and entertained. As for me, I had plenty. Fresh water, butternut squash soup with pistachios and wheat bread for dinner, hot tea and chocolate for dessert. Sometimes being prepared pays off. I felt bored but it was ultimately no different than any snow day, and I was still very grateful to be safe and warm. Tomorrow, businesses should start to reopen.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, and the sun was out and the weather was cold but clear. There were beautiful frost patterns on my window.
There were still spots of black ice on the roads, but overall everything had melted and temps were supposed to jump up to more "normal" winter temperatures in coming days.
I had a slow breakfast and scheduled myself a doctor's appointment, and took stock of my food supplies and options. We travel to Lafayette tomorrow and now that restaurants are open I decided to enjoy a nice sandwich or something and save my nonperishables, since we probably won't have much time to source dinner before the Lafayette show. So before sound check I walked to Martin's, a local bar and grill, for a redfish sandwich.
Walking downtown Jackson was kinda depressing. Lots of burnt-out buildings (I overheard some cast who have been here before saying it's been like that for years with no updates or changes) and lots of closed businesses. It's definitely a depressed town, a food desert to boot, and when it's this cold no one is out and about so it resembles a ghost town. The bar at least had some locals in it, but otherwise I didn't run into a single person on the half mile walk.
At the theatre it was cold everywhere we went. I was glad for my black fleece to keep me semi-warm, but my trombone was cold AF so I kept putting my mouthpiece in my pocket when we weren't playing.
After sound check, ate my fish and chatted with bandmates about this and that but mostly circus stuff because our bassist asked about my time with Ringling...and as you all know by now I LOVE to talk about the circus, so he got an earful whether he wanted it or not (sorry Abe!)
Then our show, which was uncomfortable due to the cold but the audience seemed to have fun, so it wasn't bad for a one-nighter. At least we finally got to play a show!
--------------------------------------------------------
Tomorrow we bus to Lafayette, LA. We arrive just an hour or so before sound check and then the show, so there won't likely be time to see the town or sit down at a restaurant. I might order something for delivery, haven't decided yet. But the temperature will be blessedly warmer so we are all looking forward to that! And after that, San Antonio for two days!
My schedule is about to get a bit crazy starting this weekend.
I've got another gift card from my sister to spend in San Antonio, and have a haircut there too at one of my favorite salons, both of which will be difficult to squeeze in because it's a weekend and we've got matinees.
Then in Columbia SC I have my virtual doctor visit followed by my very first masterclass at the University of South Carolina!
After that is Greensboro where I'll spend time with my Aunt and Uncle (I've already got them tickets to the show.)
And then Pittsburgh where we'll FINALLY be somewhere for a full week, but it's my 40th birthday and I've got family coming to see the show and visit, plus the band wants to do something since it's both my birthday and Joel's (trumpet)!
And in between all of this I'm still running Megan's Foodie Finds.
It's a lot, but hopefully it'll be interesting and fun!