September 15th Hibbing

Woke up early and walked round Dinkytown looking for breakfast. Didn't feel like a huge American platter so eventually ended up in good old MacDonalds. On the way I saw the Purple Onion, one of the places where Dylan played when he was starting out.

Then I embarked upon the 250-mile drive to Hibbing. I drove up the I-35 for a couple of hours, then turned off onto Highway 33 at Cloquet, before driving up Highway 53 to Virginia and then west on 169 to Hibbing. It being a Sunday, the place was deserted. Hibbing is basically one long main street (Howard Street) with the usual rectangular structure of streets around it. I went to a bar called Zimmy's and found out where Bob Dylan Drive was. I walked down it and found the house where he grew up. It is a cubular two-storey house painted blue on the corner of 7th Avenue and 25th Street. So it was in this small house in a remote and nondescript town that one of the major geniuses in the development of human culture grew up. I can only imagine how liberated he must have felt to come down here to university in Dinkytown.

The drive back was very exciting and comfortable - the sun was out and I could see the scenery better. Hibbing is in the middle of the Iron Range, which used to be a large mining area in the Second World War. The subsequent closure of the mines and the resulting impact on the local economy is the subject of "North Country Blues" on the "Times They Are a Changin'" album. The countryside is full of lakes and was largely flat where I drove. The sheer scale and remoteness of the place is very striking. It's hard to imagine people conducting their daily lives in such places.

Loads of music of course - constant Dylan on the way up, naturally - I played "The Bootleg Series" Vols 7 and 9. Much of this is early acoustic material and what stood out for me was the exceptional urgency and intensity of the performances, as well as the emerging lyrical genius of songs such as "Hard Rain". Dylan has never been easy listening, so he would never have got a hearing in these bland times. It is a tribute to the communal musical ear of the 1960s that such an uncompromising artist was a major pop star.

On the way back I started with Chuck Prophet's "Temple Beautiful", my favourite CD of last year. Then I heard "White-Faced "Lady" by the UK Kaleidoscope, a double album which was never released at the time. I found its English lyricism and pop sensibility to be highly refreshing after all the Americana. I then heard "Parachute", the Pretty Things classic from 1970 which was voted album of the year by Rolling Stone (I'd go for "Workingman's Dead" myself). There are some bonus tracks on here which are very, very good - full of different structures and interesting lyrics. Finally I heard some live Quicksilver Messenger Service tracks as I arrived back in Minneapolis.                      

September 14th - from Atlanta to Minneapolis

Had some entertainment taking the hired car back to the airport at Atlanta. The satnav kept urging me to go down a road which was blocked by a gate. So I went round in circles for 15 mins until I stopped and asked somebody. The satnav was a godsend when visiting places, but couldn't work out how to get me to the rental return area ! Lesson - never put your trust totally in technology.

Took the train from the rental location to the check-in desk. American airports are very large and you can do a couple of these train trips during a visit. Eventually got near the gate and had some "brunch". I then succeeded in giving myself a minor panic when I left my printed boarding pass on the table. I realised this when I was about to buy some snacks for the flight. The "fight/flight" reaction kicked into gear before a waitress kindly pointed out that I could go to the Delta desk and get another one printed. Having lost my wallet on my last trip I'm paranoid about this sort of thing - why do I give myself these frights ?

I got on the plane and it left on schedule. Upon arriving in Minneapolis I went to collect my next car and was talked into upgrading it to have a built-in satnav instead of borrowing one to stick on the windscreen as I had in Georgia. So, for a little extra money I've now got a really plush Chrysler to drive around Minnesota in the next few days. I drove to the hotel and my initial impressions were unfavourable - it looked like 1970s-style student lodgings. But actually the room is really nice and much better than the rather creepy place I was in in Atlanta. My former hotel was in a rather dingy area with nothing much around it. There was a security guard on patrol outside and I found the whole atmosphere a bit unsettling. The room was large and imposing, and worst of all the fridge didn't work ! By contrast, the room here is much more modern and comfortable. Also the lady on the front desk was really friendly and gave me lots of advice about the locality.

I'm located in Dinkytown, which is the University area and is where Bob Dylan first started playing folk music when he came here from Hibbing in 1959. I went for a walk in the city and crossed the Missisipi on a beautiful brick bridge. While doing so I got talking to a very friendly couple who had a "mini-pincher", which looked like a miniature Doberman. I had a cheerful conversation with the lady about being with people when they die (as I had been with my father). The downtown area was quiet (it being a Saturday) and much less garish than most American cities.  On the way back I bought some stuff in a Deli and got chatting with the shopkeeper, who was called Laurie. She stated that the shop used to be a bar in which Dylan played ! I feel at home here - it's a lovely city which reminds me a bit of Austin (another University town).

It was actually raining during my walk, which was a relief after the crushing humidity of  Atlanta. Laurie told me that they'd recently had a similar heatwave here, so I'm glad that I missed it. Tomorrow I will be driving to Hibbing, where Dylan grew up. It's a long drive but must be done !                    

September 13th -Macon

Slept well last night. Drove down to Macon, home of the Allman Brothers and Otis Redding. Headed south down I-75, but then an alternative route was suggested by the satnav due to a serious crash further on. So I left at junction 212 and stopped for petrol at Locust Grove. On the way out from paying I attempted to unlock the wrong car ! Well it was black just like mine - fortunately I realised before anyone thought I was a potential car thief. There was a long traffic jam through Jackson, but it was fascinating to see something of small-town Georgia. I continued south down Highway 23, a long, straight road which the Romans could have built. I eventually rejoined the I-75 just outside Macon and arrived in the area I was seeking just before 13:00.

First priority was lunch (chicken caesar), and then I went in search of the Allman Brothers museum. I had trouble finding it as there was no sign outside, but I parked in a side street and found it eventually. The museum is in the house where the group lived, and it was very sad to see the two bedrooms of the members who died in the early seventies (Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley). The style of the living quarters upstairs was very hippy-ish, with elaborately-patterned bed covers, bongoes, and tapestries. It was very tidy and I suspect was designed and maintained by the group's wives and girlfriends. The music room had a huge turntable, speakers, and bongoes in it. A lot of amazing music was conceived here - songs like "Midnight Rider", "Blue Sky", and "Elizabeth Reed".

I bought a couple of CDs and a T-shirt, then left for Atlanta. I didn't have a chance to look round Macon, since I'd arrived late and wanted to get back before the height of the rush-hour traffic. As it happens the drive back was easy and maybe I could have stayed longer, but had I stayed an extra half-hour I might have been caught in a snarl-up. The heat in Macon was hyper-intense; there's a bit of  breeze back here in Atlanta which makes it bearable.

As for music, I played the first two Allmans albums on the way, and enjoyed the bluesy tone, jazzy rhythms, and astonishingly fluid guitar playing. Then I heard two Lynyrd Skynyrd albums and admired Ronnie Van Zant's gritty vocals and tough workingman's lyrics. Another tragic southern band, of course, with most of the members killed in a plane crash in 1977. On the way back I heard the Allmans' classic "Live at the Fillmore East" album, which is a dream for anyone who loves great guitar-playing and skilled musicianship. They really don't make albums like this now - far too musical for the attention-deficit generation.

Tomorrow I leave Atlanta to fly to Minneapolis. I've loved being in Georgia - the countryside is varied, Atlanta itself is thrilling, the people very friendly (when they can understand me !), and the women are gorgeous. I am looking forward, though, to getting out of the humidity. Minnesota is Dylan country, so loads to explore there ! 

                  

September 12th - Athens

Slept well last night, although I woke up at 3:30 and had some difficulty getting back to sleep after that. While I was awake I heard some familiar "coupling" sounds from next door - at 3:30 AM ! This happens to me quite a lot on the road and arouses in me some complex emotions. I will spare the reader the full details of my various freudian traumas - I will only note that it rubs in my single status. It's often great being alone, but not always easy.

When I got up I had a nice conversation with a lady called Belmira. She tried to place my accent and thought I was Australian. Later on, when I was asking someone for directions on the outskirts of Athens,  he couldn't understand me at all ! People in Georgia are really thrown by my accent, which I haven't encountered elsewhere in the US. The ones who can understand it really love it, though.

I drove to Athens south  along I85 and then east on highway 316. After parking I walked round for a bit and had lunch in a nice old-style pub called The Globe. Then I went into a record shop, which had loads of vinyl but not many CDs. They were playing a track by Galaxie 500 which had an over-familiar two-note post-U2 bassline but an interesting guitar solo. I might buy something by them, although I find that that sort of music doesn't last well due to the limited song structures and minimalist rhythm sections. I always like to try out new things, though, so we'll see. I also walked through the University of Georgia, which had some good architecture. Athens is an arty, bohemian town which is quite attractive  - very studenty.

Drove back through a bit of rain and then some heavy traffic in Atlanta. Investing in a Satnav was a good move. Took me an hour to get from the outskirts of the city to the  hotel. This, though, gave me an opportunity to see more of the city without going out in the stifling heat. The weather has been really oppressive here and I was very dehydrated after my day out in the heat yesterday. My plan for tomorrow is to drive to Macon, where the Allman Brothers came from.

Music : I started this morning with "The Dirty South" by Drive-by-Truckers. This is an intensely political album about unemployment and family breakdown, together with other southern topics such as Sam Phillips and Richard Manuel. Then I played a bit of Canned Heat, including the Woodstock classic "Going Up The Country" as I approached Athens. On the way back it was Tom Petty all the way - another Southerner of course. His songs feature sharply-observed lyrics set to attractive pop-rock music with lots of guitar. Great stuff. Then I entertained myself with The Beatles through the Atlanta traffic. I particularly enjoyed "We Can Work It Out",  a very adult lyric with subtle time-changes in the music and great collaboration between John and Paul.

Off for a beer and some supper. It is indescribably exciting to be in this wonderful country.      

       

          

September 10th and 11th

September 10th

Got up at 4:40 - I'd slept reasonably well. Taxi arrived at 5:30 and I reached Heathrow by 6:30. Taxi-driver was very talkative but strictly a one-way conversationalist ! Had breakfast, bought stuff for the flight, and got on the New York plane for a 9:30 take-off. Struggled on the flight as sometimes I get attacks of claustrophia on long flights and cannot relax my bladder muscle. I was really uncomfortable towards the end of the flight and spoke to a stewardess. She kindly moved me up to the front of the plane so that I was the first off !
Thank you Virgin.

One thing made me sad on the flight. On the row adjacent to me there was a middle-aged couple and the woman was a bit of a cracker ! They were holding hands and looked so happy together. It reminded me of the future I thought I had until that fateful night of February 12th 2011, when my world broke into little pieces. This trip is all about re-integration and re-orientation.  


After that little panic I was ok and caught the connecting flight to Atlanta ok. Spent most of the waiting period at JFK outside. On the connecting flight I got chatting to the woman next to me, who was a native of Atlanta. She gave me useful tips about driving and the traffic. I picked up my car and was wise enough to fork out an extra 30 quid for a satnav. This made my journey to the hotel very easy. I was in my room by 8 o'clock Atlanta time. Went out for some food and beer, and then (after a little struggle - in vain - to try and get the fridge working) I went to bed. Saw that England got a 0-0 with Ukraine, which is good enough.

September 11th

Slept well from 10:30 to 3:30, and then off and on until 6:30. Then had a bath and was down to breakfast c. 8:15. Breakfast is the cheapo continental type you get in the less-salubrious US hotels, but it did a job. Back up to my room and then out on foot to Atlanta.

It took me about 45 mins to get to the State Capitol, and after that I walked through the university area and then downtown. The weather was very hot and oppressive, and I sat down for a hour in Woodruff Park in the middle of the downtown area. I sat by a fountain and pool reading "Red Storm Warning', which Chris Mulli (my boss at work) had recommended to me. Its World War Three scenario is very appropriate given all the talk about Syria which is currently going on. That was a relaxing break, and then I went to lunch in a Diner. I wasn't all that hungry but went inside because I needed a slash.

After lunch I walked to the Midtown area and saw the Fox Theatre, where Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded "One More From The Road". I then walked on to Margaret Mitchell's house. She wrote "Gone With The Wind", and this was always my parents' favourite film, so I was thinking about them (they're both long dead) a lot. I was given a solo tour of her house and it was fascinating. She wrote the book because she had a foot injury and couldn't work, having formerly been a journalist. She was never intending to have it published, but a friend of a friend knew someone at MacMillans and tipped them off. It is now the largest-selling book in America after The Bible. It was interesting to see all the period furniture from the late 1920s, and the heavy old typewriter which she wrote on.

After that I got the MARTA train back, and then got lost on the final walk to the hotel. As I write this I'm pretty shattered, so I'm hoping for a sound night of sleep tonight. The plan tomorrow is to drive to Athens, which is about 100 miles. That's the home of REM, the B52s, and Pylon.         

September 9th - Evening Before US Trip

All the preparations are complete now. It's just a matter of having supper, watching a bit of TV, and then going to bed early to get whatever sleep I can before getting up at 4:30 AM tomorrow. It's been dismal over the last couple of days - summer has disappeared in a rush and, apart from my son, I haven't had any company. So it will be amazing to hit Heathrow at 6:30 tomorrow and start what will probably be my final American jaunt.

The journey tomorrow will be arduous - I fly to JFK, and then wait there three hours before flying on to Atlanta, which is another 2.5 hrs. There I pick up my car and negotiate the short drive to my hotel. I've read that the traffic in Atlanta is terrible, so even this could take a while. Hopefully I'll be in my room by about 8 US time, so can have a quick meal before bed. The plan then is to walk round the city on the first day so I can freshen up a bit before I go driving on days two and three.

While in the US I will be blogging using the Tablet I've bought. The keyboard is a bit soft, and it takes a bit longer to type than on my Desktop PC. So there will probably be more "typos" than usual, which I will edit when I come back. It will be handy to be able to blog in my room or airport lounges rather than have to hunt round for Internet cafes or PCs in hotel lobbies.

As I say this will probably be my last trip. Now that the Decree Absolute has come through I need to look at my resources when I get back and take some financial advice. I would like to get out of this studio flat - it would be good to at least have a bedroom and I also miss having a garden. But the biggest problem is that, outside work, I do not have a life. Friends who were there for me a lot at the start of the divorce have mostly drifted away. I see my children a lot but just as visitors - and I'll see less of them as they get on with their adult lives. Outside my family, most of the people I knew were professional colleagues and inevitably they've moved on. So I need to find some sort of social life at the weekends, otherwise my life will be nothing but work.

I've loaded my two MP3 players with music which is appropriate for where I'm visiting. What usually happens is that the items I've carefully chosen I don't play, but instead pick up on something I've just chucked on at the last minute. I've got mainly US stuff but a few British artists as well, such as Roy Harper whose albums snuck on there yesterday. He's got a new CD out the day I come back and I've pre-ordered it, so it should be there to collect upon my return. I'm hoping to discover some great new music out there in the US.

Hope I can get some reasonable sleep - like many people I don't settle well when I've got an early start. So here we go again !    

New Tablet August 24th 2013

I'm writing this post on my new Samsung Tablet, using the keyboard case. I am intending to use it for my forthcoming US trip, since hotels in the US don't have many PCs available. The typing is a bit slow due to the soft keys, but I hope that I'll become more proficient before I leave.  

This trip will be my last US trip for a while and marks the point where I truly put my divorce behind me and move on with the next stage of my life. The last two years have been truly dreadful apart from my USA trips, and I'm far from happy about the financial settlement and  some of the dishonesty from "the other side". The financial security I worked and planned so hard for has been denied me, and I will need to work full-time for as long as possible. But it's finally over, so following the trip I will be knuckling down and facing the  future.

One real shaft of light is that I have a lovely new female companion named Jenny. She's 58, very capable and intelligent, a great conversationalist, and utterly gorgeous ! We talk so easily, have a lot of common interests, and enjoy meals, walks, and cultural activities. Early days but she has already been such a boon !

Life still has its problems. I'm working much harder and travelling far more than I'd like, especially if Jenny and I continue to become closer. IT as a career doesn't really do it for me as it's largely outsourced the creative bits. And I am alone an awful lot of the time. I have had some great supportive friends over the last couple of years but this year we're not in touch as much. But the nightmare is over and I can pick up the pieces now.

Musically 2013 hasn't been a patch on 2012, but there's still been some great stuff around. The new Bevis Frond album is incredible and Robyn Hitchock's "Love From London" grows on you. I have had a huge Bob Dylan phase and am now listening to a lot of Spirit's later work. I especially relish "Blues From The Soul", a double CD compilation of acoustic and electric blues. I also enjoyed Randy Newman's "Sail Away" when in London the other day. A very profound American album. I'm looking forward to some new sounds when I get to the States.

When I get back it will be the English winter and I'll have Xmas on my own to look forward to. I shall be ok but it's a very hard time for us disenfranchised types. But things are looking up and who knows 2014 could be very different !