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Dear Garrison, I had the

November 30, 2005 |

Dear Garrison,
I had the pleasure of spending an evening with you in Wilkes Barre, PA on Tuesday. You spoke for a very long time without a break, and I noticed that you did not have water on stage with you. I often find the amplified slurping and "glug glug" sound bothersome. So, even though you may have been parched up there, I just wanted you to know that I appreciated it.

Thanks,
Curt
Montoursville, PA

Curt, I was having a good time in Wilkes-Barre and felt no thirst at all. I had finally figured out the correct way to pronounce the name of the city — Wilkes-BARRY, not -bury — and that freed up a whole lot of hard drive for me. And then, too, I was looking forward to the drive after the show. Somebody told me that Wilkes-Barre is only two hours from New York, so I'd rented a Ford Taurus and was heading for the city. Too bad I didn't ask for directions. I wound up heading south on 81, missing the turnoff on 80 that would've taken me sailing in through Jersey to the GW Bridge, and drove all the way to Allentown and 78 and then northeast to the Holland Tunnel, only to get lost in the backstreets of Bayonne. But it was a wonderful drive and as I closed in on New York, traffic got lighter and lighter. Black asphalt pavement stretching ahead with the little reflective lane markers, so it felt like an airport runway. I never get to drive anywhere anymore except over to Minneapolis, so a drive in a car is a big deal.

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