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SATURDAY,
JUNE 10, 2006:
Today I depart for Germany and Italy with Lee Ann Womack and her assistant –
Courtney. We will be visiting the wounded at Landstuhl Medical Center and
the Fisher House in Germany on Monday then flying to Venice on Tuesday where
we meet Lee Ann’s musicians and crew. On Wednesday, she will perform at a
“Welcome Home Celebration” for the troops in Vicenza at Caserma Ederle (Camp
Ederle) who have spent the past year deployed to Afghanistan in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom. This visit holds a special meaning for me. I
had Chely Wright, Dave Price, and Joey Gilbert on tour in Afghanistan in
September, 2005 and they performed for many of the troops who are now in
Vicenza. The former Deputy Chief of Staff in Bagram – LTC Tim Sughrue – is
now at Camp Ederle with his family.
A little history – when we toured Afghanistan in September, 2005, the
“military escort” assigned to coordinate the entertainment tours was very
“new” to the job. Another dear friend of mine – Marc (I met him in Korea on
tour with Chely Wright in 2002 and we have stayed in touch; have seen each
other AROUND THE WORLD – Switzerland a couple of times, Kuwait, Iraq, etc.
Marc will be mentioned again in this email because he is stationed in Italy
and will be attending our concert, too.) emailed me before I went to
Afghanistan and told me to look up a good buddy of his while we were
there. I emailed his “buddy” and we became instant email pals. He was
also very helpful in getting information to me that I needed to make the
tour successful. When we arrived in Afghanistan I kept telling our escorts
that I needed to see Tim. Everyone always responded, “Oh, he’s too busy”.
So, we were staying in these great rooms with internet access and I went
inside and emailed him. He came over to meet me a few minutes later with
big hugs all around. What I did not know at the time was that he was the
Deputy Chief of Staff and a VERY IMPORTANT PERSON on the base. My
“standing” with the group was immediately elevated. We did a remote visit
the day after our arrival and had a lot of problems….so many that Tim
cleared his schedule and escorted us for the remainder of the tour. He
basically “saved my reputation” with the entertainers and the troops because
otherwise it would not have been a very enjoyable tour. So, that’s the
“history” lesson of a couple of my military “boys” that you will be hearing
a lot more about in the reports that I send out this time.
The “situations” started last night….got a call from Lee Ann’s road manager
saying the Bass player couldn’t find his passport! Since the musicians fly
on Monday, the only option I could think of was for him to fly to New
Orleans on Monday and try to get a passport in one day. It would mean
changing his flight and arriving on the day of the show into Italy, but
could be accomplished by pulling a few strings. The musician called me a
few minutes later and was really depressed. He was hoping he could use his
birth certificate instead of a passport – which, of course would not have
worked. There was nothing I could do about it until Monday, so I advised my
staff what was going on and left it with them. When I woke up Saturday
morning and checked my email before departing to the airport, I had an email
saying he had found the passport. Whew!
Had a taxi pick me up for the drive to the airport, got halfway there and
realized I had left my wireless earpiece to my blackberry at home. Turned
around and went back home to pick it up. Isn’t there an “old saying” about
it being bad luck to double back after you have left for a trip? Hope it’s
not true.
Lee Ann and Courtney met me at the Delta counter and check in was extremely
smooth. The skycaps know me by name now and fall all over themselves to
handle my luggage – probably because it’s always a large group with lots of
big, heavy bags and big tips! We went into the Crown Room to wait for our
boarding time and a great friend of mine was working the desk in there. Had
a short flight to Atlanta and a couple of hour’s layover there. Again went
into the Crown Room and it was very disappointing. It was packed full of
people. The line just to be a drink was way too long, so I opted for coffee
that I could serve myself. Only, all the coffee was COLD. We went into
little cubicles to get our laptops set up on the internet. All three of us
were online and working away when this extremely loud, obnoxious voice
starts yelling in Spanish. It was some lady talking on the phone in a booth
near us. She kept this up for so long and it was so disturbing that
Courtney finally found her and told her to quiet down!
The flight over was easy. No turbulence and the man sitting with me slept
the entire trip. Had a brief problem with the video monitor but they were
able to reset it pretty quickly. The speaker system was another matter. It
was so loud that every time the flight attendant came on to make an
announcement, everyone jumped! The plane was completely full and there were
two business class cabins. We were in the second business class cabin and
the only toilets were all the way in the front by the cockpit. Quite a
little hike! Food service was unbelievable slow but, hey, at least there
was food served.
Our escorts that USAREUR provides met us and whisked us through immigration,
collected our bags and our van driver met us right outside customs. Too
easy! Hotel was only 5 minutes away and they had our rooms ready for us –
even though it was only 10 am. The van driver didn’t have a hotel room but
I told him I would pay for one if he would stay with us. Very expensive in
Germany right now because the World Cup Soccer tournament is taking place.
I wanted to stay at the Sheraton because it is connected to the airport.
But the same room I paid $200 per night for in April is now $600 per night.
Unbelievable. But this is a nice hotel – as nice as the Sheraton and only
5 minutes from the airport. No porters or bellman though. Courtney
loaded all the luggage on one cart while I was dealing with check in and got
in the elevator. A man in the lobby had started talking to me and turns
out he is a soldier on TDY from Camp Victory in Iraq. He saw Charlie
perform at Camp Liberty when we were there in April! The elevator doors
closed on Courtney and instead of going up to our floor, the elevator took
her into the basement and then the doors wouldn’t open. She finally got the
elevator moving again and made it to our floor. We came back downstairs to
eat breakfast and the restaurant had just taken away all the breakfast
food. So, we decided to shower and then meet in the lobby at 1 pm to go
into the city. It’s supposed to be “wild” downtown today because of the
World Cup. Courtney called my room right after I got out of the shower and
said that there was a “lock” on her suitcase. Evidently the airport put a
lock on it and it should have beeped when we went through customs. So, we
have to go back out to the airport to have the lock removed so she can get
to her clothes. So much for things going smoothly.
J
The soap in most European hotels is in a squeeze dispenser mounted to the
wall in the bathtub. I hate these. It’s almost impossible to get the soap
out of them. In my bathroom, it was mounted much lower than I’ve ever seen
before. I managed to break the dispenser off the wall just trying to get
the soap to come out. I have warned Lee Ann and Courtney about the “shower
wands”. The water pressure here is great, but if you don’t have the wand
secured tightly to the holder, it will fly off the wall, smack you in the
head and chase you around the tub/shower! I speak from lots of previous
experience as do many of the people who have toured Europe for me.
Europe frowns on air conditioning in the rooms and wash cloths are
forbidden. So, shopping today for a wash cloth. Don’t think we’ll buy
fans as it should cool off tonight.
When I met the girls downstairs, I realized that the “lock” that was on
Courtney’s bag was not one from the airlines. When they inspected her
luggage, they put someone else’s suitcase lock on her bag! So, we did go
back to the airport to meet our escort but he was able to get the lock off
with his leatherman. First time I’ve had that happen with one of my tours.
The lock was a little gold suitcase lock and her duffle bag had silver and
black zippers. Not sure WHY they decided to put that on her bag!
Our driver – Silvio – is great. He works for my friend Michael Tietze (who
I have known and worked with since the early 90s). He was kind enough to
drive us into downtown Frankfurt and wait for us while we walked around
shopping and sightseeing for a couple of hours.
I expected crowds downtown because of the World Soccer Cup but nothing
prepared me for what we saw. The streets were packed – and since tonight’s
game is with Iran, there were hundreds of Iranians walking around playing
musical instruments and yelling. We decided to get off the streets and out
of the crowds by taking a boat cruise down the Rhein. It was a 50 minute
ride and really peaceful and pretty. EXCEPT…the loud speaker gave the
“tourist” sites – first in German and then in English. The English version
“skipped” every other word so we have no idea what was being said.
We shopped for a while and Courtney and Lee Ann purchased Coo-coo clocks and
local souvenirs. I got several magnets with the World Soccer Cup logo.
Courtney and I also found some clothes for ourselves and Lee Ann found
clothes for her girls. The hotel had given us the name of what they said
was a good restaurant that served traditional German meals. We called our
driver and invited him to join us for dinner. It was definitely
“traditional” German – no beer or coffee served. The local “apple wine” –
which is horrible was served of you could get water or colas. I ordered one
glass of the wine so they could taste it. Courtney actually managed to
drink about half of it.
We all decided to have the Sunday special – only to be told they were out of
it. They also didn’t have “pomme frites” (French fries) – only boiled
potatoes (yuck) or potatoes fried with onions. Guess you know which one we
had. It is spargel season – spargel is the white asparagus and they make
everything out of it – spargel soup, spargel salad, spargel ravioli – you
name it. We ordered the weiner schnitzel and spargel with the fried
potatoes…very healthy. It takes so long to be served a meal in Europe (they
like for you to spend a couple of hours dining...definitely NOT like
America!) that I decided to walk a couple of blocks to the Woolworth store
and buy Lee Ann a wash cloth and all of us some bottled water. I was only
gone about 15 minutes and when I came back the waiter walked up to me, shook
his finger in my face and said, “next time do not order your food and go
shopping”. Want to know how much I left him for a tip???
We got back to the hotel before 8 pm. Tomorrow we go to visit the wounded
at Landstuhl. Should be a wonderful day for all of us. Lee Ann has asked a
lot of questions about my tours to Iraq and has decided she wants to go back
over to Iraq and take some other Texas performers with her to do a little
“Texas Salute” type of tour. More history for you….Lee Ann and I were both
on the first entertainment tour that was allowed to come into Iraq in June,
2003. I was with Chely Wright who had been invited to participate on the
tour by General Tommy Franks. I have been back into Iraq – from corner to
corner – seven times since that first tour. We met so many wonderful
people on that first tour who have become lifelong friends to us.
Lee Ann’s synopsis of her first visit to Germany is:
“The only
place where there is more fried food than Texas – is Germany!”
Signing
off for tonight.
Jude
MONDAY,
JUNE 12TH, 2006:
What a miserable night! This hotel – like 90% of the hotels
throughout Europe – does not have air conditioning. It must have been about
95 degrees in my room. Opened both of the windows, but then you get all
the traffic noise. Plus it is “bright” outside because of all the street
lights. Add the fact that we are located 5 minutes for the airport and all
the noise of planes taking off and landing all night long. The beds don’t
have sheets, just a really thick down comforter which is wonderful – in the
winter! I finally fell asleep at about 3 am only to wake up with sneezing
and my throat itching….allergies kicking in from the open window. Then two
birds decided to screech at each other right outside my window. By 5:30 am,
the sun was up and I decided to just get up and go jogging. Not any great
places to jog here, but I managed to circle around and get in 5 miles.
There is a forest across the street from the hotel where everyone runs.
But, since I have to run in a straight line because of my “no sense of
direction” problem, that wasn’t an option for me.
We departed the hotel for Landstuhl a bit later than scheduled due to some
“hair dryer” issues. Electrical appliances are always a challenge
overseas. I’ve blown all the power in many, many hotels around the world!
Brigadier General Frutiger’s wife – Jan – who is an amazing woman – met us
at Landstuhl Medical Center along with several other men and women who were
assigned as our escorts. Our first stop was the dining room where we had
lunch with the men and women working at the facility. Since this was mine,
Lee Ann’s and Courtney’s first visit to the facility, we had lots of
questions. Courtney’s brother was in the Marines and was injured in Iraq.
He was taken to Landstuhl where he remained in intensive care for quite some
time. This was a special treat for her to be able to see where her brother
stayed and meet some of the wonderful doctors and nurses who took such good
care of him. Her brother is now out of the marines with a medical discharge
and doing great.
After lunch, we began visiting the various wards. I’ve been to Walter Reed
and Bethesda many times and Lee Ann and Courtney have visited there before
as well. But, it’s much different at Landstuhl. The injuries are “fresh”
as these men and women are flown in directly from Iraq and Afghanistan as
quickly as possible after the incident occurs. But, I have to say, the
morale, the focus, the dedication to “duty” and the overwhelming desire to
return to their Company, Unit Battalion, whatever – is the same. No matter
what the injury, the one thing they all worry about is that they have left
their fellow “soldiers, marines, sailors, airmen/women” behind and they want
to go back over and finish the job. They all believe very strongly that
they have made tremendous progress in bringing Iraq and Afghanistan forward
to being free and democratic societies and they intend to finish the
mission.
I met three Marines today who were deployed to Camp Habbinayah, Iraq. That
is the remote camp where Charlie Daniels visited in April – very near
Fallujah. It is also the Camp where my partner – SemperComm – set up the
communications system and we met the SemperComm Award Winners who designed
the Bocce Ball court. All 3 were injured after our visit and one of them
even got to see Charlie’s little acoustic performance at their Camp in
April! We visited with approximately 20 men and women but not all of them
had “war” injuries. There was a beautiful young lady who had a kidney
stone removed and some other men who had various injuries that did not occur
in Iraq or Afghanistan. Lee Ann was so warm and gracious to everyone she
met. She signed a photograph, took a photo with them, autographed a cd and
also gave them one of her coins. I gave them my SFS calendar and coin plus
an EZScores calling card. Lee Ann also stopped and visited with the nurses
and doctors who were caring for the patients on each floor.
We were allowed to go into ICU and visit with the patients there as well.
That one is much tougher, but again, no matter how severe their injuries,
they still talk about going back to Iraq or Afghanistan. We were supposed
to spend one hour visiting the patients but actually stayed much longer.
After visiting the medical center, we visited the Fisher House and met a lot
of the families who are staying in that facility while visiting their loved
ones at the medical center. There are actually two Fisher Houses on the
property and we got to take the tour of the facilities. The accommodations
are wonderful and the staff that we met were all so nice. Fisher House
provides a MUCH-NEEDED service to our U.S. Military. The relatives are
able to stay at the Fisher House for as little as $10 per night instead of
having to stay at a local hotel.
It’s hard to put into words the emotions that we run through during the
course of these visits. We always leave there feeling so “uplifted” rather
than depressed. But, it is so emotionally draining, too. Lee Ann certainly
gave her “all” to everyone she met. Then she curled up in the van and slept
the entire trip back to Frankfurt!
J
Lee Ann put into words what we all felt today:
“It's not
every day you wake up knowing ahead of time it's gonna be one of the
greatest days of your life. It was my honor at Landstuhl this morning to
shake the hands of American soldiers and marines, look them in the eye and
personally thank them for what they've done for my family.”
I send out trip reports to so many of you and one of my buddies – a
marine that I met at TQ in Iraq this past April with Charlie Daniels – is on
my email journal list. I won’t embarrass him and identify him by name but
I want to share a portion of his email with you as well:
I know I have
told you this but you are doing a great deal for all of us who serve. I
thank you again. I hope that one day that I can do as much for my fellow
men as you have. And please tell Lee Ann Womack and her assistant thank you
for all that they do. People that love the freedoms they enjoy, and remember
where it has all come from, and what is holding it all together today. Those
are the ones that inspire me and especially people like Lee Ann and Courtney
that dedicate their time to thank those that are serving. I wish that I
could do more. Tell them all that some Cpl in Iraq that they will never meet
says thank you for everything. Thanks again for all that you do.
Since it is
now after 1 am, we will be departing to Italy in just a few hours. Lee
Ann’s band departed Nashville early Monday morning and we will be meeting
them at the airport on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday evening, they will
perform at the Welcome Home Celebration for the troops who were deployed to
Afghanistan for the past year. Won’t have time to get up and jog or
exercise this time! Maybe after we arrive Vicenza.
Had a “crisis” tonight when the bus driver who will be picking us up in
Venice called to say that his bus could not drive up the road to the hotel
where we are staying. Since I have already paid for the hotel and cannot
cancel the rooms, this was a serious concern for me. He called back a few
minutes later and told me that the hotel had given him another route to
reach them and that he would be able to drive us there. Should be an
interesting day tomorrow.
Night all!
Jude
TUESDAY, JUNE 13TH. 2006:
Woo-Hoo, an entire 2 hours of sleep. I’m going to be a real
“ball of fire” today, I’m sure. No time to exercise either.
Departed the hotel – relatively on time since I bumped up the departure
time. Manuel --- our UVCC Angel was waiting for us at the airport and
whisked us through check-in, security and right to the gate. We said
goodbye to our great driver – Silvio (who I still call Sergio because I know
a Sergio and got that name stuck in my head!). He goes on the list of
“acceptable” drivers to take us around when Michael Tietze himself is not
available. Short flight to Venice on one of the “strange” Lufthansa
airplanes. It is a huge plane but in business class, there are 3 coach
seats and the middle seat is “blocked” with a tray that holds drinks.
Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.
We were met by Michael Tietze and my dear friend from Afghanistan – Lt. Col.
Tim Sughrue. I met his wife and daughter for the first time and they are
just as nice as Tim. The musicians/crew had arrived about 30 minutes before
us and had just gotten all the luggage and gear loaded onto the bus.
Michael advised that there was still a serious problem getting the bus up to
the hotel and once up there, he had no where to turn around! After many
“false” turns, I got out of the bus and rode with Veronica (Tim’s wife) and
Lee Ann’s family so that I could get to the hotel and have the keys waiting
for everyone.
The hotel is located up in the hills and has a fantastic view. It is a very
old hotel – built in the 1700’s but we had checked it out very carefully to
make sure it had all the amenities that we needed. They were able to
provide a room for Lee Ann that had two beds in a loft area for her girls to
sleep. Then, the problems began. The main thing that I require in any
hotel is either wireless internet connection OR high speed connection. We
are not on “vacation” on these trips and everyone MUST work. Our travel
agent assured us that the hotel had wireless and my staff even called and
spoke directly with the hotel who reconfirmed this. However, when I checked
with the desk when we arrived, they very nonchalantly notified me that they
“tried it for a month and it didn’t work” so they didn’t have ANY internet
service. Since our bus can’t park at the hotel and it is located in an area
where there is NOTHING within walking distance, I wanted to make sure that
the hotel had a shuttle service available. Nope. Basically, we were going
to be stranded. The hotel restaurant was extremely expensive with mediocre
food and very limited opening hours. To say that I was unhappy with our
selection of the hotels was an understatement. I tried to find rooms down
near the base but, of course, everything was sold out. I did speak with
the manager of the hotel and expressed my disappointment in all the
misleading information they had provided and the fact that they should not
be considered a 5 Star Hotel. He said that they had dial-up internet and I
asked if they charged per minute for the connection. “But of course!” So,
we negotiated that we would only pay the amount that we would have been
charged to use wireless connection rather than a per minute charge.
Band and crew were tired so they went to take a nap. Lee Ann and her family
went into Venice with Veronica. Tim stayed behind to help me re-wire my
room so I could get on the internet! I was able to get on but it is
incredibly slow and very unreliable. I had about 2 hours that I could work
before going over to the base for sound check. I had lunch with Michael and
got ANOTHER migraine right in the middle of lunch. I can’t remember ever
having a migraine two days in a row. My MRI came back fine, so maybe it’s
just STRESS. Do you think???
Things definitely started looking up once we arrived on the base. My
Production Company buddies were there – John and Uwe -- and the base
personnel were terrific. Jim – who is going to take my tour to Iraq for me
in July – was there as well. The backstage area that they had set up was
perfect. The stage was set and ready for my guys to sound check. In fact,
everything ran so smoothly, that we finished an hour and a half early. Tim
escorted us to a restaurant where I could treat the guys to some “authentic
Italian food”. Only, it was closed for some sort of holiday! But, we found
another great restaurant and everyone had a fantastic meal. The portions
were huge. My only disappointment was in the Caprice salad. It was all I
had thought about for weeks. Caprice salad is mozzarella cheese with
tomatoes and olive oil and it is the BEST food in Italy in my opinion. But
instead of the beautiful red tomatoes, these were a pale shade and had the
same flavor as the ones you purchase in the grocery store in America. Very
disappointing. But the guys loved the meal and that was my goal.
Came back to the hotel and worked for until 2 am. Have to meet the guys
downstairs at 8:45 am to get them off to the train station and a tour of
Venice. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to go with them as I have to work.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14TH – SHOW DAY:
Up to meet my guys and get them “scheduled” for the day. They left
for Venice and I had two cups of cappuccino and started my “work day”.
Really looking forward to the concert today. Just wish more of the friends
that I had made in Afghanistan were still here. Many of them have already
left for their new assignments. But Marc – my longtime buddy from Korea –
will be coming over for the concert today. I have about 4 hours that I can
work before Lee Ann has to be at the base for interviews, autograph sessions
and the concert. There is no gym or exercise room and I checked out the
jogging situation on my way back to the hotel last night. No sidewalks and
very narrow roads with fast-moving vehicles. Guess I’ll be doing sit-ups
and push-ups in the room today!
I got the boys off for sightseeing in Venice and started working. My idea
of working and getting caught up on some business didn’t quite work out due
to the usual things that happen on show days…..Courtney’s computer crashed
and I volunteered to re-type all the lyrics that she needed for the show,
Lee Ann blew up another hair dryer, etc., etc. This time we were an hour
late leaving the hotel and I was a little bit stressed. We missed the live
interview with AFN and went straight to the autograph session at the BX.
Tim and his wife and girls had volunteered to assist with keeping the line
moving and they were great. We were able to get AFN to call Lee Ann and let
her go live on the air before their broadcast ended. There was a very long
line for autographs so she wasn’t able to spend the time chatting with each
person that she would normally have done.
We left the autograph session and went to the show site. A huge crowd had
already gathered. Lee Ann met with the General and his wife for a while
and learned a little more history about the men and women stationed in
Vicenza. She then did interviews with Stars and Stripes, AFN and the local
base newspaper. The winners of the Stars and Stripes contest were brought
backstage to meet her and receive their “prize package”. My friend that I
met in Korea – Captain Mark Krauss (who I inadvertently promoted to MAJOR)
met up with us at the BX and helped me out the rest of the evening. I
always feel so bad when he makes the effort to come see me and then I have
no time at all to spend with him.
We all watched a “Spirit Video” which showed scenes from the troops one year
deployment to Afghanistan. It was so awesome to recognize the different
locations and even some of the soldiers and local Afghans in the video. Lee
Ann took the stage right on time. She performed on a covered stage but the
audience was outside. The weather was perfect and the crowd was huge. I
have no idea how many thousands of people attended. They crowded as close
to the stage as possible and Lee Ann gave them an awesome performance,
interspersed with thanking them for their service. The General gave her a
beautiful silver plaque afterwards and LTC. Sughrue gave her and the
musicians and crew one of his coins. The Denver Bronco cheerleaders
performed next and I’ve never seen so many costume changes. The band and
crew were in heaven watching from the backstage area. Master P and Lil’
Romeo closed the show. Definitely not my kind of music but the crowd must
have loved them because no one left. It was a great night with a variety
of entertainment that was sure to please everyone. The staff that helped us
plan this – all the people at Camp Ederle, MWR/USAREUR, the production
company and tour bus company from Germany worked so hard on this event and
it was definitely a tremendous success.
Being able to provide entertainment to this group of people was so special
to me because of the time I was able to spend with them in Afghanistan. I
had a few minutes to walk around and chat with some of the soldiers and
there were several that remembered me and thanked me for bringing them
entertainment during their deployment in support of OEF. THAT is what makes
all the long hours spent putting these events together worthwhile. We
sometimes forget how badly the troops deployed to the bases throughout
Germany and parts of the world other than Iraq and Afghanistan NEED
entertainment to boost their morale and show them that we appreciate their
sacrifices. I was fortunate to be able to spend a little time at dinner
last night talking to LTC Sughrue about this. I would like to close
today’s report with a little message from him:
Entertainment/Entertainers to the front … why it is so important.
Soldiers are prepared to give their lives for our freedom – I am and
fortunately my family truly understands it as they too value it in its
purest form.
Each one of us grows up in America knowing and understanding freedom in our
own unique way; and during our impressionable years of growing up we also
tend to emulate mentors and idolize a song, a singer, and/or an
entertainer(s).
When an entertainer visits our Soldiers on the front, the dynamic is the
most unique expression of mutual appreciation I have ever seen in my life.
Entertainers that make the journey, giving of themselves to visit our
Soldiers overseas, have a much better appreciation of our freedom and send
that message to the heart and soul of the military community inclusive of
the Soldiers, civilian work force, and family members. The visit equates to
their personal expression of selflessness – a value internalized by our
Soldiers and families in respect of freedom. We are not only honored, but
the visit inspires us to want to do even more. It tends to be one of the
most significant highlights of our lives.
Thank you is simply not enough.
Tim
A line that stands out for me
in his message is “the visit inspires us to want to do even more. It tends
to be one of the most significant highlights of our lives”. One email from
a soldier, marine, airman, or sailor is all it takes to inspire me to do
even more and EVER tour becomes the highlight of my life. It’s impossible
to explain to a celebrity how a tour will forever change their live…they
have to experience it to understand.
Jude
THURSDAY,
JUNE 15, 2006:
We were able to depart the hotel on time because I told everyone we
were leaving at 7:30 am knowing that we needed to leave by 8:000 am. There
were several members of the group who never went to bed and were hoping they
could sleep on the flight home.
Check in was relative easy at the airport but the flight was full. Lee Ann
switched seats with one of her daughters and sat in coach with her husband
and other daughter. Her little girl who sat in business class slept for 7
hours of the 9 hour flight! I don't think the ones who came over just for
the Italy shows ever got turned around on the time.
The aircraft was another “old” Delta jet and not in very good shape. I sat
with the nicest lady from New York City. She and her husband had been in
Italy attending a bridge tournament. Her husband was still there competing
and she said he is one of the top players. She was enthralled with what I
am doing for our troops and very supportive of our efforts in Iraq. She had
lots of questions and it was great to be able to give her “first-hand
knowledge” of our progress. She says they do fundraising events all the
time and took my business card to stay in touch with me. Another “link”
that was definitely brought my way for a purpose. So many of the special
people in my life were brought to me because of my involvement with our
military. It’s nice when you're able to touch even one person, whether it
is to reassure them that we are doing the right thing and that our troops
still believe we are, too, or sometimes it’s totally change their opinion of
our involvement overseas.
We landed at JFK – one of my least favorite connections. Lee Ann and her
musicians were going on to perform at Staten Island tomorrow night and then
a couple of more shows in the Northeast. Her husband and I were flying on
to Nashville. We all met at luggage claim and I secured a skycap to help
with the equipment and luggage. He must have been about 70 years old and
was not interested in picking up any of the equipment or luggage and putting
it on the cart. We ended up loading most of it ourselves. Lee Ann still
had not shown up and her husband finally walked up with her other daughter
and said that Lee Ann had left her passport on the airplane. She had to go
back down to try and retrieve it. They wouldn't allow her to go back on the
plane and sent someone to search it for her. Then they told her that it
wasn't on the plane. I had a copy of it but they wouldn't let her use
that. Finally, someone came off the plane holding her passport.
We split up and sent Lee Ann, the musicians, and her daughters off to the
exit and her husband and I went to the gate area. We had a very long
layover – 3 hours – to wait for our flight to Nashville. The lounge area
was extremely crowded as all the little Delta ComAir flights went out of
that “hub” area. They making the announcements was extremely “brash” and
LOUD. She would tap on the microphone 2 or 3 times, then blow into it and
then make her announcement. It was humorous because she was so loud yet she
thought no one was hearing her. The little jet to Nashville was packed as
well. Still can’t figure out how the airlines are losing money when every
flight seems to be oversold.
We boarded and expected to take off on time. Only, the flight crew had
neglected to have the lavatory pumped out while they were sitting on the
ground all that time. Instead, the flight attendant elected to “spray” it
several times. It didn’t work and the people sitting in the back were
complaining about the smell – as they should. So, we had to wait about 45
minutes for them to call someone to take care of the problem. Then we lost
our spot in line to take off and were delayed about another 30 minutes.
We’ll probably be over an hour late getting into Nashville. The service on
Delta has certainly gotten worse over the years. It used to be one of my
favorite airlines to fly!
Landed in Nashville about one hour late. Good to be home for 5 whole
days!!!
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