16May-17May09:
Wolff began driving down to Georgia from Wisconsin to begin the journey. I called him in the evening while he was driving down, and he wondered aloud if he should drive back to Wisconsin without us (he was an hour or two away from where I was). I don't know exactly what set him off, but this wasn't that much out of character (driving 13 hours & changing his mind irrationally, considering turning around). I convinced him to continue on the original destination. Wolff shows up at around 7 in the morning (after pulling over & sleeping on the side of the road). I hadn't slept that night as I often go long periods of awakeness, especially before car trips or something else which has me excited (I think my record was during a move from Columbus, OH to Columbus, WI when I was 11, it was over 72 hours straight). After he took a short nap, we packed up the Buick Park Avenue. I had flown down with two bags, and had acquired a few more possessions along the way. Next, we went across town to pick up Justin, who was a fellow I went to high school with. He had taken an Amtrak down to Athens in November. I'm not really sure why he did this, but he used my couch as a launching point to reside in the city. Justin can really piss me off sometimes with his self-serving ways. We'd lived together for two months in Madison when I was taking a summer physics course. He was a terrible roommate, and managed to wake me up between 2 and 4am with a beer and/or a joint in hand wanting to party for 3 out of the 4 mornings before my 4 exams. He found a room in a house with a law student in Athens, and burned through that relationship after a couple of months (drinking his graduation liquor, water damage to his house, generally being an asshole, etc.). After that, he shacked up with some broad he met (Jess) when they were both drunk. He made it quite clear to her that he was not her boyfriend. He burned this bridge, as well, and tensions were high near the end, partially due to Moe.

Moe was a friend of Justin's who was on a cross-country road trip when his '79 Porsche broke down outside of Atlanta. I'd met Moe a few times when I was rooming with Justin in the summer of '07, and he was a nice enough guy; I prefer his company to Justin's. Anyway, his plan was to get his car fixed & continue on his trip (down to FL; a west coast swing & back up to Wisconsin). His trip was partially centered around CouchSurfing, which is a sweet website. (As a result of being introduced to this, I met some cool people around Athens, who hosted potlucks.) He was staying in Jess' living room for part of the duration. He found a mechanic on craigslist, and the repair dragged on & on (and later was found that he was doing nothing). The problem was that he was staying in Athens & the car was in Atlanta, at a CouchSurfers house. Eventually, his employer gave a date for when he had to be back to start his job, which was sooner than he had expected. The car was still not fixed & the date approached quickly, so his road trip plan had to be aborted.

Things were really deteriorating between the trio of Justin, Moe & Jess (all three permutations), so Moe had bolted to Atlanta to stay with some CouchSurfers. He lacked a way back to Wisconsin, so he was also coming along on this journey. We picked up Justin & his stuff, which was more than he should have brought. There were many things he shouldn't have brought (given the fact that there were four people embarking on this endeavor), but the two most glaring were a large twin amp & a grill.



Our final stop in Athens was Weaver D's, a local landmark. "Automatic for the People," the restaurant's slogan, was the title of an REM album & its sign (since stolen off of the building) is featured on the cover of the album. Justin, Moe & I had been semi-regulars there in recent days, and had conversed with Dexter Weaver, the owner. We were leaving before they were open, and wanted to say good-bye & thanks for the great soul food. The door was locked, but Dexter came when we knocked & offered to serve us some farewell food. He cooked up some steak, egg & cheese sandwiches, while we waited for the fried chicken.



Justin, Wolff & I ate the chicken outside & made our way to Altanta to get Moe. Wolff's mother had packaged a large amount of food with him; Justin's ate quite a few red venison sticks. We eventually found the CouchSurfers house he was staying at (which was empty aside from Moe!). Justin had been strung out on muscle relaxers since the night before where he took 10 or so at this shifty character's apartment who lived in Jess' apt. complex. He still had a few left, so he suggested snorting the rest of it. He opened a pill up & made three lines. After Justin takes one, he starts to complain (what else is new?) about the drip-down in the back of his throat. He proceeds to vomit off of the balcony & on to a overturned plastic lawn chair. The chair was a veritable historical record of Justin's diet for the past 3 hours, with color-coded stripes.



Moe was much more reasonable in the items he brought, which made up for Justin's extravagance. We thought it might be fun to take a little bit of a detour; instead of going the most direct way, we'd swing through Alabama & Mississippi & hit Memphis & St. Louis. Everyone was in agreement, but once we got a few miles from the Alabama-Georgia border, Wolff had a stereotypical change of heart & decided he was going to drive back to Atlanta and take the traditional boring route. He got off the freeway & onto side roads, to much protest. He drove around in circles for half an hour, arguing nonsensically with us about how his way was much better. Eventually, I was able to show him how, given our current location (and not counting the wasted miles driving on side roads he'd already taken), the way he wanted to take wasn't that much shorter (27 miles less, if I recall correctly), and he relented & we continued on our way.



At Birmingham, we got out of the car to stretch our legs. It was at this point, we made the decision to visit Robert Johnson's grave (and bypassing Tupelo). We got out the double disc Complete Recordings which was one of the many items Justin had brought along & checked the liner notes for what city he was buried in. We found it & set our sights to Morgan City, MS.



We encountered Po Willie's Bar B Que near Reform, AL. It should be noted that Moe is an authentic BBQ nut & eats it every chance he is able. It was only open on Saturdays, and we happened to pass it on that day during the hours it was open. We go up to the door, and it is locked. Moe went to the gas station across the street to find out what the deal is; turns out, the owner was working at a different BBQ place which was 20 miles away or so in the direction we were coming from. We decided to cut our losses & venture on, hoping to come across another on our way.



We arrived in Morgan City, and it was quite a sight. The "downtown" consisted of a gas station/general store that had gone out of business, my best guess would be some time in the mid '70s or earlier. There were roads of 3 or 4 blocks which intersected one side of the rural route which was the main drag. His grave-site was somewhere in the surrounding rural countryside, and after 30 minutes of searching, we were unable to locate it. We'd gone quite a bit out of our way for this, so I didn't want to give up too easily. We drove down the roads, looking for...a church or something, I didn't really know. The churches (and there were plenty!) we found were not the right ones. However, we drove past one house which had lights on (it was about 10 at night; it, surprisingly enough, was the only one). We stopped in front of it, not knowing exactly what to do. Four Yankees, in the Deep South, with a half-baked mission.



We decided that not all of us should go up to the house. Moe is short for Mohammed, and he is of Indian descent (I don't think they take too kindly to brown people in this particular region of the country). Wolff & I eventually went up to the house & before we got there, a man approached us. We vaguely discussed how to get there, eventually talking with the older ladies inside. "Are y'all lookin' for Robert Johnson's grave?" While parking in front of the site, an armadillo crosses our path.



The large gravestone, put up by Columbia Records, may or may not be where his three-dimensional existence was lain to rest. It was still a cool tribute, an impressive obelisk, to say the least. After that, we went north to "The Crossroads". Wolff said it was in a different town than where it actually was (Ruleville I think), but we stopped at a convenience store & found out that it was in Clarksdale. Justin bought 4 MGD tall boys for future considerations, while Wolff was giving money to a swindling hobo. He said he knows he's a swindler & gave it to him because he's internally trying to make up for his latent racism.



We made it up to Clarksdale & saw the monument marking The Crossroads a little before 2 am. The first thing which Moe noticed at The Crossroads was Abe's BBQ & the neon OPEN sign. We parked & Moe shot out. Unfortunately, they had just forgot to turn the light off. Moe was pissed [strike two].



Wolff drove on to Memphis, and we arrived around 4 am. We parked in front of some empty building parking lot, and Wolff went to sleep. Justin, Moe & I walked towards Graceland, but not before stopping with three of the four 24 oz. MGDs behind the gas station next to the Buick. We pounded those down and continued on to Graceland, which was pretty close.



We walked around for a bit, past his house, airplanes & car museum.



Then Moe drove to the Lorraine Motel, the site where Martin Luther King was shot, which was a snapshot of '68, with two period cars beneath the 2nd floor balcony & wreath. Justin was typically being an asshole, saying it didn't mean anything, and pissing Moe off (like poking an angry dog is a good idea). Moe then set the sights on Beale St. We get there & the debris on the street made it appear that something had recently ended. Moe asked if there were any BBQ places still open and we find out the BBQ festival had just completed an hour previous. As a consequence, people were "BBQ'd out," so nothing remained open. Moe was pissed [strike three].



We walked down the Walk of Fame amongst the remnants of the bar & festival crowd. Then Moe drove to Stax Records & we saw the building (and studio window). Justin, Moe & I walked the along the banks of the Mississippi. It was probably about 6am when we got back to the car (I was slightly worried that Wolff's irrationality might kick in & the car would be gone, but he got behind the wheel, crossed the Mississippi, and continued on through Arkansas & southern Missouri. After dawn broke, and near the AR-MO border, he tried to get some miles under the belt rather quickly, covering 90 miles in 62 minutes (He was trying to get it at an hour). There was an Arkansan station playing gospel music, and that kept Wolff going.



We arrive in St. Louis around 10:00 & Moe wants to find a BBQ place. The one we find downtown isn't open on Sundays. We do find one that is open on Sundays, but not until High Noon. I say forget BBQ for lunch, lets grill out before the Cardinals-Brewers game & we can have BBQ for supper. Justin, Wolff & I had seen that the 1:00 day game was going to coincide with our passing through St. Louis (which is why he brought his grill [but that doesn't excuse his decision to bring the grill]). Moe was kinda pissed, and Justin was continually jabbing at him. Tensions were running high, and Moe & Justin got into a shouting match (in which Moe tried to trick him into a fight outside the car [after which, he would drive away]. It didn't work, unfortunately). I got raped on hot dog prices in a convenience store (getting a single package for over $4), Wolff bought some Miller, and we found a place to park near the stadium. Among the food Wolff's mother (who despises me, incidentally) sent were 4 cans of baked beans. We threw those the grill as well, and had hot dogs with packets of ketchup, relish, mustard & onion I picked up at a gas station near Cape Girardeau, MO. We split the sauces (then conducted a condiment trade-off).



We were done with the food (but not the beer) around first pitch. I never intended to get tickets before that; my plan was to wait around until at least the bottom of the 2nd, so as to get the tickets at a discount from scalpers trying to unload their stack of unsolds. It was great, since the Brewers scored 4 runs right away, there was little demand for tickets from hometown fans. We got 4 for $65, with a nice single seat in the Diamond Box. I'm first through the gate, because I sprinted across the street. I get in, and wait for the others.



Moe's ticket didn't work (it had already been scanned). The woman at the gate asked if we got the tickets from scalpers (since she obviously saw our tickets which were scattered throughout the stadium), and she let him anyway. Wolff got the good seat because he fronted most of the money (he was going to switch off, but he hadn't seen his phone since Reform, AL so we couldn't call each other & did not see him for a while.) We try a spot in the second deck on the 3rd base side of home plate, but the people who had the rightful tickets arrived, so we moved to a different spot (which was on the first deck, but further past 3rd base).



I cast 2 All-Star ballots, but were not straight team ballots (unlike Justin & Moe, who cast exclusively for the Brewers & Cubs respectively). The Brewers had added runs to their lead, so the stands were pretty much empty by the middle of the 7th inning. I thought I would try to find Wolff amongst the fans. We did manage to get seats a few rows behind the Diamond Box, but did not find him in the stadium. We watched the rest of the game, then went to the car. We had no keys, no Wolff or way to contact Wolff. We clean up our stuff, and Justin empties the coals into a trash bin. I notice that the can is beginning to smoke quite a bit. Justin goes over to investigate after I point it out. I say that it's probably just going to smoulder, and as I say that, flames ignite.



Justin goes back to the car, deflecting any responsibility for any sort of arson charges that may have cropped up later. We wait around & after a while Moe fiends BBQ, so we write a note & put it on under the windshield wiper (telling Wolff to wait at the car) & try to get some BBQ from a street festival we had driven past prior to the game. I don't think it is within walking distance, but Moe insists he can acquire BBQ through sheer willpower. We never did find it, but saw a blues festival (without BBQ) [strike four].



We walked back to the car via the Arch. It really is a large, impressive structure. We get to the Buick, and Wolff's still not around. Moe & Justin want to go to guest services & make an announcement to find Wolff. I say we should just stay with the car & see when Wolff shows up. They made no progress with anything. We circled around one side of the stadium (first to a side door where we were given vague directions to go "around the stadium" to Guest Services.) We didn't see anything that looked like guest services, so we asked at the pro shop. They told us that after a game, we should go to the main office. We go there & it is locked. I wandered amongst the statues of past Cardinal greats like George Sisler & "Cool Papa" Bell. We were more than halfway around the stadium, so we kept going, thinking it would be shorter to complete the circle around the stadium. Unfortunately, there was a maze of fences on the other side, and it probably was thrice the distance.



We get back to the car & Wolff's still not around (2+ hrs after the game ended). I tried all the door handles & a back one was unlocked. However, when I opened the car door, the alarm sounded. That really didn't overly bother me, we were able to access the food & beer in the car. The alarm stopped after about 3 beeps for some reason (a terrible theft deterrent). We start in on drinking & waiting for Wolff. After a while, some black scheister comes up to ask if we have any rolling papers. By some strange coincidence, I had picked up a packet of papers in the Memphis parking lot where Wolff parked the car. He wanted me to roll it, so he handed it to me. It was terrible pot & there wasn't much of it at all. I picked out the seeds, and rolled up a small one. I attempt to hand it to him, but he deferred the first hit to me. I took a puff & passed it on. He then went into a small pitch about some cocaine he was selling.

I am not too down with nose candy, but Justin is quite the skier. Moe asks, "How do we even know it's real?" clearly messing with the guy. He responds, "I'm high right now!" in a manner seemingly lifted from a Dave Chappelle skit. It was at this moment I notice Wolff sauntering over the horizon. I bolt & ask Wolff where the fuck he has been. He gives some explanation of how he fell asleep in a park or something. Evidently, I missed a show from the black guy, who did some coke off of a penny while I was talking with Wolff. I rejoin the group & he's attempting to sell us some watches.

Moe, still with a burning desire for BBQ, demands we go to the BBQ place we had staked out earlier which did not open until noon. Justin, Moe & I slam our remaining suds & pile into the car, and Wolff gets behind the wheel. As soon as we enter the car, the alarm goes off, and does not cease when Wolff puts the keys in the ignition & starts up the car. We leave the parking lot with the car blaring like an air horn. Eventually, after 5 minutes of honking, the system decided, "Hey, you have successfully stolen the car; I give up," and the noise ceased. We get to within a few blocks of the BBQ joint & we see the proprietor of the establishment taking down the large "OPEN" sandwich board on the sidewalk. Moe, thinking this was strike five, let out a loud string of profanities (well, technically a single profanity stretched out to superhuman lengths). I hang out the window, asking the female if she could serve four transients who desire BBQ to an unholy degree. She says that they are open for another 20 minutes, we park, and Moe shoots out of the car.



I order Wolff & I sandwiches, and Moe bought Justin a meal (BBQ & 2 sides). Those two assholes each got baked beans as one of their side dishes, with no consideration shown to the people who were to be confined with them in a small, poorly ventilated area (Justin also got cole slaw & Moe had squash, I believe). We exit the restaurant, leaving behind a foul stench. I immediately open my car window (for obvious reasons). Wolff gets behind the wheel, I stick my feet out the window, and we cross the Mississippi. Justin & Moe fall asleep in the back seat (separated by a floor-to-ceiling retaining wall of luggage). Wolff thinks traveling on a crowded 6-lane is the the perfect time to brush his teeth, for some reason. He wants me to steer the wheel while he brushes his teeth. I grab the wheel (probably safer than Wolff driving alone, and I've never had a driver's license) while he cleans his molars.

I figure it would be a good time to sleep, as central IL is the most boring place I have ever been as a passenger. I wake up to the sound of the right lane's rumble strip. I ask Wolff a question & he says he's blacking out for long periods of time, and he doesn't know how he got to different lanes. I tell him to take the next exit & pull over, so Moe can drive. Unfortunately the next exit is Alt. I-55, so instead of a 6 lane, it's a 4 lane. There's not much traffic on it, so I tell him to pull over. He does, but then tries to do a Y-turn (even though there is a median). I yell & shout at him to stop driving, "Pull over! Moe's driving!" This is how Moe & Justin were awoken up from their slumber.

Moe gets behind the wheel (the only other person with a license), and I give him a brief update on what Wolff did, and tell him we have to find a break in the median & make a U-turn. He finds it after a mile or so, and turns around. I tell him we need to go towards Bloomington, not Springfield. I repeat it as we go past the the exit. I don't blame him, as Wolff really had taken a series of wrong turns, which would be confusing, especially right after waking up. We turn around at the next exit & Moe drives on. We stop at a gas station to fill up and Moe & Justin asked me separately what happened to Wolff. They saw his toothpaste on the window, and thought it vomit. I talked to Wolff how much he remembered driving, and he says the last thing he remembers is me putting my feet out the window (he probably drove 120 miles after that event!). As Moe starts up the car, Justin empties the car with a particularly vicious fart. After a couple of minutes of air-out, we got back on the freeway, and Moe burned on down the road. Moe left our group when we arrived in Madison. Wolff made the final 20 mile jaunt, and pulled into my mother's driveway. We each had a journey-ending beer; Justin then went to his mom's house & Wolff slept in the guest room. All in all, not a bad way to spend under 48 hours.

This is probably the last entry for Falling Off The Edge, at least in its current form as a playlist for my radio show of the same name. This makes me sad, as I've really enjoyed doing this show for lo these past 5 or so years. It even predates this blog by a few years, inasmuch that anything which isn't documented on the internet can exist. I'm ending with Jackson C. Frank, which I think is appropriate...

Playlist for May 8th:

Van Morrison: Moondance:
And It Stoned Me
Moondance
Crazy Love
Caravan
Into the Mystic
---------------------
Come Running
These Dreams of You
Brand New Day
Everyone
Glad Tidings




Tom Waits: The Heart of Saturday Night:
New Coat of Paint
San Diego Serenade
Semi Suite
Shiver Me Timbers
Diamonds on My Windshield
(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night
-------------------------------
Fumblin' With the Blues
Please Call Me, Baby
Depot, Depot
Drunk on the Moon
The Ghosts of Saturday Night (After Hours at Napoleone's Pizza House)




Neil Young: Decade:
Down to the Wire
Burned
Mr. Soul
Broken Arrow
Expecting to Fly
Sugar Mountain
---------------
Cortez the Killer
Campaigner




Jackson C. Frank: Jackson C. Frank:
Blues Run the Game
Don't Look Back
Kimbie
Yellow Walls
Here Come the Blues
-----------------------
Milk and Honey
My Name Is Carnival
Dialogue (I Want To Be Alone)
Just Like Anything
You Never Wanted Me

Playlist for Thursday, May 1st


Hawkwind: Doremi Fasol Latido:
Brainstorm
Space Is Deep
One Change
---------------
Lord of Light
Down Through the Night
Time We Left This World Today
The Watcher


The Chi-Lites: Greatest Hits:
Oh Girl
I Wanna Pay You Back
I Like Your Lovin' (Do You Like Mine)
Give it Away
Let Me Be the Man My Daddy Was
Love Uprising
The Coldest Days of My Life (Parts I & II)
----------------------------------
Have You Seen Her
(For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People
Are You My Woman?
We Are Neighbors
Living in the Footsteps of Another Man
I'm Ready if I Don't Get to Go
24 Hours of Sadness
A Lonely Man



Hawkwind: In Search of Space:
You Shouldn't Do That
You Know You're Only Dreaming
-----------------------------
Master of the Universe
We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago
Adjust Me
Children of the Sun

Playlist for April 17th:


Wishbone Ash: Live Dates:
The King Will Come
Warrior
Throw Down the Sword
--------------------
The Pilgrim
Blowin' Free
Jail Bait
--------------
Lady Whiskey
Phoenix
-------------------
Rock 'n' Roll Widow
Ballad of the Beacon
Baby What You Want Me to Do




Van Morrison: Veedon Fleece:
Fair Play
Linden Arden Stole the Highlights
Who Was That Masked Man
Streets of Arklow
You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River
--------------------------------------------------------
Bulbs
Cul de Sac
Comfort You
Come Here My Love
Country Fair




Buffy Sainte-Marie: Many a Mile:
Must I Go Bound
Los Pescadores (The Fishermen)
Groundhog
On the Bank of Red Roses
Fixin' to Die
Until it's Time for You to Go
The Piney Wood Hills
----------------------------------
Welcome, Welcome Emigrante
Broke-Down Girl
Johnny Be Fair
Maple Sugar Boy
Lazarus
Come All Ye Fair and Tender Girls
Many a Mile

Playlist for April 10th:


Rolling Stones: Beggars Banquet:
Sympathy for the Devil
No Expectations
Dear Doctor
Parachute Woman
Jig-Saw Puzzle
-------------------
Street Fighting Man
Prodigal Son
Stray Cat Blues
Factory Girl
Salt of the Earth




David Bowie: Space Oddity:
Space Oddity
Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed
Letter to Hermione
Cygnet Committee
----------------
Janine
An Occasional Dream
Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud
God Knows I'm Good
Memory of a Free Festival




The Sweet: The Sweet:
Little Willy
New York Connection
Wig-Wam Bam
Done Me Wrong All Right
Hell Raiser
-------------
Blockbuster
Need a Lot of Lovin'
Man from Mecca
Spotlight
You're Not Wrong for Loving Me

Playlist for March 13th, 2008


The First Great Rock Festivals of the Seventies: Isle of Wight/Atlanta Pop Festival
Johnny Winter And: Mean Mistreater
Poco: Kind Woman
Poco: Grand Junction
The Chambers Brothers: Love, Peace & Happiness
Allman Brothers: Statesborough Blues
-------------------------------------
Allman Brothers: Whippen Post
Mountain: Stormy Monday Blues
-----------------------------
Sly & the Family Stone: Stand!
Sly & the Family Stone: You Can Make it if You Try
Cactus: No Need to Worry
Cactus: Parchman Farm
David Bromberg: Mr. Bojangles
---------------------------------------------------
Ten Years After: I Can't Keep from Trying Sometimes
Procul Harum: Salty Dog
------------------------------------
Leonard Cohen: Tonight Will Be Fine
Jimi Hendrix: Power to Love
Jimi Hendrix: Midnight Lightning
Jimi Hendrix: Foxy Lady
------------------------------------------
Kris Kristofferson: Blame it on the Stones
Kris Kristofferson: The Pilgrim--Chapter 33
Miles Davis: Call it Anythin'




Mark-Almond: 73
Get Yourself Together
What Am I Living For
The Neighborhood Man
---------------------
Lonely Girl
Clowns (The Demise of the European Circus With No Thanks to Fellini)
Home to You