Hi, Evrybudy!
This is Old Bear ritin 2 u agin and this tyme I kan tel U abowt how I went to Tucson in Arizona. Why I got 2 go cus my man and Miss Elizabeth and Mr Jim and Miss Eileene go mist evry month 2 here the Dallas Banjo Band play and then go eat barbacue. Well, Mr. Jack who plays in the banjo band rites a nusletter evry tyme and rote the nus about the Dallas Banjo Band bein invited to go to Tucson 4 sumpn kalled the Arizona Banjo Blast. Then he rote sumpn else - he rote down that if any of the fans wanted to go with them on the bus they culd and it wuldn't cost very much. My man and Miss Elizabeth thot that wuld be a fun thing to du sew rite away sed they wuld go. Of course my man takes me most everywear sew that's how kum I went to. Tucson.
There were only abowt thirty five peoples on a bus with fifty seats sew I got to have a seat all to myself. The bus wus reel comfortable and had a bathroom on it and my man lyked that idea. Mr. Jack had made sure that there wus lots of water and wine and beer and all kinds of snacks. Those who wanted them culd jist go to the back of the bus and help themselves.
Here's a pitcher of sum of the band peoples in the bus and another of wen we had a rest stop in West Texus. There shur wusn't much 2 C in West Texus.
It's a purty long trip frum Dallas to Tucson. We left on Wednesday morning and didn't get there until Thursday. Course we stopped on Monday night cus Bob the Bus Driver couldn't drive all day and all nite 2. So evrybudy stayed the nite in Van Horn, Texus.
The next day, maybe about wen we were goin thru El Paso we got 2 C sum mountains that were nuthin but big hills.
Evrybudy wus purty glad wen we got into Tucson on Thursday and to our hotel. But by the time everybudy had got their rums it wus purty late. The Riverpark in, where we were stayin, wus reel purty and we had a reel nyce room with a tv that reely wurked gud. I membered another tyme wen I wus in Tucson and the hotel room wusn't very nyce and the water leaked and the tv didn't wurk.
On Friday most of the band players wanted to go to a wukrshop to lern better ways of playing the banjo or had to go prqctice for wen they played their songs. But me and my man and Miss Elizabeth didn!t have to du nothin like thqt sew we went on a trip to a playce kalled the Sabino Canyon. Bob the Bus Driver tuk us to where the canyon started and parked his bus. Mrs. Jack who was with us had to take up a collection 4 Bob cus it cost him $35.00 to park his bus jist 4 us.
Lots of peoples cum to this canyon to du picnics and hike and jist walk around but the people that kum in our bus decided 2 ride sumpn kalled a tram that is sort of lyke a tractor pullin some wagons with seats in them. The tram dryver man told us all about the canyon as we were goin thru it and there were shure lots of things to see, but mostly big rocks and small trees and stuff lyke that. Here's sum of the pitchers my man tuk:
After we got back frum the tour of Sabino Canyon evrybudy went to the gift shop to see wat kind of souvineer they culd buy. My man always trys to buy me a pin but this tyme he didn't have to buy one. A park ranger man lyed me purty gus sew gave me his own pin that luks lyke Smoky Bear. I shure du lyke it. Here's the pitcher that my man tuk of this park ranger holding me.
Miss Elizabeth and the other ladies on this tour were sort of disappointed that we didn't get 2 go to a fancy mall 2 du sum more shopping but instead we went to jist a regular mall where everybudy ate lunch and then maybe bought sumpn. Miss Elizabeth bought sumpn to take bak to Dallas for sum frends.
That nite after supper wus wen the real banjo playin wus goin 2 start with banjo bands frum lots of playces demonstratin how gud they were. We culd see the tent thing where the bands would play frum our hotel room cus it wus sort of in the hotel's back yard. The music started at 7 o'clock and they quit maybe about 9 or a little later. We didn't have to pay lyke sum peoples cus my man had bought passes 4 us so we jist walked rite in and sat down. There were a lot of banjo players and even a band from Oregon dressed up in Mexican clothes and playing Mexican music.
On Saturday wile the banjo players were duin more practicin and workshoppin sum of went with Bob the Bus Driver to the Pima Air Museum where we could see a hole lot of airplaynes that my man lykes reel well.
I had been there once before with my man and that is wear I lost my spectacles and my man had to rite and say "My bear lost his glasses somewhere at ur museum and kan U pleze find them 4 him." Du u no that they did find them and put them in the mail 2 me. That sure wus nyce. So I wus purty glad to cum back to the Pima Air Museum.
There wuld have been a lot of walkin at this museum cus most of the airplaynes were outdoors on the big airfield. But we tuk a tram ryde again and the dryver man drove all over telling us abowt the airplaynes. It wus purty interestin.
We got back from the Pima Air Museum in time to go to an outdoor place where the banjo players were jist duin wat they called "jammin". Banjo players wuld jist walk up and start playin with the others.
One lady put on her dancin shoes and did sum tap dancin wen the ban peoples were playing one of their favorite songs.
We were late finishin dinner so got to the concert place jist after the Dallas Banjo band started playin a Cakewalk and sum women in funny clothes were dancing all around the room with the sittin-down peoples clapping and cheering. Seems lyke banjo music is reel gud feel-gud music.
The Dallas Banjo Band did reel gud and sew did all the others who were at the Arizona Banjo Blast.
Mr. Jack told us that we were start back for Dallas about 9:30 on Sundy morning, but he had forgot about the time change on that day and instead of an hour it was reely two cus Arizona don't du the time change thing.
Sew, it wus reely after 11:30 wen we left Tucson.
Bob the Bus Driver thought he was makin gud tyme until he had to stop at a weight station for a while and then later on down the road there was a big accident and we were stuck out in the country for maybe two hours. It shure wus a gud thing that we had a bathroom on the bus and sum drinking water.
Mr. Jack had told a motel in Midland Texus to spect us about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. But it was after 11 at night wen we finally got there. But it shure wus a good motel. It even give us a nice breakfast in a pretty eatin place. Wile waitin 2 leave sum
of us sat in the lobby and sum of us used their kompewter 2 check e-mail, like Mr. Ted wus duing here.
It didn't take 2 long 2 go from Midland to Dallas and everybudy wus glad to get home but we sure did have a gud tyme.
I guess the funnest part of cumin back frum Tucson wus listenin to the "jamming" in the back of the bus. U kan C frum this pitcher that they let me sit in with them. It shure wuld be fun to be able to play a banjo, or maybe even a harmonica lyke Mr. Ted does.
I'll be ritin 2 u agin in June. Maybe I kan take another trip sumwhere to rite about.
Note: If you have a sound card but didn't hear music it is probably because you do not have the appropriate MIDI plug ins. Download Crescendo from www.liveupdate.com. Remember, if you want a copy of the Child's Play font that allows you to read Old Bear's stories the way he writes them, please send him a request. It will be returned as an e-mail attachment.
J. Sage (Old Bear's Man).
Copyright 2005/2006 James Sage,
