It was time to head back west. Gotta admit, the prospect of it felt good. I'm just a die-hard
Westerner at heart. It was a beautiful, balmy Sunday--clear as a liberty bell, and the Pennsylvania
Turnpike was our gateway to new homeward bound adventures. We figured about a 12-hour
drive to Indianapolis, where we'd be landing at the Slippery Noodle. It was the lowest paying gig
on the whole tour, and we were a bit mystified as to the reason for the low dough. We were to
play on a Monday night, and it was the first time Terry's been in there, so those factors may have
been contributing ones. Nonetheless, it was a lo-ball, costing Terry money to even do the gig.
After an hour or so on the turnpike it was time to get something to eat, so we pulled into a deluxe
food court-type of service plaza, featuring everything from Starbuck's Coffee to Burger King to a
frozen yogurt kiosk, and an Italian buffet joint. I was into a no-grease, no-preservatives mode, so
I simply opted for a hot chocolate and scone from Starbuck's, looking forward to munching a
couple of apples later. The long parade of convenience-store gas-station snack "food" was
beginning to wear on me, and causing cravings for vegetarian-simple fare. I decided not to buy
anything in these junk-food joints that had any more than five ingredients--all of which I must be
able to recognize...
We sailed on until around 6:30 when we spied a Chinese buffet in Evergreen, Ohio (I think that's
the right state). Jeff, Terry and I decided to take the buffet tour, and Terry filled me in on some of
the history of the band personnel changes. How Willy Scandlyn had started out as the guitar
player when Terry was with Bobby King, and how Willy had brought Jesse into the band to cop
the Ry Cooder licks on the albums. With the tour money being so low this time, and with Jesse
doing most of the lead guitar duties anyway, the decision was made to suspend Willy's tenure with
the band. Something that was hard for Willy to take, but with his music store responsibilities in
Hillsboro and all, it ended up being the logical solution to coping with meager tour expenses.