My initial comment on this was really a joke and it was my error not to clarify that. No one was required to do anything in the Trio except show up for the gig. And even that was excusable, apparently, as Roger Gambill was a no-show on a few occasions for reasons related to this topic.
The point I was really trying to make was that being a member of the KT was all about having fun and being able to make a nice income doing what you love to do. In the day, being on the road was a constant party (except for those 6:00 AM flights) and we all went along for the ride. Whether anyone cares to admit that is irrelavent. I was there and I can vouch for it. Whether anyone wants to believe me is also irrelavent. Maybe I'm telling it like it was, or maybe I "made it all up" - that's for readers to speculate. The book I'm writing could be fiction for all anybody knows. The fact that this issue became controversial gave me some insight as to how I should present or even omit some of the stories I want to tell.
At this point in world history it seems odd that we would even have this discussion. In 2007, the Colorado State Legislature inaugurated John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" as the state song. Were they all naive as to the message contained in the lyric? Maybe some just wanted to honor John somehow, but the message certainly caught on as evidenced by the fact that now Colorado is legally "Rocky Mountain High." I'm sure John is having a good laugh over that from his current vantage point. (Are we allowed to discuss his partying days?)
People can think what they want about me - I really don't care, but thanks to you guys for backing me. I hope some of those wanna-be's don't find their way over to this message board. I do want to make the point, though, that all this was a thing of the past. A story to be told (apparently only in private conversation) and laughed about. It's the things that we got away with and have now grown away from that make reminiscing enjoyable.
Having recently moved back to my home town of Medford, Oregon, I've been getting together with some of my classmates from high school. We're planning our 50th class reunion for next year and we've been having fun recounting stories of our youth. The other day one of our gang reminded us of the time John Case (our class goof-off) and a few buddies discovered a shed out on BLM property. Upon breaking into it they found a case of ancient dynamite. They proceed to ignite the whole case and blow the shed to smitherines. Was it legal? No! Could that story damage John's reputation as a successful owner of a Portland limousine company? Maybe, but we were all younger then and we did things that we shouldn't have. We're older now and we can marvel at the fact that we made it to this point relatively unscathed. Bottom line is, I've had a really good life so far and I hope the stories I can tell about it will entertain some of you. Unfortunately, some stories will now remain untold (unless you come to visit me.)
Responses