family sees james onstage for first time:

last night, james took the stage & was about 4 measures into the first song when mama, who used to sing, turned to me w/big eyes. "JENny," she said. "he needs to be DISCOVERED!" i looked over at dad, who was making his quietly proud, flared nostrils. the little smile on his lips told all. aunt rita & "uncle danny," as james calls him, walked in unexpectedly. james directed some of his "bad woman" lyrics at aunty rita, who did used to be quite a heartwrecker & still would be, i'd bet, if she could get away w/it. she folded her arms across her chest & turned to me w/black glittering eyes & just said, "he's singin' nice for us old people, isn't he." she'd hit it on the nose. kaykay laughed, "this is whiteboy james PG!"... it was cool watching james modify his act so that my folks' hair wouldn't fall out, tho mama has chided me, "oh, we're SO innocent! we've NEVER heard blues before!!" ... but my folks are retired-teacher citizens of polite respectful dutiful mien... if they saw whiteboy james at some of his bluest (tho they HAVE seen him online, & do know what he usually does), their hair very well might really fall out. :) (not really. i exaggerate.) :) (maybe.) ... the family loved him onstage, & now see more of james than their hyper friendly rough-hewn big-hearted son-in-law... "he's as good as ANYone i've seen professionally. they are REALLY topnotch!" mama said, again w/amazement. "he should be..." "famous?" i said. "YES!" mama enthused, & smiled... on break, danny told james, "i was worried cuz i thought you might be a puss," which james took as high accolade from someone like danny, a tough guy in his youth. ("probably still is," james grinned)...
- i had fun playing w/robbie, tony lopez, scott lambert, & scott abeyta... the show, i thought, went pretty well w/lots of smiling ppl & friendly owner sue really treating us good... james & i concluded we need to get our duo in gear cause the audience kept asking when we were gonna sing TOGETHER (we split the show: dusk devils, WBJ, me & tony & robbie on xmas songs, more WBJ... i played w/WBJBE about 60% of the time last night, & lately, getting to play w/them here & there is really helping me develop my ear & chops!). i always figure james is the one folks want to see, not me, but last night had to realize we are BOTH popular performers & people like BOTH of us &, in fact, want to see us together onstage. wow! "you're really becoming more confident being around james, aren't you," dad smiled happily. my folks are really grateful for james, how he bolsters me (& i do him, too, he says, which gladdens me so much)...
- our friends loved the mountain house; so glad i remembered to put flannel sheets on the extra bed so they could be warm & cozy last night... they took off this a.m. bright & early to get home for today's gig. i don't know if it was the biting mountain freeze of last night or the effort of being good for the family, but james woke up calling wanly, "i'm siiick." fortuitously, the call came in at that moment: today's gig - cancelled! so now james can get all slumbered up while i do a morning routine i miss, sitting at the picture window gazing at the tan-green mtns & blue sky (snow clouds drifting thru it), drinking black coffee that for some reason tastes so much better at this table, at this window, reading, writing, making pancakes (batter waiting so he can have some, too, when he awakens), warmed by the fat little sparrows hopping in the trees, & seeing now that two round, tawny birds have come to the window, all puffed up against the cold, & are pecking at the birdseed i just put out for them. and oh! a giant bluejay just lighted on the top branch of the mistletoe-covered oak not 15 feet from me & gazes proudly around, his royal weight causing the oak to wobble: he is king of everything right now!... yes, james, what you said yesterday was correct: life is pretty damn good. :)