New Edition 2010...

Folks...
This is Raja
My brand new, three month old, ferocious fur ball
He is a boy
He is about 30lbs
And he seems to have a great temperament
Walked him all over today and he isn't scared of
anything as far as I can tell
Except being alone
I had forgotten how loud a baby tiger can be when they
Are trying to get you to come to them










He should be appearing with the others sometime between now
And October...

Cages...

Here are some pics of the cage Radar and I have built
We started with a pile of steel and two days later
Here we are...

It Is Time...

Well the end of the off season is upon us
Bitter sweet describes it best
As much as I love being on the road and working
This has been a great winter
Due mostly to having Radar here
My right hand guy!
Because of him being here Nat and I have finally
Been able to go out on dates
He is not only decent at taking care of tigers....haha
He is great with the girls
So we have had a sitter when need be
I have taken Nat out more this winter then all the winters we have
Been married combined
It has been great


I haven't played as many gigs as I would have liked to
But that is because I have been busy with so much other stuff
It has been great to have Radar for those also
Since he is a great designated driver on open mic night
And thankfully he seems to really like Texas music!
ANd we have some great music in Paris
Some awesome songwriters for sure

Last night I had a gig at Harleys due to a cancellation
Was a good night with a decent crowd
That seemed to be listening
It did kinda throw me off that there were couples dancing
I don't really consider my music "dancable"
I guess I was wrong, cause they were two steppin away to it





I was heart broke that as manu times as I have played here
My name was spelled like that
Especially since they got the hard name right (Cainan)
But it turned out there is a lack of letters for the sign


Radar and I are heading up to Hugo
To finish our new tiger cage
I will have pics of it soon
And hopefully pics of a new tiger



L8er

Pearl Street Riot...

Had a great time last night opening for
Pearl Street Riot the hottest new band in
North East Texas
They put on a great show for sure
Pure Rock N Roll
Very loud after my folkie acoustic set
Late show
I started around 9:30 and went till 10:15
They started around 11:00 and closed the place at 1:30 AM...

On a school night none the less!!
HAHA

Kitty Kitty...

So
With changing the paint on some of the show trucks
Bob was commissioned to paint something different on the cookhouse
No more elephant face with clown hat as has been for years
Not this year...
I was lucky enough to watch Bob paint this...




I think it turned out great!
I wish it was a hind leg tiger
But any tiger looks good on a truck if you ask me


Have to appear before the 6th District Court tomorrow
And explain that I CAN'T be here for jury duty
Because we open and leave in a couple weeks
Should be a great time...



"You're the one I need, when everything is wrong
And every now, and then, when the night gets long
I hum along, to your favorite song"

More Trucks...

Art...

Working on Saturday this week again
Gotta shoot paint on a tractor while
Bob is taking a day of rest from painting the trailers
Shouldn't take long to knock this one out
We have it prepped and taped in the welding shop already
Was good to get it ready over there cause
We could work on prepping it and finishing up
The production center piece
Can't say "what" it is just yet
But I will say it "is" a work of art
Danny and I have built it from scrap in the shop
Or at least 80%
We did buy paint and a few bits and pieces
I made 6 things like this to go on it yesterday


Bob is finished with one side of the concession truck
Will start driver side on Sunday
I spent some of my lunch yesterday watching him paint
And asking what were probably stupid questions
I think someday I am gonna take a shot at show painting


I doubt it will look anywhere this nice when I do...


"To live is to fly,
Both low and high,
So shake the dust off of your wings,
And the sleep out of your eyes"
T.Van Zandt

Paint Me A Birmingham...

Master show painter Bob Rawls has been hard at work
Here in the paint shop
He is changing the logo on the trucks a little
So far I think it looks great
I really enjoy watching Bob paint
He seems to put in oil base whatever the person is picturing
Back when I had the sideshow
I got all my banners from Bob
I was always amazed at how I could explain to him what I wanted
OVER THE PHONE
And when I got the banner a few weeks later in the mail
It would be exactly what I was picturing in my head
Scary almost
He is a couple different days progress on the concession truck





By no means finished
But coming along quite fast I will add

He is taking Saturday off this week which gives us
A chance to spray another tractor in the paint shop
Till then Radar, Danny, and I have been prepping another
And working on the production props
Running out of time
But it always feels that way



"Well I wish I was in Austin, at the Chili Parlor Bar
Drinkin Mad dog margaritas, not carin where you are"
G. Clark

Happy New Year...Everybody...

I feel confident this is gonna be a great year
2009 was one of my greatest yet!
Had a beautiful daughter born
That was the highlight
But there were a lot more ups then downs this year for sure
And...
Alot more rain then sun
Ain't keeping me down
I think it is easy for us today to forget how
Lucky we really are sometimes
I know I do from time to time
And then it will just hit me and I will say to myself
"Self, quit bitching, your life is going great"
This time of year is when it seems easiest to look at our lives
From the perspective of things we need to change
But take a second and think about the things that are good as well
I know I have been
My resolution is to go to church as often as I can
Batting a perfect game on that since Nov.
Gonna keep it there till Feb
I have never been one to try to push my beliefs on others
But I may try to have a Bible study class on the show this year


It's ok....
Breathe...









Here are two of the trucks Danny, Radar and I have painted
Repainted bumpers and everything
I think they are looking good
Mr. Bob Rawls is coming in to letter some trailers this week
Should have some great looking rolling stock on KM this year




"Talkin tough is easy when it's other peoples evil. and you're judgin what they do or don't believe. Seems to me you'd have to have a hole in your own to point a finger at somebody else's sheet".
M. Cooley

The Aftermath...

Christmas Time...

Big couple days here for the Cainans
Last night went to our annual Christmas Eve Pizza party
For a few years now we have spent Christmas eve with the Brown family
Always a great time, And great homemade pizzas
This year was no exception of course
We had it a night early because they are heading fro Xmas with Tavana's
Family in Kountze today



We had Christmas with Radar "Coyote Boy" Easley the night before
As he headed north Tue morning to spend it with his fam
We exchanged gifts, then Genevieve, after hearing Radar was affraid
Of Coyotes, decided to put some "whoop up" on Radar....haha




Before the dinner tonight, Danny and I worked on the trucks
We are painting in the shop
Here is the first one I sprayed
It turned out great I think
"No hits, No runs, No errors"
Like a perfect ball game!





Again...
I hope everyone is having a great holiday season
And a very Merry Christmas!