Pat's Weekly Diary: 8/27 -9/4
Well... let me see if I can recall these past weeks and fill you in. It's certainly been a hell of a week huh? First let me say that we hope and pray that you guys made it through Ida safely. Thankfully we're all safe. Some had more damage than others but for the most part the Topcats and our families are good. Going back to last weekend with the threat of Ida in the gulf we played to a decent crowd of people at Rock n Bowl on Friday night. It wasn't packed but considering the situation... a very nice night. Saturday we had a wedding at the Omni Royal Orleans. It was actually originally scheduled for that night but with Ida coming our way it was moved up to the afternoon. I'm not sure how many guests were invited but there might have been about 75 to 100 people there for our start time at 4:30. When we finished at 7:30 there might have been 20 or 30. A splendid time considering the conditions. It's my understanding that this event was actually scheduled for earlier in the year but because of Covid it was postponed to 8/28. Congratulations to Sydney & Chris Easton. Thanks for inviting the Topcats. I gotta tell you though... coming out of the Royal Orleans at about 8 o'clock on a Saturday night and seeing the streets were completely empty. We could see a few stragglers a couple of blocks away on Bourbon Street but where we were there was nobody. And quiet. It was very strange. So we all fought Ida at home. Again... some had more damage than others but nothing that was life threatening. Woke up Monday and ok now what? Well we have a wedding on the 4th in Oxford, Miss. So David and Buzzy decided to stay home and rough it out. Robert headed to Philadelphia, Miss. I left Monday night and went to... Oxford, Miss. (That's what made the most sense to me so it was a pretty easy decision) It was kinda eerie getting here. It was pitch black all the way to Jackson. Oxford is a beautiful city. Just a very nice small real southern feeling about it. We played there in what they call "the Square" (which is kinda like downtown Oxford) many years ago but I couldn't for the life of me tell you where. So we met up on Saturday night at the Castle Hill of Oxford (just a beautiful place) where we played for Alexis & Joey Lewing. A great reception. Thanks for allowing us to be a part of the festivities. Thanks for getting us away from home for a little while. Actually had some friends from the old Bengal days there. So David and Buzzy headed back home. Robert to Philadelphia. And I stayed there in Oxford. We'll go home in home in a day or two. We had a wedding booked for this coming weekend but as you can imagine... that's been postponed. We have some gigs scheduled for the coming weeks but between Ida and the other storm that's now in the gulf. Oh and don't forget Covid. That's still out there. So who knows? It's kinda strange... for the past 16 years we've been marking time by pre and post Katrina. Now it'll be pre and post Ida. Or if some one asks you'll respond "which storm are talking about?" We've had two 'one hundred year' storms in the span of 16 years. (My favorite thing I saw on the internet was some body posted "Typical Louisiana... 8 extension cords plugged into one outlet". Again we hope and pray all of you are safe. Were hoping to see you... soon? Maybe! One good thing to look forward to (for me anyway) is football season is right here. I'll tell you that without Drew Brees I'm a little concerned. I certainly don't want to have to go back to putting a bag on my head on Sundays. Who Dat!!!