While most of the readers of this blog won’t care about this, Charlie and I got to meet one of our heroes last Saturday. In doing so, we got to hang out with one of the greatest group of people we’ve ever met. On Saturday, Adam Curry from the No Agenda podcast came into town to kick off his Hot Pockets 2008 tour across America.
When I heard on the show that Adam and Micky would be starting in Fredericksburg, I almost ran off the road. The tour is starting in MY town? Holy crap! I told friends, family, and coworkers as soon as I could. NO AGENDA IS COMING TO FREDERICKSBURG!
A week before the tour, I emailed Ms. Micky, she put me in touch with Baroness Maggie Vincent, and the plan was in place. We were to meet at Barefoot’s downtown, and then head over to Capital Alehouse for some beers. I rounded up as many people as I could for the occasion, which ended up being my brothers, Kristin, and Charlie. We were so excited that we showed up 20 minutes early.
After meeting Adam, Micky, and all the listeners, we had some lunch. Kristin and Adam split a big plate of crabs. The set up in the restaurant wasn’t ideal, and it was noisy, so it was hard for everyone to participate in the conversation. The restaurant has a big outdoor area, but it was being used by a big biker rally.
We took a few pictures outside the restaurant, then headed down the street to the Alehouse. Fortunately, they had no trouble accommodating 25 showing up at the door, and we got a whole room to ourselves. We got a little more face time with Adam there. He wanted a local brew, so I recommended the Blue & Gray Red Ale. Micky and Adam left with Maggi and her boyfriend, Mr. Smith, after hanging with us for a while, and we said our goodbyes to everybody.
We were all so elated that we went back to my place and got completely hammered. The next day we listened to the show live, hungover, but still in a great mood. We all had a good laugh when Adam talked about the ride sharing that commuters practice and called it “slogging.” The weekend didn’t end too well when Matt was robbed as he was getting home. Hopefully that didn’t have anything to do with him writing END THE FED on the bills he donated to Adam. I managed to get a blast of karma for him on Thursday’s show.
The whole experience I had at this meetup was one of the high points in my life. The show has been a huge part of my life for the past couple of years, and it has helped shape who I am and what I believe in. When I saw that blonde-headed string bean with dark-rimmed glasses stroll through the door of the restaurant, the whole thing became so much more real. It’s one thing to listen to or watch something, but it’s a whole other thing to be a part of it. Sadly, the whole event went by too, too fast. I didn’t get to say as much as I wanted to, partly because of my own shyness and partly because of the size of the group. But I wouldn’t have missed this for anything.
As cool as it was meet Adam, it was just as cool to meet everybody else. I’m not the only nut in Fredericksburg listening to this crazy show. There actually is hope that other people are out there searching for the truth. No Agenda listeners share a certain baseline attitude and worldview, and I hope I have the opportunity to get to know them better.
I have never been one to express my emotions, in conversation or in writing, so I hope what I have written here conveys how I feel about this momentous event in my life. I still can’t get over the fact that it all started a few miles away from my house. Thank you, Maggie, for making this possible. We all owe you a huge debt. Lucky for us, Adam and Micky have to come back to Fredericksburg to drop off the RV. I hope they aren’t too burned out by the end to have a blowout end-of-tour party.
Contrary to what President Obama said, the American Dream is not just to get by. Yes, the American Dream is to get rich, but each of us has our own unique version. For some of us, a life on the open road is a part of it. Adam is a lucky guy to be able to fulfill that dream, even if just for a short while. The rest of us can live vicariously through him, following along on Facebook, where Micky is posting some great pictures. If this post finds its way into the rig, I hope they’ll enjoy this tune.
Be safe. Enjoy the road, the company, and the memories.
My Who CD got stolen too