I was on a bus trip from Minneapolis to Bridgeport, Connecticut, and back from Thursday afternoon to Sunday night with Minnesota Brass. Here we are in the full retreat portion of the show we were in Saturday night.
To say it was a long bus ride each way is an understatement. I had lofty plans of doing tons of writing, because, hey, you’re stuck sitting there for 24+ hours each way.
But I forgot that you get sore from sleeping on the uncushioned metal bus floor with?just a Snuggie for a blanket, you’re groggy all’day from lack of sleep, and you end up with so many bags and piles of stuff crammed around your seat that it’s hard to really do anything.
Still, I’m happy that I got some poetry writing done. On the way there, I wrote 6 or 7 very rough drafts of short poems longhand on the bus. Those are for a current project that I’m excited about but uncertain whether?it will work out.?I snuck in about an hour on a long story poem for an assessment project in my dorm room in Connecticut on Saturday morning, using my handy dandy portable keyboard and iPhone. And then on the ride home,?I jotted rough drafts of another poem for that assessment project plus 6 rough drafts of short poems for an e‑thology.
It’s not quite as much as I hoped to do, but it’s a lot more than I would have done if I hadn’t brought my notes and keyboard and notebook along. One of those “shoot for the moon but be glad if you just reach a fairly high branch in the oak tree” deals.
8 Responses
Marathon bus riding is a sport best left to the school age set, I think! Glad you were able to do some writing despite the conditions, and hope you had some fun at the show!
Yeah, the college-age kids definitely are built better for it. I get so antsy just sitting there, and I can’t get comfy to sleep. But…it’s still an unusual and memorable experience, so I’m happy to do it. And happy to be home! We had a great show and can’t wait to make our show even better. The show came out better than my rough drafts, in fact. I’m sure I’ll see that as I go to revise some later today:>) But there might be a kernel or two of something good in there somewhere!
Marathon bus riding is a sport best left to the school age set, I think! Glad you were able to do some writing despite the conditions, and hope you had some fun at the show!
Yeah, the college-age kids definitely are built better for it. I get so antsy just sitting there, and I can’t get comfy to sleep. But…it’s still an unusual and memorable experience, so I’m happy to do it. And happy to be home! We had a great show and can’t wait to make our show even better. The show came out better than my rough drafts, in fact. I’m sure I’ll see that as I go to revise some later today:>) But there might be a kernel or two of something good in there somewhere!
That does not sound confortable. I think you did a great job with all those poems. Love the picture!
Thanks, Catherine–Everything about drum corps has expanded my comfort zone, that’s for sure. I appreciate the encouragement:>)
That does not sound confortable. I think you did a great job with all those poems. Love the picture!
Thanks, Catherine–Everything about drum corps has expanded my comfort zone, that’s for sure. I appreciate the encouragement:>)