Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride

Buy the ticket, take the ride.

It was a line in the book and movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson.  It’s meaning is simply creating, or being involved in, a situation that may get you in way over your head– but deciding that turning back would be a rather uninteresting option.

The line immediately popped into my head last Sunday afternoon when I received a text from Chris asking if I still hired out The Bluesmobile and what the hourly rate was.  Chris and his wife were visiting Chicago from their native Australia for only a few days, and it was a dream of his to see a real life Bluesmobile, even if it were only for a short amount of time, as they were in town for only a few days.

When I originally envisioned hiring out The Bluesmobile, I thought of events like conventions, parties, maybe a movie screening or concert.  More or less hiring out the car as a static display.  It never occurred to me that someone might want to hire it out for a couple of hours to spend some personal time in the car, live out their childhood fantasy of being a Blues Brother, and get some photos to boot!

Not wanting to disappoint our guests, I told him to meet me at the corner of Van Buren & State on Wednesday and we’ll take some pics, go to a couple of locations around downtown and have have some fun.

That’s when the plan went a little gonzo..

Chris and his wife met me right where I asked them to, and boy was he excited to see the car!

He even dressed up for the occasion!

Prior to leaving Van Buren and State, I told Chris why I asked him to meet me there and that was to explain the beautiful empty park in front of us was one the elegant abode of one Elwood Blues.  That’s right the Plymouth Hotel for Men once stood at that spot.

As we made our way out of downtown, we get stuck by the bridge on Roosevelt.  It’s like The Blues Brothers God’s were looking down on us and made that happen.

After the short delay, we’re off to see The Penguin!

After she chased us away with her long stick, we made a beeline to Ray’s Music Exchange.

After we picked out our new instruments, we decide to take in some the natural scenery of Jackson Park.

Fortunately for us, there were no Illinois Nazi’s hanging around.  I hate Illinois Nazi’s!

From there we stopped by the Palace Hotel Ballroom to make sure it was ready for the gig.

After all of that, we worked up quite the appetite, so a stop by Calumet Fisheries on 95th street was in order!

A short distance away the Ewing Bridge is closed and in the up position.  It allowed us to get some really good shots for Chris and Hannah.

From there we slid on down to the Triple Rock to catch Rev. Cleophus.

As we pulled up to the Pilgrim Baptist Church I saw a man start walking across the street towards me.  He started asking me about my car and inquiring if it was for sale.  Knowing the area I became suspect and went on the defensive in case things got squirrelly.  Turns out he was also from Australia and doing essentially the same tour as we were doing!  What are the odds of that happening?!!?

It was getting late, and we had to hurry up and get to the Cook County Assessor’s office before they closed so we could pay the Penguins taxes.

Finally we reached our destination (without the Bluesmobile falling apart!!!)

Normally I don’t dress the part when driving around, but Chris made me!  This was a really great experience and I really enjoyed the day with my new friends from Australia!  Now I got to go over there for my promised ride in his Bandit Trans-Am!

The moral of this story, for me at least, is don’t be afraid to try new things.  Once again, I have gone outside of my comfort zone and have been rewarded greatly.  I spent the afternoon with a great couple, that shared many of the same interests as I do.  We had great conversations from start to finish.  Never once did anything feel forced or strained.

Not all experiences turn out this well, I get it.  Sometimes I get burned too.  But usually the reward is more than the risk.  Imagine what would have happened if I said ‘Sorry, I don’t do that.’  Life is hectic and monotonous at the same time. Take every advantage you can get to go outside your box.  Meet new people. Experience new things.  Share things that you can’t share via a web connection.

One last thing that made this all worthwhile to me.  After all was said and done, Chris and I became friends on Facebook and it turns out that this was Chris’ birthday week.

Happy Belated Birthday Chris, I hope I made it a little bit better than it already was.

Cheers – Brian