...to the new neighborhood !!!!  Funny I started this when the original feller of neighborhood fame took his leave of us. I guess I have to admit I spent a few hours of my younger days in his town so here is a toast to the Mr. Rogers and the smiles & good lessons he bestowed upon many of us. Not sure if he would have like the toast idea but my condolences are mine so bottoms up. AAHH!!

The HF Boys (my new slick moniker for us) have been back in the saddle again and after you have been out of it for awhile a few sore rear ends can come about. Carrying amps, geetars and those things Scotty beats on, ridin' hours and hours down the highway in trucks packed to the ceiling with gear and that good ole' morning hat hair just a flyin' in the wind, takes some readjusting in the butt area to the rigors of the highway. Often wonder what folks think when we stop for breakfast in a small town, YIKES the invasion of the "Rock and Roll Hillbilly, Where Am I, Yakin' Wildly Away, I Need Coffee Quick, Don King HairDo Crew" !!!!

Since last we met we played for some good friends of ours Scott and Judy at a private function and the love flowed freely. Once in awhile we get to do that and it is fun for us just to be playin' a party sort of like the old days. Heck we even got to use the members locker room of the country club for a dressing room, fully supplied with fine soaps, shaving cream and one of those barber shop comb sanitizers with that blue liquid in it, marble showers and a vast assortment of fine smelling cologne and after shave. You should have smelled that stage, just like the cosmetic counter at Neiman Marcus. Not sure how good we sounded but we sure smelt mighty fine !! Thanks for the smiles to all that were there.

Then it was on to Fitzgeralds in Berwyn with the living legend himself J.C. who played with the acoustic trio armed with the fiddle, mandolin and geetar. Always great to have my long time friend up on that stage with me, mostly because when he is there I'm not the oldest !!! We played with that fine fine bluegrass band "Special Consensus" and lordy those boys can pick, they are the real deal been around as long as Heartsfield, infact we first ran into them back in the 70's on the east coast somewhere but none of us could remember exactly where or when. But at least we eliminated the west coast, midwest and Alaska, not bad. Sorry we missed some of you, it was a magic evening with some very very hot acoustic pickin' just like on the front porch on a warm summer evening. WOOD IS GOOD.

Then on to SAINT LOUIS MISSOURI one of our favorite homes away from home. The club was Pops a great place with a huge stage located in the middle of 3 of the nations largest and supposedly best 24 hour nudie bars and get this, after playing there three times none of us have stepped a foot in any of 'em. Now how's that for devotion to the music and turning over a new leaf.
The show was a rousing get down party as usual for St. Louie and I drug ole' JC out for another night on the road, his first return there in many moons. The emotion from us and the crowd was powerful, the stuff that makes the music even more special. A good friend of ours sat in on percussion, Lee Kram, the drummer for the band "Jakes Leg" and that made 8 of us on stage, pert near an orchestry. Thanks to all our friends down there, you make our hearts sing and every show special. The trio is returning April 12th at Off Broadway so come on down and let's do it again. Special howdy to the Fangmans close friends of ours and Little Feat as well as sharing a deep connection as doggie lovers, they have more than I do.
Davies wife Marsha our road mom took good care of our hotel accommodation's fancy fancy as usual we love having someone makes sure we get tucked in all nice like. I just want to know why I am the only one who brings jammies I LOVE JAMMIES, you can almost always spot me in the hall in jams, I wear them with pride. One day I want to have an all "Heartsfield Pajama Show" with the band and the audience all in our finest jammies, whew that would be heaven, could be an interesting evening for us single fellers, OH MY, I guess I am the only single feller guess we have to get out those jams with the feet and back door on 'em. Now that would be jammin'.

Next we are off to Wisconsin for a few dates, brats, beer & cheese and best of all CULVERS my absolute favorite fast food joint, real frozen custard, butter burgers and fish fish fish. Maybe I should get one of them cheese shakes !!!!!! Off to the hidden valley near Lacrosse, winding roads, beautiful country and lots of those Amish horse carts, ever followed one of them for miles on a windy road where you can't pass? Sure gives you a glimpse of how the simple things slow things down a bit, first time through I thought I was in that Harrison Ford movie Witness and I was on the look out for Kelly McGillis. Not many of them at the shows though.

So now I want to share my feelings on the shape of our world at this juncture GET ME OUTA HERE what the heck is going on • BOMBS • GREED • FEAR • FALLING STOCKS • REALITY TV • DUCK TAPE •
WHEW we need a break, thank god we can share smiles and love with art and music.
Speaking of Reality TV how the heck did it ever get that name, talk about a misnomer, it's about as real as "Leave It To Beaver" or the special effects in Dr. Who !!!!!!!!!! I heard there is one now where America matches up two people to get married, strangers, never knew each other, have NO idea of their hygiene habits, special interests or sexual desires !!!!!! How crazy is that, come to think of it after 3 myself maybe I should try it, might work. What network is it on? Then I heard there is a show about fear, where they get folks to do what they are the scared to death of. Lay in bugs or snakes, have things crawl all over them but worst of all EAT THE PRIVATE PARTS OF ASSORTED ANIMALS you know what I mean.
I think they ought to take one of them gals who just ate a Horse D•ck or Swine B*ll and fix them up with one of them dumb fellers that is on that marriage show and don't tell him 'til he says I do and has to kiss her in front of the world. Now the look on his face would be real REALITY TV
How does a man or woman who has done that stuff return to their hometown and walk the streets or get a date or go to a Friday Night Fishfry !!!!!!!!!! Well, whatever grief they get in my book they deserve,
talk about wanting your 15 minutes, bad enough to eat some cowdung these folks are dumb and dangerous !!! I hope I meet one in line at the meat market sometime, I'll help them order up their barbecue fixins, wiener's anyone.

OK enough of that, guess I have been at home too much during the recovery from surgery or something, you know you give this mind a lot of time to think and who knows what will come out.

Just one more thing, for those of you who remember Tim Johnson one of our guitar pickers, he will be doing some Heartsfield Acoustic Trio shows and that warms my heart. I will keep ya's posted when it starts happening. Also a fine piano/squeeze box player Scott Steveson will be on board for the other shows and he is quite the talented feller, you all will love him.

Keep On Smilin' Lil Pierre'