Chapter 13

We spent the week doing some sightseeing and also some light practicing. The kids worked on their show and on a few new pieces a couple of mornings. They knew this might be their last show for a long time, so they wanted it to be really good.

We did a run-through of the complete show on Friday morning and were happy with the way we sounded. It was going to be a good concert; the weather was good and we were going to be playing to a sold out stadium. This stadium would only hold about fifty thousand, but two shows with that many people is a big gate.

The Fab Five liked the idea of us signing autographs for money that would be donated to a charity. The girls talked several of the community leaders into finding what was thought to be the most deserving charity, so we were at the VIP tent at five Friday evening facing rows of people waiting to buy autographs. The girls were keeping a count so we could announce how much our fans were donating. I wanted the people to know we were more than a blues band that wanted their money, so there was a big sign where people paid the autograph fee that said the Blues Expedition would match the fees and donate that to the charity as well. There was very little grumbling about having to pay for autographs.

We had Bonita and Lizzy with us, along with a long table where the brass guys and the kids sat, this time. People were moving from person to person for autographs. The girls had a thousand promotional photos printed that we were signing for the paying autograph seekers who didn't have anything to sign. There were no autographs on skin this time; some clothes and hats, but no skin.

I think this was the first time a lot of these people had heard of 'The Lucky Lady Blues Band' when the kids opened the show. They did a hell of job entertaining the crowd with almost all straight instrumentals. They were doing their lead in for us when Lisa did her metal crash and drove right into our SRV show. We quieted down so that Kenny could do the introductions while we were doing the second piece. We went straight from three SRV pieces to one the band's signature instrumentals. Kenny was pushing Lisa and me to be carrying almost every piece for some reason. He lay back with Rags, doing some peaceful wailing. Kenny stayed in the background doing mostly rhythm even during their signature stuff. This wasn't the way we practiced it, but we went right through the show and finished with an encore of Rags, Lisa, and me on bass doing our challenge. It sounded really good, but we missed Kenny.

Kenny sat down as soon as the show was over, and said, "Get me to a hospital, Guys. I don't know what the matter is, but I can hardly breathe. Help me, get me some help."

A local security guard said there was an ambulance at the back of the stadium and he would summon it. The ambulance was in front of the stage and some paramedics were working on Kenny in less than a minute. He didn't look good, but he was going to get some help.

Everyone in the band was stunned that Kenny was having some kind of attack. The way it sounded suggested congestive failure of some kind. I asked Jack and Stix if they knew how old Kenny was while we were packing up for the night. Neither knew how old he was, but the more you thought about his career, the more you realized the man had been playing in popular groups since the late seventies. Barb had gone with Kenny. Carlos was the band member who had played with him the longest. When I asked him if he knew, he nodded toward his wife, Ramona. The woman told us, Kenny just turned sixty-two. He's never been a druggy or drinker, so he's in decent shape but we've been pushing it a little lately. That's why some of us were against all of these extra shows.

Everyone went back to the hotel to shower and change clothes. Lisa and I, with the rest of the band members, had a limo take us to the hospital. There we found Barb in the coronary waiting room and she told us that the cardiologist had Kenny in their Cath lab and were doing an arteriogram. She said the doc told her it could be an hour or five to six hours depending on what they found. Barb lamented, "I've tried to get Kenny to the doctor for a checkup, but he keeps putting it off. He hardly exercises at all, and only plays music from morning to night. I try to get him to eat right, but you know how guys are. They eat what they like and at erratic times. This will slow him down now. What are you guys going to do for tomorrow night's show?"

Dan spoke up and said, "Fred can be up front, but we'll need Chuck to do all of the bass stuff, and Rags is decent on bass, so we won't miss out on Chuck's SRV gig. Fred's been taking a vacation with Chuck and Lisa around. You know, with Dan and Pop playing keyboards, then Lisa and Chuck doing a couple, we sure do have a lot of mixing and matching going on. It was Barb who said, "That's what Kenny loves about the way the band is now. Everyone is versatile, and Lisa and Chuck lead everyone into each set you guys do."

Fred told everyone, "Chuck began really wailing with us when we first went to Europe. I somehow knew that the man was going to be an influence on our music. We'll go over the show in the morning to make sure we can do as good a job without Kenny being with us. I'm sure we can, but we need to go through it together. I'll do the intros the way we did them in Hawaii, and let's do the show pretty much the way we did there. I like the vocals we did. Let's have some fun and make Kenny proud."

We went to find the cafeteria to get some snacks, ice tea, coffee, and soft drinks. Now with everyone, including the brass guys in the waiting room, you could tell we were all concerned. The doctor came out around two in the morning, and told everyone, "Kenny is resting peacefully and will sleep until morning. He's going to be fine and didn't suffer any damage to his heart. He had three areas where the arteries were almost totally closed, so he's going to be fine now with the stents we put in."

The man looked at all of us and added, "I know the man I just worked on is needed for your group, but he's not going to be doing any performing for at least six weeks or more. He'll be able to travel in a week or so, but he shouldn't be with you guys while you're playing. I hope you can fill in for him, and you should be able to from the sounds you guys have been generating." He turned to Barb and said, "You are going to be his life line. Make him eat right, make him take his meds, get him to a cardiac rehab class, and keep him around to play more music in the future. Now, all of you go back to your hotel and get some sleep. Kenny will be fine, Barb, and you need your rest so you can be cheerful when you see him tomorrow morning. Be here around ten and we'll make sure he's awake."

Wow, this is real life and it just came and gave us a wakeup call. Now I wonder if Pop has had an exam lately. I'll have to talk to Nancy. Rags isn't a spring chicken either, and he probably should get a physical too.

We went back to the hotel and quietly slipped into bed. We had encouraged Jane to stay at the hotel, so we knew she wasn't going to be stressed from lack of sleep.

I woke up at eight thirty and felt rested. I might take a nap later, but I should be okay. We were going to pack up and move to Australia as soon as we finish the show that night. The more I thought of what lay ahead, the more I wanted to find that scumbag agent and throttle him. Well, we'll have to make sure everyone eats right and gets as much sleep as they can. Our music is also a lot better when we're rested.

I walked out into the big room of the suite after showering and shaving, and found Steve, Dewey, and all their families there. Brandy gave me good morning kisses and said she had already heard from the hospital and Kenny was doing great. She advised that she was getting reservations for Kenny and Barb to fly back home to Florida next week. She was making sure their hotel was going to be paid for and all their expenses were going to be taken care of. She said that Fred had already come in and told her he was crating Kenny's basses and guitars and would ship them back to Florida by FedEx. That would be the safest way to transport them.

I moved toward the bar and was handed a Bloody Mary, but I didn't get to drink any of it. Lisa had snuck up behind me and took it from my hand. Steve grinned and fixed me another one. Steve said, "Do you want me to go to Australia with you guys? I can stay a while longer if you need me."

"No, go home as planned, Steve. Some of my women want to go home and the kids need to go home. I know I'm keeping two of your ladies, but I'm sending some of mine back so you shouldn't be too lonely."

I would have canceled the Australian shows and gone home too if Kenny wouldn't have gotten too upset. There is just too much happening, and there's going to be a real drain on the guys' energy levels. I was determined to make sure the guys stayed rested and ate well.

Kal picked up a drink that I hadn't touched yet and drank half of it. He said, "You wait around long enough and this wonderful drink will get watery. Let me make you another and one for Kai, too. We love these things and being out in a hotel is a great excuse."

Dewey winked at me and told everyone, "I thought Jane made the perfect woman for him the first time she did about the same thing with Chuck's drink. Then you come along and prove you're the perfect father-in-law, Kal. What do you think of our boy wonder?"

Kal said, "I watched the show last night and marveled at Chuck and Lisa. They are so versatile and really good musicians. I realized these two carried the show all the way through when I heard the leader had some kind of heart problem. The rest of the group followed them and the show went off really great. I think they gave the audience their money's worth."

Jane was sitting on a bar stool drinking some fruit juice. She told her dad, "Chuck and Lisa are amazing in the way they are able to get everyone to play and sing together. That little girl, Bonita, is also responsible for keeping everyone on the right page. Watch her, Dad, and you'll see how she's right there making sure the brass picks up when they should. And one more thing, Dad, do you know that almost half of what you heard last night was written by Chuck when he was still in high school?"

I was rolling my eyes at Kal and Kai, because Jane was pouring it on a little thick. Lisa told them, "Chuck keeps surprising me with his abilities. The more you know him, the more you'll wonder."

It was Kai who had me cornered a little while later as I tried to stuff some food down before a quick show practice run-through. She told me to listen to her for a few minutes before I said anything.

"Jane has always been a little strange, Chuck. She was always different than other kids, especially other little girls. She wanted to be the best in martial arts. She wanted to be best at playing soccer. I tried to get her to play the piano, but she didn't want to learn that and wanted to take more martial arts and fencing lessons instead. She scared me the most when she was in high school. She fell in love, but it wasn't with a boy, it was with a girl. It didn't last long, of course, but she found another girl, and then another girl, and didn't, or wouldn't, go out with any of the boys who would ask her out. She told me that she should be able to enjoy the type of sex she wanted to enjoy. I didn't even know she thought much of sex until she told me that. It was after that when she told me how she enjoyed being with girls and women and thought that she didn't want guys.

"She later met a couple of guys during her college years, who she thought she enjoyed, but never became intimate with them. She was still all girl for girls. She did two years in the Hawaii National Guard when she got out of school, and excelled. It was while there that she met the Deputy in Charge of the local U.S. Marshal's office for Hawaii. They loved her and her demeanor. They didn't care if she liked girls, guys, or anyone. They wanted her ability to be a good Deputy. Jane was the best they had and became Assistant Station Chief fairly fast, as there were so many older Deputies here. Men like to transfer here to serve out their time in Hawaii before retiring here.

"Jane confided in me about two years ago that she wanted to become a mother, or as she said, a 'mommy'. She said that she needed to find a man who she could respect and love, and that she would marry him and have her baby, or possibly even more than one. She was going to go into this with an open mind, and said she would be the best wife the father of her children could ever find. She told me she knew how to be a good wife as all she had to do was to imitate me. I'm not the best wife or mother around, but I do love Kal, and I do try to be. We're a little too crazy to be good role models.