Sat., Nov. 22, 1997, Bend, OR, VFW Hall -- Well, back out to the Oregon high desert...gee, weren't we just here? It rained the whole way there and continued to drizzle as we pulled into the VFW Hall to unload. It's kind of a strange venue...a conference room, really, in the VFW Building hidden from the street. I played here last May on my second night with Joanna. This time, we didn't let the room fool us, and knew it would be a cool gig. The people were all old hippies and very nice. They put us up in one of the local Red Lions. I took a walk searching for phone cards again and my cold was full blast, but I wasn't being fatigued by it, and was grateful for that. I'm taking about 10 grams of Vitamin C and about 5 grams of Echinacea, and 150 mgs of zinc, as well as a good array of homeopathics. Right behind the music store just down from the Red Lion was a well-stocked health store, so I replenished my inventory of homeos. We found out the gig was earlier than we had thought, so I didn't get a chance to eat, but Joanna and Vic pulled down some positively scrumptous take out turkey dinners for everyone, so we all pigged out after sound check. As start time approached the conference room filled up to beyond capacity with mostly 30-40-somethings. One lady told me a lot of the people she knew were refugees from Portland who were got tired of urban living. There were good old boys, old hippies, attractive 50-something ski bums, and all Joanna fans. It was a good time.