Powerwalking

Too much Jazz Fest is too much of a good thing.

For the 3rd year, I spent some quality time out at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, volunteering at one of the beer booths. The Beau and I are a shameless, huckstering team as we draw people in with our barkering and general showmanship. Other teams ask not to be stationed next to us.

Way fun.

Usually, we only do the Fridays of each weekend, but this year - like last - at 6PM on Friday, Debbie - volunteer wrangler extraordinaire - mentioned that they were seriously shorthanded for Sunday and would we be willing to pitch in...

How could we say no? Free admission to the Fest - our own cooler, port-a-let and tents? Pretty sweet deal.

Then.

For the first time all this Fest, it rained. Not hard, just enough to make it messy and really steamy. We had a ball none the less.

Leaving the Fest grounds, we headed for the bike parking lot - Beau said it looked like something out of Amsterdam. We unlocked our bikes and wheeled them out of the lot, only to discover my back tire was flat.

Not just out of air, but flat. Pumped it up at a service station nearby and it lasted 5 blocks.

So we walked the rest of the way home. Only a mile and a half, but after a long day and weekend working at the Fest, it was a bummer.

This morning, I could have waited for The Beau to give me a lift to work, but I thought I'd walk (again, another mile and a half in a different direction). I did have to pick up a few things on my way in and just needed to work some of the kinks out.

I don't spend a lot of time plugged into my iPod, but this morning it was a nice accompaniment to my walk, keeping me at a relatively mellow pace.

Too mellow it seems. By the time I walked out of Walgreen's, it was much later than I thought. And when I turned my iPod back on, it was on some Shirley Bassey ballad that wasn't helping the effort.

So, I toggled through until I came to a song that I knew would get me there in time. This is a remake of the classic Diana Ross hit "Chain Reaction" - performed by the British pop group Steps - and I didn't know this until recently, but Chain Reaction was written by the Brothers Gibb (BeeGees...).

So, I hope this perks up your step too - it made the last 6 blocks fly by! Thankfully, I was almost to the office - the next song was Chains of Love, and if I'd had much further to go, I'd be dead for the rest of the day...