tag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:/blogs/my-adventures-on-the-road?p=2My adventures on the road2022-01-03T13:16:05+01:00Al Johnsonfalsetag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/68577912022-01-03T13:16:05+01:002023-10-16T16:47:20+02:002022 a new start <p>Hi everyone </p>
<p> 2021 wasn't a good year , for many and for me in my family i lost 2 uncles and a much respected aunt ...cancer once again reared its ugly head. </p>
<p>Well i was rushed into hospital at eater time with astronomically high BP . and that along with lock down cost me quite a bit of time of work . But </p>
<p>There are two new acts being brought into the world a duo with my daughter Anna who is a fine slide guitarist and singer </p>
<p>And a trio for a trip to Germany is in the making .</p>
<p>I wish anyone who reads this the best for 2022</p>
<p>al</p>Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/66037722021-04-14T16:21:25+02:002021-04-14T16:21:25+02:00spam artists or fartists<p>Hi </p>
<p> post spam here and you are deleted , you can shove your spam posts up your arse .....fuck off </p>
<p> </p>
<p>not impressed </p>Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/65929272021-04-03T12:11:28+02:002021-04-03T12:11:28+02:00Happy Easter<p>Happy Easter </p>
<p> Yes as the post says happy Easter , regards of your views take a few days rest and have a pleasant time. </p>
<p>My regards from your family to mine </p>
<p> </p>
<p>al</p>Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/64161142020-08-24T21:32:26+02:002020-08-24T21:32:26+02:00covid 19 <p>Hi </p>
<p> this is just a short note to let you know , that we will return by that i mean all gigs concerts and such will return after covid 19 is or has been made safe </p>
<p> </p>
<p>stay safe everyone </p>
<p> </p>
<p>al</p>Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/55359772018-12-02T18:24:17+01:002018-12-02T18:24:17+01:00a message to my friends Part 2 <p>Have a peaceful 2018 Christmas and a happy 2019</p>
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<p>al</p>Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/55359762018-12-02T18:22:54+01:002018-12-02T18:22:54+01:00a message to my stalker yes you ..!<p>Hello </p>
<p> You really are stupid, you leave a trail a blind person can follow, you have not fooled anyone ! ,sorry to disappoint you .</p>
<p>Have you nothing better to do you sad piece of shit .....</p>
<p>Have you nothing better to do in your pathetic excuse for a life ? You forfeited you right to be treated as a human being with dignity and respect long ago.</p>
<p>The phone calls to people who cant fight back that is really low even for scum like you ......</p>
<p>Please just fall back in the sewer where you belong ......</p>
<p>PS enjoy reading the website .....</p>Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/55359062018-12-02T18:10:30+01:002018-12-02T18:10:30+01:00a message to my friends <p>Hi everyone , i am sorry i have not been blogging much but it has been a long and interesting year . thanks to everyone who came to the gigs to old friends i met up with and to times ahead</p>
<p>2019 is a year to look forward to .i hope to have many positive times in the year ahead ....</p>
<p>be well everyone</p>
<p>al</p>
<p> </p>Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/50233012018-01-14T21:36:34+01:002022-03-11T11:26:05+01:00projects in 2018 <p>Hello everyone </p>
<p> I have been busy my 19 year old daughter joined our blues and roots music duo and we are now i guess a trio ......so have a listen to what we all have been doing ,,,,old blues the way we all like it ,,,,</p>
<p>Oh by the way look out for the de peet quartet as well www.depeet.be</p>
<p> </p>
<p>have a listen and enjoy folks</p>
<p> </p>
<p>al</p>
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<p> <iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="MK8IiC5rvPY" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/MK8IiC5rvPY/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MK8IiC5rvPY?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> to yoursel</p>
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<p> <iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="C5OY2c1FTUU" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/C5OY2c1FTUU/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C5OY2c1FTUU?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/50232962018-01-14T21:25:59+01:002018-01-14T21:25:59+01:00Happy 2018 <p>Hi </p>
<p> Im sorry its been a while, i had a ok year , except for the loss of 2 good friends both musicians , that left a hole life is at best short , and people are important ....stay well in 2018 people </p>
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<p>al</p>Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/47752142017-07-11T22:04:40+02:002019-12-30T12:47:48+01:00some health issues <p>Hi all </p>
<p> some of you have tried to get in touch with me . i have been struggling a wee bit health wise but am ok now .please get in touch for bookings etc </p>
<p> </p>
<p>al</p>Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/47752132017-07-11T22:01:39+02:002017-07-11T22:01:39+02:00I am looking for some students in the benelux<p>Hello</p>
<p> I am looking for some students or some skype students , i teach most styles and hey feel free to get in touch .</p>
<p> </p>
<p>al</p>Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/47096712017-05-15T22:56:16+02:002017-05-15T22:56:16+02:00This is a message for my friends in and from Japannihon no minasan konnichiwa. 2018 nenn wa nihon de tour shitaidesu. sonouchi nihonngo de kuawshiku blog wo kakutumoridesu. <br><br><br><br>alAl Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/47096672017-05-15T22:48:54+02:002021-06-17T11:51:34+02:00sorry everyone its been a while <p>Look this is just a quick note to let you know that i will update this blog more often from now on<br><br>al</p>Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/40409622016-02-14T18:57:29+01:002017-05-12T22:30:02+02:00Questions you might have for me<strong>What made me decide to learn how to play the guitar ?</strong><br><br><br>I grew up in the 1970's. Music was a part of everyday life. Not just rock music, but all types of music from classical to Church music, from jazz to folk music. Music seemed an everyday part of life. I can recall going to school and most of our teachers seemed to play the guitar, to a lesser or greater degree.<br><br>I can recall a growing interest in wondering how they did that. Also, at this time, 1974-1975, there were bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and acoustic artists such as Cat Stevens and many others. All of this inspired me to want to pick up the guitar because the sound was very pleasing. I received my first guitar, Christmas 1974 and my father bought it on the condition that I would learn, at least the basics. A family friend taught me some chords, 10 to 15 and I mastered them a few months.<br><br>In about 1976, there was the Beatles cartoon. It was listening to the Beatles that got me interested in 1960's music and that plus hearing various R & B artists got me interested in earlier music, to a degree of where I could think of nothing else. That, you could call, phase 1 in my life.<br><br><br><strong>What got me into electric guitar playing ?</strong><br><br><br>That is an easy question. It was in the early 1980's. I was still in high school. And my younger sister borrowed an album from the local library, and it was from the Blues Breakers. It was the famous one with Eric Clapton, aged about 20.. It is known as the Beano album. I just had to know how to make that sound. I got an after school job and bought my first crap electric guitar. I sold that about a year later, it was that bad. And, basically, I had been trying to master that sound ever since. That is where it started, really by hearing Eric Clapton with the Blues Breakers.<br><br><br><strong>What is my favorite acoustic guitar and why ?</strong><br><br><br>To start with, I have always loved playing the acoustic guitar. I love Yamaha guitars. Especially the ones made in Japan. The FG series, the L series. You can have 2 Yamaha guitars and really be set up with all you need for a professional career. Many have gone the Yamaha route. Unlike a lot of more expensive guitars, many good quality Yamaha guitars are just as well built and sound, in my opinion, as good as many other more expensive instruments. The Yamaha route is a really good one.<br> Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/36689742015-04-21T10:52:44+02:002017-05-12T22:33:56+02:00Life lesson and Project - Guitars I have loved<font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2">It was about 40 years ago that I got my first guitar. A cheap but well built, nylon string acoustic, from the Wayne Guitar Company in Australia.<br><br>I still have it, to this very day. That served me well till I was about 14. And my next guitar was a cheap Les Paul Copy. I remember how I got the money for that. It was flipping burgers in McDonalds, for about 3 weeks (never again did I work for that organisation).<br><br>I got my black Les Paul Copy and I was ready to rock but not roll as I had no amplifier This guitar people was terrible. Like the bridge fell off everytime I tried to change a string. That got sold for a squire strat back in 1983.<br><br>Since then I have suffered from GAS. I don't mean by an excessive consumptionn of baked beans, I mean, that unending quest for the perfect guitar, for electric guitars and it is simple. I like Telecasters, Stratocasters, ES335 or Les Pauls.</font></font><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2">Basically a traditional viewpoint. For Acoustics I have never been able to have one built for me yet. And that is yet. I would have a Kinkade if I could but I am happy with good solid Martins.. Yamaha's and a few Epiphones as well..<br><br>My other love is of course resonator instruments. Sometimes resonator instruments sing sweetly and sometimes they snarl at you. I love them all !. And that is what I am into now that I am getting a bit older.<br>I have quite a few of them at home, about 15 or 16 last time i counted .<br><br>But what I am really looking for people is a very old 1930-1933 Duolian or Style O. These instruments speak to me. I love them all from Telecasters to duolians to Strats to this that and te-he other</font></font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"> </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2">I think, though, I will be there with an old Duolian. It just speaks to me . If you think this is the rambling of a Madman well i Guess you got that correct</font></font></p>Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/34738972015-01-19T13:50:06+01:002017-05-12T22:36:25+02:00Projects - Launching a record label / musicians advocacy serviceHi everybody. I want to explain about the project you might have seen on my Facebook, LinkedIn, or this website.<br>There was a time in history where musicians were musicians. You pick any decade you like during the 20th century. You have Scott Joplin and his ragtime music, or in the 1920's, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith. I could talk, ladies and gentlemen, about the next 5 decades fluently. And give you chapter and verse on some great music. That is if you don't already know it yourself.<br><br>Now, what has that all got to do with this record label ? Well, I am glad you asked. I have met, in the last 2 years, at least 20 musicians from all over the world and they all have one thing in common; talent ! Sheer talent ! And where does it get them, here in 2015 ? A whole load of headaches. How do they record ? How do they tour ?<br>Who do they talk to ? Which venue ? Which agent ?<br><br>What usually happens is that a lot of talent goes to waste. And this project is about trying to plug a few of the holes with such wasted talent. I can think of 3 musicians off the top of my head who, if they were active in the 1960's, would no doubt today be household names. All of them were just unlucky.<br>Yes, OK, there might have been bad choices but everyone deserves a break, right ?<br><br>I want to give a few deserving musicians a break.<br><br><a contents="http://fnd.us/c/7xWn8" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://fnd.us/c/7xWn8" target="_blank">http://fnd.us/c/7xWn8</a><br><br>The word in Dutch for & lawyer is een advokaat. That is not what this is about. To some people's understanding the word advokaat means somebody walking with you during a time of crisis or trouble. Remember this folks, musicians work when you party. Musicians are working when you are on holidays. But in many countries, there is no way that a musician can get help when things go wrong. Sometimes it can just be the need of a pair of shoes, or a warm coat for the winter, or a set of strings. You do get the picture I hope. My plan is simply to help in whatever way I can ....<br> Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/33869642014-12-11T16:04:58+01:002014-12-11T16:53:17+01:00Life lessons - A friend in needYou have heard this all before, a friend in need is a friend indeed, or perhaps, a friend in need is a pain in the ass/arse. Well, in this case, most certainly, not a p i t a.<br>I got an urgent email very recently from my friend Little Toby Walker <a contents="http://www.littletobywalker.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.littletobywalker.com" target="_blank"><span style="color:#40E0D0;"><font face="Verdana" size="1"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><u>http://www.littletobywalker.com</u></span></font></span></a>, one of the finest acoustic guitar players I know.<br>"Hey Al, I am in trouble". I saw a phone number of his hotel room so I called his hotel room immediately. Toby answered. I said "What is wrong" ? He explained to me that the saddle of his travelling guitar had been mislaid and he had flown over to Belgium from the USA to gig. And his guitar was not in working order. He was, as a result, up a well known creek without a paddle. I agreed to help out. It was no problem. And, in fact, a great pleasure. Why ? I knew that with Little Toby Walker, any instrument I had would be in expert hands. And it was.<br><br>I obtained his address, and then took one of my Martin acoustics around to his hotel. I found him in the bar (where else would a guitar player be ?). I said, "there you are". We got chatting, had a great hour or two, and things just got better. The gig on Saturday night was superb, the gig on Sunday was even better. I mean, I even got to sit in with the man. Wow, what fun ! I am delighted to have helped and as I was looking for ways to improve my acoustic guitar playing. I am very grateful for all the material Toby gave me and I am enjoying immensely having a go at it.<br><a contents="http://www.littletobywalker.com/2007-martin-dx1.html" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.littletobywalker.com/2007-martin-dx-1.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:#00FFFF;"><font face="Verdana" size="1"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><u>http://www.littletobywalker.com/2007-martin-dx1.html</u></span></font></span></a><br><br> <p> </p>Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/33869572014-12-11T15:48:46+01:002017-05-12T22:38:54+02:00My home or a special place i miss a great deal For a very long time, I have loved Japan. It comes from when I was about 6 or 7. I can remember sitting at my dad's knee, hearing stories about his life in Japan. I can remember being a bit older, perhaps 8, and learning sentences in Japanese from him. Then I can recall, about the same time, seeing a movie about 2 young boys hitchhiking across Japan. And after seeing a documentary about Mount Fugi, I was hooked. There is no other word for it.<br><br>Most of my teenage years were spent learning martial arts, usually Japanese ones. My interest was there. I visited Japan briefly twice when I was about 20. I only went to Tokyo and Osaka. They were both big cities. And yes, Tokyo is a special place for sure. 26 million people (I believe that to be a correct figure). Women walking safely on the streets at night, low crime, that can't be bad, can it ? For many years I had a longing to go back. And I was not ever really sure why.<br><br>Well, the years passed by. I married a girl from Tochigi. 2 of my children are half Japanese. My father has since passed away and I discovered, in the Hiroshima region, I had a half Japanese sister. By then, I had a connection with Japan that will never ever go away. Several years ago now, I flew with my wife and daughters to Tokyo and travelled to the region where my wife comes from. And I met some of the most wonderful people I had ever met in my life. Polite, well mannered, respectful, and humble. Travelling to places just as Nikko, have affected me in a very moving way<br><span style="color:#40E0D0;"><font face="Verdana" size="1"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><u>en.japantravel.com/prefecture/tochigi</u></span></font></span><p>After this time in Tochigi, I realized I had found home for the first time in my adult life. Yes, that's home, Tochigi. I remember that trip well. I remember the deep sadness every time I leave Japan. And the vision of Mount Fugi is with me always.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"> </p>Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/33869292014-12-11T15:32:39+01:002017-05-12T22:41:10+02:00Life lessons - Die a beat us.. My StoryThat might sound like an odd title to you. I am of course talking about Diabetes Type 2. I am using the word 'Die' because it can kill you, the word 'beat' because it can really affect you quite badly. And 'us', I guess, because many are beaten by it and they don't really know they have it.<br><br>I am not sure when mine started. I know I went through a period of sudden weight gain when I quit smoking in 2002, 2003. I know I used a lot of sugar products to replace cigarettes. I mean, follow my logic people. I would rather put on some weight than have lung cancer, wouldn't you ? Think about it. Personally, I think I was sick for quite some time.<br><br>Some years ago, I was hired to do a gig with a band. And it didn't work so well. I have never had this experience in more than 20 years of gigging before this. I can remember feeling spaced out, not knowing really what I was doing, and just gettng through the gig. I donated my fee for charity that time, because I didn't know what was wrong with me. Anyway, on September 19th, 2014, I finally accepted I have a problem. And that is, that I am a type 2 Diabetic. And accepting treatment has really given a new lease on life. My youngest child is still very small and I need to be fit for her. So, if you start experiencing a dry mouth, extreme tiredness, dizziness, get to your doctor and have it checked. It is not worth the suffering of ignoring it. Life got better and healthier when I stopped ignoring it. Don't make the mistake I did people, visit your doctor.<br> Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/32245622014-10-09T11:47:48+02:002017-05-12T22:44:39+02:00My adventures on the road - Neuss, Germany 1987<br>I remember the next morning clearly. It was a Sunday, about 9AM. My wonderful hosts had given me breakfast and bid me good luck on my journey. I can remember to this day, walking down a country lane, near Neuss, en route to the autobahn, and the next chapter to my adventure. After walking a few miles, with all the possessions in the world in my back pack, and my guitar, I stopped a hippie looking gentleman and asked “where can I hitch south man ?”. He said “jump in, dude”.<br>Got a short ride to Bonn, a man named Marcus, who was about 35, stopped and offered me a lift. He was a silent type of guy, going to Stuttgart. Quite a distance south. Some hours later, after a stop for a hamburger and a coke, we arrived at the Rastatte at Stuttgart.<br><br>I was hitching for a while, at Stuttgart, I didn’t even know where the next stop was i.e. where I was going next, I remember it was about 3 or 4PM. And, all of a sudden, a Porsche pulled up. A bearded officer of Germany’s GSG 9 unit, who introduced himself as Fritz, said “Jump in”.<br><br>Fritz was the real deal. I watched him, not saying a word, go out on the autobahn towards Münich. The rhythm as he changed gears and race changed expertly. We were doing about, oh, hmm, 200 km’s an hour at least. Quite frankly, I nearly shit myself. We were moving like the original bat out of hell. Fritz told me his full name and I figured out who he was. At one stage he was the officer in charge of antiterrorism in South Germany. Well, we were flying. An hour and a half later, we reached Münich in one piece.<br><br>He parked the Porsche in Schwabing. For those of you who don’t know Münich, that’s an area a few kilometers to the north of the city centre. We adjourned to a restaurant where he said, come on , I’ll buy you a beer and dinner. After At least four or five bottles of of German beer, and a good meal, Fritz asks me “are you gay ?”. I reply “No, I am fucking not”.<br><br>He said “good”. “Cause you can stay in the spare bed in my hotel room tonight”. “I hate faggots”. Having a good night sleep yet again, I set out for the city centre of Münich the following morning. Two hours busking gave me 30 or 40 Marks. I asked some hippies who seemed to be everywhere in South Germany in those years “where do I hitchhike to Vienna from ?”.<br><br>They directed me to Innsbrucker ring, a tube stop on the U1 as you leave Münich. At about 5PM that evening, I decided to travel to Austria. I think I thought about it for 5 minutes. I had money, 1 or 2 days food, a guitar, and didn’t give a shit. I got off at Innsbrucker ring and saw a lady who I think was Turkish, who’s car had overheated. I stopped to help, only because I don’t like the thought of a woman stranded, got her car going again with enough fluid and a water pipe bound up. As I walked away, she stopped me and put 20 DM in my hand. I thanked her and soon enough got a lift across to Kulstien, a pretty little village in the Austrian Alps. We were stopped and searched at the border.Al Johnsontag:www.aljohnson-aljohns.com,2005:Post/32245512014-10-09T11:43:01+02:002017-05-12T22:50:55+02:00My adventures on the road - London 1987<br>I can still see that day clearly, it was morning time. I think from memory about 9AM. I had been living in London for a while and I had many ambitions, hopes for the future. In those days I lived in Queensgate nr 197, in South Kensington. Right around the corner from the Royal Albert Hall. I lived in this cool hostel. Well, I had a bed, in a shared room, I had a shower, loo. I had breakfast thrown in which kind of got me started for the day.<br><br>It was sun shining, a bright blue sky and all of London came alive. It was June, coming up to my birthday. I walked out of Queensgate, I turned right, walked up to the Royal Albert Hall, I crossed the street in front of the Royal Albert Hall, into Kensington Gardens, and started to walk, diagonally, across Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, towards Marble Arch.<br><br>I remember getting to Marble Arch and checking out who was busking around there, that was cool. And I walked down Oxford Street, flirting with numerous pretty young ladies, en route. I got to Bond Street and suddenly reality hit. I had this part time job to help pay my rent, cleaning toilets. My hours were 10 AM to 1 PM. I remember my Welsh supervisor. “You’re late Johnson, if you don’t watch it, you are out of here”. Having had such a good morning, you know, London, warm sunshine, pretty girls, I replied to the effect of “Fuck you, you Welsh cunt”, took my wages for the day out of the till and left.<br><br>So, I walked up Bond Street, back down Oxford Street, across to Marble Arch, and sat down in Hyde Park on a lovely bench, and ate my sandwiches… An hour later I went back to my room in South Kensington, retrieved my Fender acoustic guitar and went busking at Marble Arch. Well, I think I made 15 quid. Considering my rent was 8 pounds a day plus breakfast, I was happy.<br><br>I don’t know what happened that day but in a fit of madness, I said to the manager of the hostel that I would be back in a month or 2. She said “OK, I’ll see you then”. It was 1 o’clock in the afternoon by this time. I walked around to Victoria Coach Station. From memory I had about 50 pounds to my name. I learned that the bus to Brussels was full and purchased a ticket to Amsterdam, leaving that night, at 11 o’clock. I walked back to South Kensington, picked up my old green duffel bag and I walked across to nr 22, Craven Terrace, in Paddington.<br><br>Having got somebody to look after my bag in storage, I got my acoustic guitar, a tooth brush, some soap, a razor, a towel, a spare change of clothing and a big warm flying jacket, and I walked back and jumped on my bus to Amsterdam. I still remember the bus driver’s name was Paul. He had fair hair, he was very Dutch looking. I remember sitting on the bus, looking out the window, watching London go by, Elephant & Castle, New Cross, Catford, then further the bus went through Canterbury that night, down to Dover.<br><br>I remember after we landed in Ostend, as the bus proceeded to drive to Amsterdam, putting my small rugzak on my lap, and getting my head down, knowing I had to sleep. I vaguely remember opening my eyes; “Breda, Utrecht, Amsterdam”. So I was here, in Amsterdam. It took a bit of getting used to. 24 hours earlier, there I was, in London, with a part time job and playing street music. 24 hours later I am in a strange country, not knowing a word of the language, and literally thinking “Oh shit, what am I going to do now”.<br><br>Well this is how the day in Amsterdam began. A French Canadian guy, who spoke a little Dutch, bought me and another guy a cup of coffee. I remember him saying “Bedankt”, as the coffees came, and me asking him, does that mean “Thank you” ? After we drank a coffee, we made our way to a nearby hostel, where we shared a room. I can recall being tired. Well, my new landlord was American, a polite well-spoken Midwesterner. I asked him “Where can you play street music around here” ? He pointed me in the right direction and I set out to make 20 gulden that day. I achieved the goal.<br><br>I had been playing guitar for years and knew enough songs to play, so I played them. Didn’t know what the hell else to do. Well, after a quick trip to the local supermarket, got talking to this Canadian guy. He said “Have you ever hitchhiked” ? I said “No”. I said “How exactly do you do it” ? He told me “Just go out to a liftplaats and you’ll see other people holding up signs”. I took a deep breath and on the spur of a moment said “Why not, I’ll give it a go”.<br><br>Well, got on the tram in Amsterdam and I can still recall knowing that Germany was to the east but that’s about all. His name was Rolf, he was a hippie. He was Dutch and he had a blue van, strong American accented English. This voice said “Hop in man ! Where do you want to go man.” ? I said “Towards Germany”. He said “Cool man …Do you want to smoke some shit.” ? I said “No man”.<br><br>Well, we Drove about 90 km/hour to somewhere in the middle of Holland. I forgot where long ago .( haha)<br>I suddenly started to enjoy hitchhiking. It was freedom. It was a freedom that I didn’t know existed. Of course, as a young teenager, there was all sorts of stories about the hippie trail and this freedom, it infected me. Well, I remember coming back to reality, being somewhere in the middle of Holland, thinking, “So, what now.” ?<br><br>Well, I had 20 gulden in my pocket, it was 4 o’clock on a June afternoon. I had bread, cheese, fluids, and the warmth of a nice set of pine trees a kilometer away looked very nice. So, walking along the road, a car suddenly stopped. A voice said in German “Guten Tag. Sind Sie eine trempe.” ? “Ja”. He said “Would you like a lift to Germany.” ? Two hours later, we found ourselves in the beautiful little village of Rekken.<br><br>I learned that this man was a friendly pastor of a small Church in this general area. Not wanting to overstay my welcome, he drove me the 37 km to Essen. Giving me his card and phone number, he made me promise to call him. “If you ever need any help in Germany, please call me”. My next lift was to Cologne, in Germany. Then to Bonn. It was late at this time, about 9.30 at night and I was a little bit lost.<br><br>Walking through a small but prosperous looking village, there was a man and a woman and 3 teenage girls, talking to someone else. I asked them directions. They said to me “What is it you really need.” ? I said “Somewhere to sleep”. Don’t know why I was so direct but I just said it. They asked me for identification. I can remember showing them my passport. Two minutes later, the tall distinguished looking man that I asked for directions, introduced himself to me as a judge with one of the Courts in Germany. 3 minutes later, I found myself invited for dinner and to spend the night in a spare room.Al Johnson