Well, it's that time again. Time to stalk—I mean see—the Rolling Stones!
But first I had to persuade my BFF Sheila to accompany me on the adventure. If you have read my previous posts then you know I have not always succeeded in convincing Sheila to drop everything to take a roadtrip. The last time I was able to persuade her was when we chased the Stones in Philadelphia & Washington, DC in 2013. She would have turned me down then as well, but I sweetened the deal by promising to take her to tons of historic sites in conjunction with Stones Stalking. Sheila LOVES history so that scheme worked well.
However, Sheila turned down my request to stalk the Stones in Cuba in 2016. (I think she feared we'd wind up in a Cuban jail—which, considering our previous Stone-stalking history, was a fair point.)
She refused me again when I begged her to follow the Stones in the UK in 2018. Even after I staged an online intervention. (Click here to see the ways in which I tempted my BFF to cross the pond with me.)
As it turned out, the Stones stayed right across the street from the apartment I had rented (then canceled because Sheila said "No!") in Edinburgh. They actually came out onto the street and met their Fans!
I'm still not over it.
This year I decided to take a more "American" approach since my international efforts had failed in the past. I pulled a Louise (Louise as in Thelma and Louise) and pressured my BFF to take a girlfriend's roadtrip through Texas (ironically the one state that Louise refused to drive through) to catch the Stones in Houston for their opening concert for the Hackney Diamonds Tour.
I'm definitely the Louise in our relationship.
And by pressured I mean that I convinced Sheila to Thelma-and-Louise it across Texas by appealing to her Inner Fixer Upper/Shopper. I planned stops along the way in cool places like:
The Magnolia Market in Waco . . .
. . . and The Junk Gypsy Flagship Store in Round Top.
I also tossed in some Houston sightseeing like The Menil Museum where Mick and Ronnie roamed during a previous time in Houston. Hopefully Mick & Ronnie will revisit and we'll bump into them.
Fingers crossed.
Ronnie Wood with Gallery Attendant Supervisor Mirzama Sisic in the Menil collection's Arts of Africa galleries.
Mick Jagger with Arpas Cardinales (1948-1957) by Wifredo Lam in the Menil Collection's Surrealism galleries.
Both Images: Menil Collection
Now just to seal the deal I invited Sheila's kids to come to Houston for the Stones concert as well. (Not sure they'd want to take (or survive) an entire roadtrip with us.) I knew Sheila wouldn't pass up on a night out with her offspring. We shall teach them our old-school rocking ways (see image below).
I'm currently putting together my playlist for our roadtrip which will consist of all the great tunes of our youth: Elton John, David Bowie, Aerosmith, Queen, the Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Eagles, the Doobie Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Kenny Loggins, Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks, Earth, Wind & Fire, and more.
And, of course, I'll include all our favorite songs by the Rolling Stones. There will be much head-banging during our T&L Roadtrip.
But there will be NO armed robbery, NO picking up shady Brad Pitt-lookalike hitchhikers, NO blowing up fuel tankers or shooting would-be rapists, though I'm sure that could be fun. (Okay maybe we should shoot something. It's Texas after all. But I do worry that one of us would shoot our own foot. Or each other.)
Whether gunfire is involved or not, there will definitely NO driving off cliffs. At least, not on purpose.
But even though none of those exciting, criminal-y items are on MY itinerary, I cannot speak for Sheila. She has a dark side. She has gotten us in trouble with authorities repeatedly! Mostly in high-falutin' art museums because she cannot resist TOUCHING the art. (She has a BFA in Art by the way.) (Maybe the Menil Museum is actually NOT a good idea.) Sadly, Sheila isn't exactly a criminal mastermind. She always gets caught. The Museum Docents of America Association probably has her on some kind of Watch List.
Once I return I'll share my Thelma and Louise Roadtrip Dispatch but until then I thought I'd leave you with this funny video of some alternate endings to the iconic Thelma and Louise movie.
Enjoy.
And by the way, I'm hoping for a happy ending to our roadtrip that includes taking a cute selfie—just like Louise and Thelma.
And hopefully it will include Keith & Mick!
Look out Texas . . . Here we come!
