Things get tough, and things get beautiful

I've been dealing with some wild allergies and a cold this week, and I've been pretty knocked out. All the while I've had this sinking feeling like I'm falling behind on booking my February tour down to the Folk Alliance International conference in MO, and then on to Nashville. The catch of trying to be a full time musician is that you have to make all of your money from gigs, which can be quite a challenge. So, I wasn't feeling so great- feeling pretty incapable- walking into the pharmacy to pick up some prednisone, which I haven't had the guts to take yet. I walked up to the counter, and said I was there to pick up a prescription. The pharmacist  looked at me, smiled, and said: "Let me check, Paul."
"Huh?" (How does he know my name?)
"I was at your show over the weekend. Fantastic playing. I love your CD. Do you have another one?" 
"Yeah. Definitely." 

I walked out of there feeling pretty different that I had walking in. Bob Marley's lyric "Every man thinks that his burden is the heaviest" flashed through my brain. I felt lucky to be doing what I am. I drove out to a  house show in Cedar Falls which turned out to be just wonderful. So I'm still a little sick, trying to take good care of myself and feeling lucky to get to play The Washington in Burlington, IA tomorrow night. Saturday I'm at the Trumpet Blossom Cafe in Iowa City.

Things get tough, and things get beautiful. It feels pretty nice to step into the sunshine on a cloudy day.