Daily Archives: July 1, 2013
Almost Nick . . .
In 2007, after Jan and I had decided to start full-time RV’ing, I got to thinking that since we had never RV’d before, maybe it would be a good idea if we gave it a try first. So we rented a CruiseAmerica 28ft Class C and spent three weeks wandering around the southwest. We obviously liked it because we’re now into our 6th year on the road.
One afternoon we were parked in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Del Rio, TX picking up some things before we headed on to the Seminole Canyon State Park. Parked near us was a big, older looking bus with “Almost Willie” painted the full length of the bus. Suddenly from around the other side came Willie Nelson. Or at least it sure looked like Willie.
People started coming over and getting their pictures taken with him and he drew quite a crowd.
As it turned out, Almost Willie is a well-known Willie Nelson impersonator who is so good he’s often hired by Willie Nelson himself. And he’s been known to sign autographs at Willie’s concerts. And he is a popular entertainer at the many RV parks in the Texas Valley.
So in the spirit of Almost Willie, today I took on a new identity.
While Nick and Terry were off presenting his seminar “Highway History & Back Road Mystery”, and Jan was at a Quilting class, I manned the Gypsy Journal booth, selling Gypsy Journal subscriptions, Big Lake books, travel books, and CD’s. And since I didn’t want visitors to be disappointed at not getting to meet the famous Nick Russell, I decided to become my alter-ego, “Almost Nick”.
Wearing Nick’s Panama hat and turning around my ID badge, I figured no one would notice that I was actually taller and better looking since I was sitting down. And I spent the next hour greeting people, selling merchandise, and having a great time.
Most people knew Nick and knew me and were not surprised to see me there, though several said they had to look twice to be sure since I was wearing his hat. But it was pretty easy to tell that a number of visitors assumed I was Nick and told me how much they enjoyed ‘my’ books and writings.
I did have someone ask if I was Nick’s brother. I told them, “No, it’s more of a Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde situation.
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Thought for the Day:
Scientific belief does not constitute scientific evidence, nor does it convey scientific knowledge.
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