I recently took an amazing writing workshop with Pamela Des Barres. Miss Pamela is one of the most famous rock and roll groupies who has chronicled her adventures in four novels. She now travels around the country teaching writing workshops to her dolls. I have wanted to check out the workshop for four years since first learning about it and I finally got the opportunity when the workshop came within three hours of my house in Fairmont, Indiana at the James Dean Gallery.
During the workshop participants have 12 minutes to write a story on various topics and then share the writing out loud in front of the group. It’s amazing how much you can write in 12-minute increments. The first assignment of the evening was to write a story that ended with …and then I needed a nap.
My story reflected on my weekend at Ohana Festival in California below:
I flew across the country and I fought LA rush hour traffic to be near the music. As I walked along the beach watching the surfers catch the waves I thought about how nice it would be to just stop and take a break and listen to the ocean for a few minutes but I had to continue on because the music was calling me.
I spent the day anxiously waiting to see two of my all-time favorite artists, Johnny Marr and Eddie Vedder. I almost cried when they took the stage together in the middle of the afternoon.
I could barely stand up by 8 PM as jetlag set in after being in the California sunshine all day long but I made myself stay until the night’s end because I needed to hear Eddie sing just a little bit longer. Tears welled up in my eyes as I sang along to “Better Man” surrounded by people who loved him as much as I do.
When a Tom Petty tribute of “Wildflowers” sang I had my perfect moment under the stars and the palm trees to the finish the perfect day. The music always wins and I will travel anywhere anytime to hear those familiar songs.
As waves crashed on my walk home I was so happy I made the choice to show up for the music even though I was in desperate need of a nap.