Chapter by Chapter features me reading one chapter of the selected book at the time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.
We’re almost out of states and out of pages. We’re finishing the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest before going to Alaska in this chapter.
The last chapter showed the stress getting to both of them. They aren’t getting the best sleep a lot of the time plus all the time on the road is clearly taking it out of them. They might succeed but you have to wonder what the cost will be? At least they were relying on each other the whole time, which is good for a couple as well as a performance duo.
We’re on chapter 9 of 11. This is shorter than the last chapter at only 39 pages, but that’s still pretty long even by graphic novel chapter numbers. I’m still wondering how they decided to break up the story, but I’ve been wondering that about chapters for a while now. At any rate we’re starting in Wyoming, and Mother Nature has decided to pile on their problems. Let’s check in with Pocket Vinyl.
Yep, they hit snow, but they still make it to the show. What follows are one-page segments of their trip. They deal with more snow, amazing vistas (and maybe one they didn’t want to see in Nevada, a fence covered with bull skulls for some reason–I mean, God designed a cool looking skull but if her art is accurate that was quite a lot for one fence, a minor fender bender (poor Mr. Periwinkle), a friend cancelling due to illness but getting them a hotel with a hot tub, and one place closing their music area after their performance (not because of them, it was already planned) and the owner buying the painting as a memorial. Another place actually put up one of Elizabeth’s paintings from a previous performance. They are used to touring around the country, just not this much. Between sleeping issues and Eric forgetting his aunt’s name, it’s still coming down hard on them.
In Washington state the story comes together again. That’s because it’s the final show of the lower 48. The friends they’ll be staying with will take care of their car and equipment while they do the last two states. I assume that doesn’t include his piano and her art supplies because they kind of need those. The venue might be able to offer a microphone and speakers but the art supplies might be a bit more difficult. Then again I’ve never been to Alaska. Maybe they have a Michaels up there. There’s more support from the audience and they actually get a decent night’s sleep before their flight.
Unfortunately, Eric goofed on this one. Instead of booking an 8AM flight to Alaska he booked 8PM. That’s going to put them off schedule and the tickets cost $800. He’s so upset at his mistake he can’t even do the fourth wall break on how to handle. In the past we’ve seen Eric be Elizabeth’s rock as she was dealing with the stress, and now it’s her turn. According to the book (I have to say that stuff as a reviewer, like “alleged suspect”) she comes through and at the airport they speak to a ticket person (I don’t fly so I don’t know their official name) who not only gets transferred to the 8AM flight but pushed up to business class. The reason he and the manager are so willing to help them is that they’re clearly in a bind but really nice about it, taking blame for their own mistake. We see other people in line who are very not happy about it because they’re in a hurry, so this just shows that if you’re patient and kind you get a good reward. He even helps them past security because they’re in a hurry. You’re a good man, Greg.
Things just kept working out for them. Someone in the seat next to them offered to give them a ride rather than worrying about a rental car, the guy at the music rental place is performing in the same spot so offered to bring the rented keyboard with them, the bar manager let them stow their backpacks so they could take a much needed relaxing tour of Anchorage…they clearly needed all this. I don’t know if they’re believers but God is good. Or maybe it’s karma. Or maybe they’re exaggerating. I wasn’t there.
The show goes well, Eric’s cousins in Alaska get them to the airport, they catch a connecting flight in Oregon, and then it’s off to Hawaii. Elizabeth’s art actually fails a bit for once as she doesn’t really do the sight of Hawaii from the plane justice…but it’s Hawaii. That’s hard to do in this art style. She’s done so well the rest of the time, though.
So we have one more state and two more chapters. The next one is 14 pages, so closer to the rest of the book. It’s only one state, so how much do they have to tell? We’ll find out next time.
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