While On Tour With My Band

[Ali Marie]

I will admit this self-observation is a few weeks old. I was in a car accident while on tour with my band & was not in the proper headspace to recount this experience with the excitement that it deserves; because I sneezed in front of my bandmates for the first time. This is a huge milestone for me! Losing the mental block in front of certain people represent a significant sense of comfort & trust with me. But before I give myself too much credit...These sneezes were caused by an allergy to the pollen in the state that we had traveled to.

I'd been sneezing during the whole 9 hour drive there the day prior, while getting my replacement car from the rental, & in my hotel that following morning. So was I bracing myself for the possibility that I may sneeze in from of my bandmates for the first time that night. The venue we were playing in wasn't the fanciest (Or the cleanest) so that only aggravated my allergies & made my cough a lot. Thankfully, this all took place after we played our set, so I didn't have to worry about it messing up my singing voice.

But here's the good stuff:

While the Bassist & Drummer were loading up our gear, my best friend, Rock God was hanging outside with me. He was leaning behind my wheelchair like the always does & chatting with our Guitarist. I felt a sneeze coming & knew that I wouldn't be able to hold it in. So I grabbing the tissue that I'd been rubbing my nose with all night, covering my nose & mouth.

"AH-EHSSHHIIEEWW!!!"

Rock God immediately paused his conversation to & turned toward me to casually say "Bless you." I thanked him, my heart skipping a beat & muttered, "I'm so allergic to something out here.".

"You're allergic to people who can't drive." Rock God joked, referencing my car accident from the day before. "Probably," I chuckled.

Fast forward another few minutes as I'm loading my equipment into the truck of my new rental car & I sneezed again--Identical to the prior.

"AH-EHSSIIEEWW!!!"

Rock God gave me another casual but polite "Bless You" & went off to collect his personal gear. I was left in the company of our Guitarist. For some reason, he was laying down inside the travel bin where the drum kits get stored, but had the lid off. He was asking me how learning the harp was going & if I liked Harpo Marx at all. I was able to answer but felt a sneezing building again. I pressed the tissue to my nose & turned slightly to the side.

"HEH'IIIITTTSSSHHH!!!"

What was great about this was the fact that he was still chilling inside the box on the ground, so I was able to make eye contact with him. "Bless you!" He said with mild concern. "I wish I could give you Benadryl but it back at my hotel & you probably don't wanna come with me. You've had a long weekend, you should rest. And put your coat on before you catch your death." I did as I was instructed. Mr. Rock God returned soon & prepared to help me into the rental.

My nose was still tickling as I stood up from my wheelchair; so I tightened my grip on the door & fumbled to retrieve the Kleenex from the waistband of my skirt to cover my mouth again.

"HIH'IIISSSHHHEEEEWW!!!"

I bent over slightly but didn't really have time to turn away from Rock God. At lest my mouth & nose were covered.

"BLESS YOU SWEETNESS!" He exclaimed enthusiastically, with a smile. My heart was beating faster, but I collected myself enough to polite thank him. It was that tacked on pet name, Sweetness that killed me. I love when a term of endearment or someone's name is tacked onto the end of a blessing.

We said our goodbye's & Rock God told me to drive save.

The car accident pretty much ruined my side of the trip...But this occurrence was a definitely a silver lining.  

[Reader]

Oh my goodness!! This was just absolutely wonderful to read! 

Both of the guys were darling, but I have to pick the guitarist as my favorite and knock the other one’s name down to just Rock Idol after bringing up your accident too soon. He redeemed himself with calling you sweetness while blessing you though!! So sweet!!! 

I’m so sorry about your accident btw! Especially with a car rental. Yikes! Hope you’ve gotten all that sorted out. And I’m glad that it sounds like you came out of the accident injury-free. 

[poiub]

Bless you, and hope you have a quick recovery!