One tear falls slowly... It's been a blast Australia!! A month in your country doesn't seem like enough. But all good things must come to an end at some point and our BS&T visa has run out so they are making us leave the country now. But not without closing it out right on our final night with a packed house at LIZOTTE'S.
We were on a tight stage but that didn't stop us from rocking out the folks in NEWCASTLE, AU and closing this tour out with a bang. We loved every minute of our tour and it was bitter sweet hitting those last notes of the show. I have already heard talk of venues wanting us back and you know that won't hurt my feelings a bit to have to cross the pond again for a visit to jam. Just give the word and we are there!!
What a run it was... Never the less we had to leave one paradise and head off to the next. HAWAII!! I have never been but I hear it's beautiful, lets get on another plane and fly 10hrs to see what the buzz is all about.
UP!!!!! FLY!!!! FLY MORE!!!! EAT A MEAL, FLY JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE!!!!!! ALMOST THERE!!!!!!!!!!
AHHH....Touchdown in Hawaii town, Honolulu to be exact. This is going to be a nice few days off to relax and recoup from burning the candle from the middle to each end since we left for Jakarta and then Australia. Well deserved and much needed for all of us I promise.
As we were coming in for a landing into Honolulu there was a submarine escort in the harbor waiting to bring us in for a landing and I was able to snap a quick shot off before we hit the tarmac. Really, You Shouldn't Have (LOL) This is going to be a great trip!! I rested the 1st day, sat on the beach with my buddy Dustin and his wife Beth the second day and also made time to pick up some souvenirs for the family before we start our Press & Shows on Thursday at The Blue Note four nights in a row.
Then I made the trip that I have wanted to make since I was a young boy and my Paw Bice would tell me the stories of his time in the service and about the attack at Pearl Harbor or "Hell In Paradise". He was there when this attacked happened and was one of only a few out of his battalion who made it through it alive. I always wanted to go to the place that held so many painful memories and left so many scars (some visible, other that weren't) in this man that I have always been proud to call my Paw Bice. I wanted to visit this paradise to show him that people never forgot about the sacrifices that had been made on that Dec day in 1941. I wanted to bring back pictures and a gift to give him so he could see that people don't just visit Pearl Harbor for the Sun, Fun & Food in Hawaii. They visit to remember the ones we lost and the ones who survived. Warriors like him.
So I got you this Paw... I'll put it in the case that holds the flag that draped your casket with the 3 shell I have from the 21 gun salute you earned from your sacrifice in service and in the life you provided for all of us. Even though the pain he carried with him throughout his life was terrible he never let it change him. Through the haunting memories and physical disabilities like hearing loss, frostbitten feet from Korea, pain and ailments from wars and battles that he fought just to make it home to his wife and family, he was alway a good man and never let his past destroy his future and he taught us kids/grandkids to choose the right path in life and that's not always the easy path. "Sometimes you need a walkin' stick for the cut trail. Sometimes you need a machete to cut your own way through to your destination." But giving up was never an option...NEVER.
Now he rests... I cannot believe that it's been over a year since he left us but I think and often speak of him on a daily basis. The greatest grace God ever place in my life (besides my wife & kids) was allowing me to spend the last seconds of his life whispering in his ear how much we love him and letting him know that it was O.K to move on. I won't say what I told him during those last minutes, that's for he and I. I'll just say that I know he was ready to go home to be with my Maw Bice and his other loved ones who were waiting on him to arrive.
My favorite saying of his was "There's 3 kinds of people in this world. The ones who WATCH THINGS HAPPEN, the ones who MAKE THINGS HAPPEN, the ones who WONDER WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!! Which one will you chose to be??"
Rest up ole buddy, I've got your watch covered and I promise not to fall asleep while I'm on duty at my post. I can't wait till we meet again Harold E. Bice, but Heaven ain't ready for the 2 of us yet, they're still getting accustom to you up there ordering everybody around. So when I do get there please be waiting at the gate, ST. Pete might not let me in otherwise... I don't have your security clearance. Aloha from "Hell In Paradise"
I LOVE & MISS YOU PAW
BOGART