I apologize that I haven’t written in a couple of days. We arrived home on Sunday afternoon to beautiful weather and a lot has happened in the last 24 hours. I’ll have to save some of it for tomorrow. THAT is the day of my big meeting with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Specialist. I came home to find a fax waiting for me detailing all the items I would be required to bring to the Tuesday morning meeting. I spent a good part of today trying to pull as many of those things together as possible but, generally speaking, most of them don’t apply to me or my situation.
I dropped in on my Senator this morning to bring him up to date on the “awaiting fax.” I also contacted my Congressman’s office. Both are sending representatives with me in the morning to attend the meeting. We’re hoping to get through the bureaucratic red tape and actually find a resolution to all of this. My Senator and Congressman contacted the Virginia office of the FMCSA and expressed their concern over how this situation is being handled. This afternoon, I received a phone call from the Special Agent in charge of my compliance review informing me that his supervisor had contacted him to let him know that the purpose of our meeting had been changed. The meeting in the morning is now going to be an “educational session” to find out exactly what I am, how I fit into the FMCSA regulations and what I need to do to be compliant. This is a major breakthrough so I’m hoping (praying) that it all goes well. I’ll keep you posted!
We ended the tour with TWO great shows in North Carolina. The first one was in Mount Airy, the town on which Mayberry USA is based (The Andy Griffith Show and all the characters). As a matter of fact, we performed in the Andy Griffith Playhouse to a great audience who bestowed upon us a standing ovation.
The next day, we were off to Morganton to do a benefit show for The Children’s School at the Community of Morganton Municipal Auditorium – WONDERFUL and BEAUTIFUL theatre! We had an exceptional day working with the crew here under the direction of Tony Bova. We set up in record time. The show was very well received by an enthusiastic audience who also honored us with a standing ovation. It was a great way to come off the road!
Just because we’re home doesn’t mean things slow down at all. This is going to be a big summer – lots of projects and illusions that we’ll be working on. And make sure you check out the BLOG here. In the coming days, we’ll be adding a new feature – a VLOG! I’m going to attempt to do a weekly video blog summarizing the experiences and events of the previous days. Since we’ll be off the road this summer, I’ll be keying in on some of the more exciting moments of the spring tour and keeping you updated on the progress of the new illusions and USA DVD.
Gotta run!