Before, during and after the American Legion gig, there were many dances, 'bull roasts', weddings and other affairs to keep us busy. Still, in spite of many requests for more 'current' material, we persisted in our same-old repertoire, rationalizing, being lazy, but having fun, doggedly tightening-up our musical simpatico until the question of marriage was broached.
No, I don't mean a revolutionary, four-way, gay partnership of some kind among the band members. I mean my fiance, and now wife of many, many wonderful years, were planning our wedding. The date was to be October 6, 1979. It was sometime in the spring of '79 and I gave some serious thought to how to approach a musical life combined with married life. Options were to continue in the same vein with the group, make a little spending money, and leave my new wife home alone many weekend nights, or pursue a new band opportunity that may be more challenging, more lucrative or more aesthetically satisfying- but that would still leave the other partner in my new marriage to fend for herself as much, if not more, as staying with the original band would. Fact is, for all my love of music, I enjoyed spending personal time with this person to whom I was committing the rest of my life. I enjoyed it, and still do, so much, that the choice was not terribly difficult, I can honestly say. So I announced my decision to my band-mates well in advance, set a 'last' date target, and after a particularly satisfying Saturday night performance at the legion hall, we said goodbye. There was no animosity, no bad feelings. There was simply honesty. We had a fine time socializing during breaks, as usual, and after it ended, I quit my 'professional' career.
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