Wednesday, November 15th, 2023:
Where has the year gone?!
Traveled to Del Rio,Texas today which took as long as flying overseas!!!! Vertical Horizon and Vinnie Montez will be performing in Del Rio for the Border Patrol and First Responders, Fort Bliss, Texas and Fort Huachuca, Arizona. They will be bringing a much needed morale boost to an area that really needs to be shown some love — all compliments of the amazing Gary Sinise.
Day started out really great with 8 people traveling from 6 different cities to San Antonio, TX. Only one flight was delayed but only by a few minutes. The plan was to have everyone land at close to the same time and our tour bus pick us up for the 3 hour drive to Del Rio. And that is when things did not go well.
I had arranged for the tour bus to pick us up at 5:00 pm. When we arrived, I was unable to get the bus driver to answer his cell phone. I called his office and while I was talking to them, I received a text message from the driver saying he was going to be about an hour late! I have never worked with this bus company before and had a hard time finding a company that would rent us a bus for a 5 day tour. I was so embarrassed and told his boss that he should be here waiting on us instead of us waiting an hour for him.
I was going to take the guys to eat while we waited but because we had luggage and large guitar cases, we had to eat at the airport. Was shocked to learn that the San Antonio airport does not have ONE single restaurant until passengers go through Security to their gates! I flew into this airport for years in the 90’s and I swear it was more modern then than it is now.
Bus finally arrived exactly one hour late. We got everything loaded and then drove to a nearly “mall” area with a selection of several restaurants. We got food to go and everyone ate and then most everyone slept for about an hour.
We arrived at the hotel and there were a lot of Border Patrol Agents in the lobby. Guess this is where they stay while in town. We encouraged them all to come to the show tomorrow night. Had one more “hiccup”. The credit card was denied. We made the reservations so long ago, I guess the credit card used expired and a new one was issued. I was able to reach Hannah and she was thankfully still awake and sent the new information immediately.
We are staying at the La Quinta, which is the newest hotel in Del Rio. I have a HUGE room but only because they put me in a handicapped room with a roll-in shower. LOL.
Closing down as I have to get up in 5 hours. Going to be a GREAT day tomorrow entertaining some folks who so badly need to know we support and appreciate their efforts in keeping America secure. Thank you, Gary, for showing your support every day of the year!
Jude
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH, 2023 – PERFORMANCE FOR THE DEL RIO BORDER PATROL, FIRST RESPONDERS, AND MILITARY:
First of all, shame on me for “whining” about minor things like delays with transportation, food, and all the other petty things I put in the Road Report last night. All those are just “bumps in the road” and everyone who tours knows they happen on a regular basis. And compared to what the people we met today are going through, I have absolutely nothing to complain about and need to count my blessings!
I met Jose (who goes by Henry with his fellow workers!) at 9 am and we went to the venue. Jose is the person I have been coordinating everything with for this event. Great guy! All the back and side doors were locked so we went in the front door and walked into what we assumed was our “show room”. Turns out there were a lot of people in there in a meeting. A uniformed guard came storming over to us and told us we couldn’t be in the building with “bags”. I explained that we had a show there that night and that I had rented out the venue. He then said we would have to be escorted to the appropriate location. Keep in mind that Jose is in uniform. He took us into the showroom and the Production and Backline Company from San Antonio were already setting up. We met everyone and then the uniformed guard came back into the room. He said he just wanted to explain to us that there was a murder trial taking place in the room we had gone into first!!! Good Grief. I hope we didn’t cause a “mistrial”! Never knew murder trials could be held in Civic Centers….
We met all the guys with the Production company and then went to the Sector Headquarters to share Thanksgiving Lunch with all the officers there as well as lots from out of town. They had an amazing spread of some of the best food imaginable. I finally met Lionel who was my original contact. He had sent an email to the Gary Sinise Foundation telling them how badly they needed entertainment down here. The email found its way to me and the Foundation agreed to fund the additional show. So glad they did.
Chief Johnny Bernal welcomed everyone and thanked us profusely for coming. They also gave us these really cool goodie bags. As expected the food was delicious.
I’m so proud of all the members of Vertical Horizon and Vinnie. They worked the room like you would not believe. Everyone walked around and introduced themselves and shook hands. Then I had each one of them sit at a different table. The Chief and his wife actually sat with me and the conversation we had about what is happening on the border is burned into my memory. Besides the physical stress of their 10 hour shifts, these guys and girls working the border are going through unimaginable mental and emotional stress. I’m amazed that they handle it as well as they do. Several guys were there from the local military base and I swear they look like they are about 16 years old. The Chief went into detail about the challenges they face here every day. Two nights ago, they lost one of their agents in the line of duty on an ATV. Everyone was wearing black stripes across their badges. He asked if I was “sensitive” and I said “I hope so!”. He showed me a photo of three of his agents giving CPR to a young child. The child didn’t make it. He said to keep in mind that his agents have young children of their own and after losing a child it is incredibly hard on them mentally and emotionally when they go home. He said just the night before our arrival he was served with a court order from the Governor of Texas regarding cutting the wire on the border to allow illegals to come in. He explained what a hard decision that is for his guys. He said they never cut the wire unless it is a situation where someone is tangled in it and could be severely injured or even die. Politics are always involved in everything and makes it hard for our law enforcement and military to do their jobs without fear of repercussions. We made sure everyone in the room knew Gary Sinise knows what they face on a daily basis and they will always have his support.
After lunch, the tech and tour manager went to the venue with me then Lionel took me to the Wal-Mart to pick up catering for the Green Room. Vinnie also went with us and they were a tremendous help with my shopping.
We had an unusually challenging day with the sound for tonight’s show. I’m still not sure where the issues were but our sound check was supposed to start at 2:30 pm with the full band and end at 4:00 pm. To add a little more stress, AFE had me hire a video crew to film 3 songs at sound check and have Vertical Horizon do a shout out to all the bases and ships in Southwest Asia. They were supposed to perform in Kuwait, Bahrain, Djibouti and the UAE on December 1-15. But CENTCOM has cancelled all tours until the end of March (As of now. Could be longer!). Vertical Horizon was going to be the entertainment for many of the base’s Christmas tree lightings. Because no one other than authorized military personnel are being allowed on the bases, they can’t even replace Vertical Horizon with local entertainment! So, this virtual will be played as a morale booster for the bases and ships in that region.
We were finally able to start sound check a few minutes before 5 pm. We got the 3 songs filmed and then Vinnie had to do a mic check. Because the guys are such pros, we only had to delay the beginning of the show about 10 minutes. I had catered food from a local company that no one had ever heard of. I found them on the internet and they had a 5 Star Rating. It turned out to be really good food! If you’re ever in Del Rio, check out Martinez Family Catering. Tamales were to die for!
The Chief welcomed everyone and thanked us again and then as we do with every show, we opened with a short Gary Sinise Foundation info video. That is followed by a very personal message from Gary to the attendees. Then Vinnie hit the stage and had everyone laughing like crazy for a full hour. He did add some “resilience” material because the Border Patrol had asked for that. Vertical Horizon performed for an hour and had everyone in the audience singing along. The guys took photos with everyone in line after the performance.
I don’t have the official attendance count yet but will know that tomorrow. I did see the really young military guys come in and they had a blast. I do know that anyone who didn’t attend the performances tonight really missed out on an amazing experience both on and off stage.
We were back at the hotel by 10 pm and loaded onto the bus for a midnight departure. It’s 1 am now and everyone but me is in their bunk and probably asleep. Supposed to take us 6 ½ hours to drive there and we gain an hour. I’m think it’s going to be around 7:00 when we arrive but the bus driver says it will be 6 am.
Sad to say goodbye to all our new friends in Del Rio but grateful for what was truly a life-changing experience. I really hope we can do more shows for the Border Patrols in the future. It’s an especially “needy” time for these amazing defenders. The guys we met in the lobby late last night had a group of 600 people cross the river at one time when they started their shift after we met them. As civilians we have no idea what these men and women are sacrificing for us.
And as Gary asked me to tell the guys, while the tour is funded by the Gary Sinise Foundation, those funds come from hundreds of thousands of donors – the American people who want the foundation to pass on their own message of gratitude to our men and women in uniform for all they do to protect and defend. He reminded us there is a grateful nation out there backing up Matt and Vinnie and GSF so that we can share that message with those we serve.
So one final thought….as you begin deciding where you’ll make your end of the year donations, there’s no better place in the entire world than the Gary Sinise Foundation if you want to be sure your contribution goes to those who really need our support.
We just lost WiFi and Cell signal so I’ll have to post this after we arrive at Fort Bliss! I was so busy with the Production challenges that I only took a few photos. I’ll be receiving some more from the Border Patrol and will post those when I do. And I PROMISE to do better today.
Jude
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH, 2024 – PERFORMANCE AT FORT BLISS, TX:
We arrived Fort Bliss at 6 am! The drive overnight was much smoother than we anticipated. The guys in Del Rio told us there would be deer everywhere and lots of hills. If there were either of those, I slept through any encounters.
Lora was waiting for us at the hotel and I got everyone checked in quickly. There was a really nice complimentary breakfast available. The guys went back to bed but Mike, Jeff and I walked over to look at the venue. But there was nothing set up yet so we just checked out the venue.
I was thrilled to have time for a shower before going to the EOD Unit. The guys there had lots of “boy toys” set up for us. A couple of guys controlled the robots and I talked Ron into getting into the bomb suit. He even lay on the floor and was able to stand back up with no assistance! We took photos with everyone and then went back to the hotel. Lora and Eddie had arranged for pinwheel sandwiches to be made and everyone took those to their room for lunch.
I walked over to the venue at around 1 pm and everything was running smoothly. The drummer came over at 2:00 pm and the rest of the guys did their sound check at 2:30 pm. We had an amazing dinner in the green room – fried chicken, the best turnip greens I’ve ever eaten, macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob, cornbread and a tray filled with various kinds of cookies. We were each presented with a cool “goodie” bag from MWR.
We were able to start the show on time and again, it was a great audience. Vinnie had them laughing from the first joke. The base had asked for 45 minute sets tonight instead of 60 minutes but both Vinnie and Vertical Horizon did a little more than that – because the attendees wanted it. Almost the entire audience was standing, dancing and singing along with every song when Vertical Horizon performed. It was such a wonderful show.
The guys took photos with everyone in the Meet and Greet line and we were back at the hotel by 9:30 pm. Bus call is midnight and it’s only a 4 ½ hour drive to Fort Huachuca. The Production Company isn’t arriving until 10:00 am. Since there’s nothing we can do at the venue until they get everything set up, Jeff and I aren’t going over until 11:30 pm.
Another wonderful day saying “thank you” to our heroes. I took more photos today but still haven’t received the ones from Del Rio Border Patrol.
Jude
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH, 2024 – FINAL PERFORMANCE – FORT HUACHUCA, AZ:
We were all on the bus by 11:30 pm but did not leave because the generator wasn’t working so we didn’t have power inside the bus for our wall outlets. Vinnie suggested that he call the Military Police and have them come give us a “jump”. He did and they agreed but it took awhile because they didn’t have any jumper cables. They got us jumped off and we got a late start to Fort Huachuca.
We arrived at Fort Huachuca at 5:30 am. When we stopped at the guard gate, I went into the front with the driver. The guard came to the driver’s window and the driver told him we were the entertainment on base tonight and we were on an “access roster”. He said, “Open the door and turn on the light”. He took his job very seriously, as I’m sure he is supposed to based on where the base is located. He came around and I explained that we were the Gary Sinise Foundation Variety Tour. He said he didn’t’ know anything about our visit. We told him who our entertainers are and that the GSF sponsors the tour. Finally I said, “You know Gary Sinise – Lt. Dan?”. He said he would go check and walked over to the opposite side of the bus to where a couple of really young guys were working the gate. He mentioned the name Lt. Dan and the guys got so excited. He came back and told us we were on the roster and the young guys came running up with him. Obviously, they thought Lt. Dan was on the bus. I decided not to correct them so they would let us enter!
When we arrived at the hotel, even though I had called the night before to remind them to go ahead and run the credit card even though we wouldn’t arrive until early the next morning, someone didn’t get the message and cancelled all our reservations. Fortunately, they still had rooms that we could check into immediately. By the time I got in my room, it was almost 7 am and I was dead tired. I slept for 2 hours and then had to shower and get dressed to go to the venue.
When I went downstairs, a new desk clerk was on duty and she started quizzing me about the credit card on file. After another half hour conversation, I told her to just give me another authorization form and we would start from scratch and that’s what we did!
Stacy is the person I have been working here and it was a wonderful surprise to learn that she is originally from Alabama! She even talks like me with my strong Southern accent. And, she is super organized. She drove us to the venue and I was so happy to hear Mike and Jeff say that these guys are the best we’ve worked with on the tour for our production/backline needs. We didn’t stay long since everything was under control. We stopped by the exchange and they had a Starbucks. I got my usual – Grande Hot Macha Green Tea Latte with Oatmilk and egg white bites. We had about an hour back at the hotel and then went back to the venue for the rest of the day/night.
My long time friend Chris Bain and his wife Misty came over at around 3:30 pm. It was so wonderful to see them both. Chris looks great seems to be doing really well. I met him at Walter Reed Hospital years ago and we became dear friends. It’s been years since I’ve seen him. He has quite an inspirational story. He was blown up in Iraq and actually died for several minutes. His pain for years was unbearable until the doctors finally found a solution. He had a battery (pretty large one at that) implanted in his left butt cheek. He’s basically “wire” and electrical impulses manage his pain for him. Chris explains it much better than I ever could.
Chris is a twin and they were both deployed to Iraq at the same time but not in the same location. On the day he was injured, he accidentally ran into his brother and got to spend some time with him.
I had about an hour to talk to them before getting back to work. The guys finished sound check on time and we had dinner catered into the green room. Once again, the food was excellent!
We had some time between dinner and the show so I called Chris and Misty and told them to come over and meet everyone. The guys were just blown away by Chris’s story. I’m so glad they were able to come down.
The room was packed – our biggest crowd of the tour – and we started the show on time with the videos. Vinnie’s show was his best one he’s had on this tour and the audience absolutely loved him. Then Vertical Horizon took the stage and had everyone singing along again. We had a larger than normal line of people for photos but it moved quickly because of Stacy and her staff.
We came back to the lobby and hung out for a few minutes. I left everyone still in the lobbying talking because I had to pack and write this road report.
I have tons of comments from the QR Code we gave everyone who attended. What a fantastic way to end our tour.
So sad that now that our tour to SWA has cancelled, I won’t see these guys again until May. But, its something to look forward too! We have an 8:30 am lobby call tomorrow.
Jude
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH, 2023 – FLYING HOME!
Apologize for the delay in the wrap up” road report.
We met in the lobby at 8:25 am for an 8:30 am departure. I sent Chris and Misty a text letting them know what time we were leaving but since I did not hear back from them, thought they were probably sleeping. Then we ran into Chris in the lobby with plates of food. He was taking Misty “breakfast in bed”. So sweet.
It was about an hour and a half drive to the airport and we arrived in plenty of time to check in and grab something to eat before departing. Mark and I had Huevos Rancheros and they were really good! Vinnie had left Fort Huachuca early this morning in an Uber to spend time with his friend in Tucson before flying home this afternoon. Jeff cancelled his return flight and rented a car at the Tuscon airport to drive to Phoenix to spend Thanksgiving with his parents. Flights for everyone else left “pretty much” on time to DFW, Nashville, San Diego, Tampa and LAX.
Everyone arrived back at their respective homes with Nashville being the latest arrival.
My email is still “blowing up” from responses to the QR Code I set up for comments. Nothing but compliments and some that are real “tear-jerkers”.
At Fort Huachuca, the base presented Vertical Horizon, Vinnie and the Gary Sinise Foundation with beautiful plaques commemorating our visit and every base gave each person a “goody bag” filled with treats and swag from their base or Border Patrol.
I don’t know how we could have had a more successful tour. The people I worked with at each location – before and during the tour – were truly wonderful and care about the men and women they are serving. Vinnie and all the guys in Vertical Horizon were not only phenomenal performers but exemplary representatives for Gary and his mission. I was really looking forward to touring with Vertical Horizon on December 1-15 in Djibouti, Bahrain, Kuwait and UAE. Hopefully the situation in the Middle East will be “stable” and we’ll be able to visit those bases in May.
Wishing everyone a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving. Never can say “thank you” enough to Gary Sinise for his unwavering support.
Jude