FRIDAY, MARCH 17TH, 2023 – PERFORMANCE AT OSAN, AB:

Lobby call was 9 am and I worked the entire 2 ½ hour trip to Osan. Not easy on the type of roads we are traveling. The Wolf Pack met us in the lobby before we departed to say “good-bye”. Once again an outstanding visit to my favorite base.

We arrived at Osan AB on time but right before we arrived, someone from Osan called Bianca (who was sweet enough to escort us from Kunsan to Osan) and told her that our hosts at Osan “forgot” to submit our EAL Form so we could not come on base. They were working to get the paperwork signed but it could be an hour or more. Not unusual at all for Korea unfortunately.

Scott and Mr. You came on the bus and suggested that Don, Jennifer and Stevie go with an escort and have their COVID tests while the rest of us went off base and had lunch. The provided transportation for all this and it seemed like the best solution. My only concern was the fact that we were already tight on time for sound check.

We went to the main downtown shopping street that I have walked up and down hundreds of times. Lots of the same stores and restaurants are still there after surviving COVID. The food at the restaurant was excellent. I had Bulgogi (again) but this one had a great sauce with it. Natalie got “steamed egg”. It was literally a bowl of scrambled eggs that had a “hole” in the center and steam was coming out the top like a mini volcano. She said it tasted great.

By the time we finished lunch, the girls were back from their COVID tests and we had our gate access worked out. I got everyone checked in and then walked over to the venue to check out the situation. Everything was set up like we requested and the production company was ready for our musicians. There is a coffee shop near the show room and I had my first “sweet potato latte”. It was amazing…and there’s no coffee in it!

After sound check, I went back to the room to work for a while. Took a quick break to walk downstairs to the little store lobby and I guess Don went to my room at that time to deliver the dinners we had pre-ordered. He said he sent me a What’s App message (which I received about 3 hours later!) and also called me (and my phone never rang!).

While I was getting ready to go to the show, Doris (who was our host at Misawa Airbase in November with Kellie Pickler) sent me a text message. She just arrived yesterday and she will be my new contact here in the future. She is amazing! We had a great time catching up. She’s surprised by how things are handled at the base but I told her, it’s not the base, it’s “Korea”. I started coming here in 1992 and some things will just never change.

We had a short meeting with leadership prior to the concert and then had an outstanding performance. The crowd was dancing and singing the entire show. The Wing Commander and most of his staff had to attend a formal ceremony next door but were kind enough to come to the show before it ended. I went on Facebook Live with “Devil Went Down to Georgia”. It literally brought the house down!

Had a very “lively” autograph line but it went quick. Back working and it’s almost 3 am so time to close down for a few hours. Lobby call isn’t until 10 am tomorrow.

Jude