Donegal Xpress

After a long, holiday hibernation the Brakeman’s Post returns. You may notice that this is Entry # 3 and you may ask, “What the hell? Did I miss # 2? Does # 2 exist?” No, you didn’t miss # 2 and yes, it does exist. It involves the narrator—hunkered down in a Locust Point tavern, his paw anchored around a glass of Kentucky Prozac—entwined in a firefighter’s Christmas party. The narrator is not a guest. He just happens to walk through the door. But I’ve already revealed too much.

Truth be told, with the holidays, I just ran out of time. Brakeman #2 will appear at some point. It will be a rare, lost entry whispered about; the entry everyone claims to have a bootleg copy of—that’s why these posts must be written on the run, from obscure locales.

Brakeman #3 is being written from a hotel in Dover, Delaware, capital of the first state. That’s dough-ver for y’all playing along back in B-More. It’s the first day of a new year. The parking lot is full of cars with Maryland license plates. Happy New Years you old Dover Downs Hotel and Casino! You know where we should put slot machines? The DMV. Slots would fit in nicely with that bingo-from-hell recorded voice announcing numbers in painfully slow recitation: “Now serving G 2154, now serving B 6039,” the numbers appearing on a television screen like Keno. It’s a win-win situation.

Speaking of Maryland and gambling and vehicles, in preparation for winter precipitation the SHA is pre-treating highways with a new concoction, one of the ingredients being molasses or maple syrup or something like that. Here’s an idea. How ‘bout glue?

Highway 13—the DuPont Highway, a congested strip of road dedicated to Gunpowder, Nylon, Teflon, and Freon. In the early 1900s, the DuPonts, America’s first family of chemicals, used to slip over to the Eastern Shore and go hunting with Annie Oakley who lived in Cambridge for a few years with her husband, an Irish sharpshooter named Frank Butler.

New Year’s Eve brought the Donegal X-Press across state lines, along rural routes, through chicken country, to perform at Dover’s First Night Festival. We held our own playing 30-minute sets for rotating audiences—sort of DXP on continuous loop. (We must have played “Wagon Wheel” at least four or five times last night.) Our performance space was a small, 100-seat auditorium in the Department of Natural Resources Education Center. I will only say this: Life is difficult enough without the added insult-to-injury of flourescent lights. The showered glow of florescent light is flattering to no one. (Everyone looks like they have Swine Flu.)

Despite the cold, damp, bone-gnawing weather, the audiences were appreciative and Dover folks were very welcoming to their guests from across the Mason-Dixon. You may or may not know it but Maryland and Delaware, together, are one of the largest producers of watermelon in the nation. For more “Mar-Del” watermelon reading, check out this link: http://www.chesapeakelifemag.com/index.php/cl/article/8039/

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Brakeman’s literary tip:

Your song or short story can always be enhanced by arson, i.e. a madman setting a trailer-home, barn, or ’78 Camaro on fire. (See William Faulkner’s classic story “Barn Burning” or Brad Dunnells’ delightful ditty “Paddy’s Lament.”) Also, an animal attacking a human can add a dramatic dynamic to your tale. Think back to high school English. Conflict. Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Alligator, etc.

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The Donegal X-Press would like to send out special thanks to the following:

*Heather Coburn of Heather Coburn Photography (www.heathercoburn.com), a good friend and fantastic photographer who shot the band in Ellicott City this past December. These stellar photos will soon be put to good use in promoting our 2010 shows, as well as the new album we are currently recording.

*Travis Harry and the fine folks at the B & O Railroad Museum: Ellicott City Station (www.ecborail.org) for allowing us access to their museum and exhibits for our photo shoot. Please visit the country’s oldest railroad station—a piece of American history right in your backyard.

*The Friendly Inn (www.thefriendlyinn.com), owners Jason Cooke and Ron Wildman; managers Steve Iampieri and Steph Johnson; and the staff who live up to the name of this roadside tavern, for providing us with a second photo shoot location.

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