The Challenge - Part 3.

FINDING A BALANCE

I awoke to the sound of a call to prayer in the faint distance, coming through the open window of my hotel room. I rolled over to look at the clock: 4:00am. I was a bit disoriented and had forgotten that I was in a foreign country. I climbed out of bed and made my way out to the balcony so that I could hear it more clearly. As it turned out, Abram must have had the same idea because he was out on his balcony in the next room over, sitting on the rail with his back propped against the wall. Abram: "Beautiful isn't it? That's how you know you're in an exotic land far from home. I've always wanted to go somewhere where I could hear that." Mike: "Yeah, it just doesn't have the same effect when compared to the movies. To actually be here now gives it a whole new perspective" The sound of the sea breaking on the shore behind the hotel echoed through the narrow alleys. Abram:"There is a peace and a magnitude to the ocean at night. Something so peaceful, yet so terrifying." Mike:"True... Kind of like women." We laughed, then turned our heads back out to the horizon. Abram let out what seemed to be a long sigh of relief, as if crossing through the eye of a storm to find harmony in a sea of worry and obligation. The call to prayer ended and we sat silent after that, looking out over the silhouette of roof tops in the early morning glow. There in that moment, there was no time, no challenge, nowhere to be... just existence. 8:00am. There was a knock at my door. I jumped up to put some clothes on and got up to answer; our driver from the previous day was there with a jersey and shoes. (I won't use her name since I do not have permission to) Driver: "Here, try these on to make sure they fit." Mike: "Ok, sure. Cool, they've got our names on them. Even on the ass." I sat there awkwardly for a moment as I expected her to leave the room so that I could change. Driver: "Well, put them on!" Realizing that she had no intention to budge, I got to it. She stood impatiently with her hand on her hip, watching my every move as I changed. Mike: "well, It all fits pretty well... Shoes are a little cramped but I can break them in." Abram wasn't so lucky. Abram:"God dammit, they always do this. They gave me a men's XXL and a women's large for shirt sizes. I asked for a Large. I'm either wearing a dress or a belly shirt. I know someone in production did this just to fuck with me." He turned to the driver: Abram: "Could you please see if I could get a shirt that actually fits?" Driver: "I will talk to someone, but you need to wear that for now. I'll meet you in the lobby in 15 minutes." She disappeared down the hallway.

Abram looked in the mirror with frustration. "Are there any scissors here? Or something sharp? I'm gonna cut the sleeves off." Mike: "There's a butter knife on that tray over by the tv." I grabbed it and handed it to him. He tore into the left sleeve and proceeded to saw through it. I helped him with the other. Abram:"Alright, I guess this will work." We gathered our things and headed to the front desk. As soon as we entered the lobby, the driver gasped with wide eyes. Driver: "No, no, no, you cannot cut off your sleeves. You know you are not allowed to do that." Abram: "What do you mean that's something that I knew I wasn't supposed to do? The shirt didn't fit so I made it work." Driver: "You have to put on the other shirt, this will not work. If you show up in that, I will get in trouble." Abram: "Well, is there any way I could just get a shirt that fits?" She pulled her phone from her pocket and put it to her ear. Driver: "I will call my supervisor about it." She spoke on the phone for a minute, then handed it to Abram; Driver: "They want to talk to you." He took the phone. Abram:"Yeah? You're what?! You're going to send us home if I don't put on the other shirt? Are you serious? I just want a shirt that fits." There was a bit of heated arguing over the phone, then he finally gave up. Abram: "Ok, I understand." Mike: "To be honest, you kind of sound like a deva right now."

Abram: "Yeah, I'm sorry dude. I'm just so tired of being treated like shit on these shows. They corral you from one place to the next and scold you for everything like you're a kid. Just give it aday and you'll see what I'm talking about."

Pictured above from left: Baylor Carter, Michael Boise, Abram Boise, Dan Shapiro, Jerry Mullan yelling at us in the background. Working as stagehands during a dust storm at Red Ants Pants Music Festival in White Sulpher Springs, MT 2014