Devils & Blue Dresses: My Wild Ride as a Rock and Roll Legend

lifetime of blessings from lessons learned and survived, and I am a better person for each of those experiences.

APPENDIX B
    The rewards of a lifetime of entertaining can be measured in so many different ways, probably as many as when one would care to list the sacrifices they have had to endure, but I am going to stick to what I feel the positive rewards have been. I have, with and without Megan, been able to see and travel a lot of the world and discover the sameness in humans while overlooking cultural differences and any observations on personal relationships. I mean, why ruin everything by having to work hard on a vacation? This career of mine has taken me to many places on this planet that most people, other than the wealthy, will probably never see and I’d like to share my thought on some of those places with you.
    Canada
In case no one has ever told you, the Rocky Mountains of Canada are far superior to the Rockies in the United States.
    Germany
I have, over the years, covered every inch of Germany, probably more than the average German. My favorite places to go are the little, off the beaten path villages that survived destruction in the Second World War. It is fairy tale stuff. The rolling hills, the deep forests and the foothills to the Alps are all in my memory. Then you have the excitement of Berlin. So many artists of every stripe are trying to make Berlin worthy of its former great reputation prior to Nazi domination and persecution.
    Austria
The Austrain Alps, the Sound of Music, Salzburg, Vienna, and the long history of classical music from Germany and Austria. I am a big fan of classical music and have visited the birthplaces of all of the great composers from Germany and Austria. One time we performed in a little town, and right below our hotel was a little stream that was the beginning of the wonderful River Danube, as we spell it. History is another magical thing for me in Europe.
    Switzerland
The land of Heidi. It’s not as beautiful as one might imagine unless you are willing to head into the mountains. Bern is wonderful, even more so than Zurich, which surprised me the first time I compared them. There is so little available flat land that the industrial complexes are almost always visible from the autobahn. It’s better to get off the beaten path and discover the pleasant panorama of the mountains.
    France
I have a few very good friends in France, some in the South on the Mediterranean and some around Paris. Everything you have heard about the romantic qualities of Paris must indeed be true. Megan and I spent our honeymoon there. The scenery is breathtaking, but after you become something more than a tourist you begin to understand the meaning of democracy, French style, and you don’t have to stray off the beaten path too far to catch a glimpse of the Paris of the people.
    Belgium
Sitting in Brussels and wondering how the country was able to maintain a sovereign status is always the question.
    Luxemburg
Luxemburg is probably the only country where you will want to make a walking tour. One thing I was unable to avoid as my trips to Europe grew in frequency was the need to study the history, the wars, and the nobility concepts connected to the ever-changing borders of the many nations that now make up what the Europeans have accepted as inevitable: a United Europe. Just as we have a United States, the Europeans have essentially decided to become one big country. Gone is the charm of the different currencies, which are now reduced to the common Euro.
    Holland
Amsterdam. The Paradiso. Dutch history. Tulips, wooden shoes, fine art, canals, brothels. It’s all still there, but Holland is a very progressive state. Previously a nation like all of the others, I recall sitting at a party with the leader of the Hells Angels of Amsterdam. He was assassinated, according to his wife, by the CIA. But when you walk through the towns, many in which I have performed, you never lose sight of the romantic tourist view of such places. I’ve seen that. But I’ve also seen the darker side that gives all these countries powerful feelings a much different feel than when you walk outside the gates at Disney World in Orlando.
    Spain
So rich and steeped in history, having spread a language and religion more aggressively than any other European nation. Bal-Boa, Madrid, and my favorite, Barcelona. There are few things I cherish more than sitting in a café in the afternoon and looking out over the