You're right, Chas. You should not mix anything with politics. I don't give a damned about their political convictions - I just wan't to be paid for doing a very professional job - and I was paid very, very well. As my dear, departed father used to say "there's only one thing that money can't buy - POVERTY!"

Yes, The Captain stuck to his political convictions, yet The Captain frequently flew to Saudi Arabia to play for the Arab Sheiks, a nation where women who cannot make a charge of rape unless at least 4 relatives witness the offense. A nation where women are not permitted to drive a car, get a high school education, are told whom they must marry, most keep their faces covered, and treated like dirt beneath their feet. Duh! What happened with those convictions. Like I said, it was just a job.

Now, I too have turned down jobs for various reasons, and I'm sure there are others that have done the same. Most of the time, it is for scheduling conflicts - not our political convictions. I've turned them down because they didn't pay enough. Hey, music was my real job! I had no other form of income, too young to retire, too young for Social Security, which is not enough to live on, let alone support a family. I didn't give a damned whether you were holding a fund raiser for a Democrat, Republican, Independent, or Jesus Christ. If you wanted good entertainment and someone who could make professional announcements, I was your man. Russ was considered an Infidel in Saudi Arabia, they hated his guts there because of where he was from, and he knew it, but the money was good.

I turned down high paying jobs in the City of Baltimore because it was a very, very dangerous part of the city to venture during the day, let alone late at night. Does this make me a bad guy, or a smarter businessman? I don't have a religious bone in my body, but performed for many, many church groups as long as they were willing to pay my fee, which they always did, just like the political groups.

Knowing Russ, this component of music was pretty much chump change and represented a tiny, fractional component of his income. In essence, that one job really didnd't financially impact him at all - it was just a job that he didn't really want to do. But, I'm equally confident that if it meant a connection to a million dollar advertising job, he would have taken it in a heartbeat. And, no one would fault him for doing so. It was JUST A JOB!

Gary