Chasing dreams.

San Martín, Salta Province, Argentina

July 14th, 2026

Dear Reader,

The show in Salta went well. I presented a selection of blues, country, and folk tunes. Included in the repertoire were Sandy Denny’s Who Knows Where The Time Goes, Georgia by Stuart Gorrell and Hoagy Carmichael, Ain’t Got Nothin’ But The Blues by Duke Ellington and Don George, Ian Tyson’s Someday Soon, Crazy by Willie Nelson, and more.

“Everyone’s so wrapped up in the World Cup.”, the venue manager said afterwards, explaining the scant crowd. Still, my pianist and I covered our costs plus a little more, and the audience was appreciative so we felt like good about our work.

A few of my new girlfriends sat in the front row. One of them took this video of me performing Crazy.

Crazy by Willie Nelson.

The following night we went over to a friend’s house to watch the game.

“What game?”, my dad asked.

“Argentina’s playing Switzerland, Dad.”, I said.

“Playing what?”, he asked.

“Soccer.”, I replied. “It’s the World Cup.”.

He laughed.

“Oh!”.

“Ramona, Adrien, and I have matching Messi jerseys.”, I said.

“Nice that you’re getting into it!”.

We chuckled, and I sent him a photo of myself in my jersey.

Me in my jersey.

Adrien and Ramona in their jerseys.

Growing up, no one in my family played sports, and my dad basically had no interest in playing or watching them. We didn’t even have a television.

Just once a year though, at Christmas, my dad would bring a TV home from the office. We’d curl up and watch our favorite Chevy Chase films, the whole Naked Gun series, and Christmas classics like Die Hard.

Remarkably, my dad would usually want to watch the Super Bowl. So the TV would stay in the house until just after that big event, at which point it was returned to its proper place at the office.

The other day as I was walking down the street, I saw a man standing at the bus stop. His sweatshirt said “Chevy Chase your dreams!”, with a photo of Chevy Chase running.

I asked if I could take a photo.

“My family loves that actor.”, I explained.

The man put his hands on his hips, puffed out his chest slightly, and smiled as I took his photo.

“Thanks!”, I said.

The man at the bus stop.

Argentina won the match, and tomorrow they’re playing England. The workers will end their day early to catch the game, and we’ll drive into the town of Angastaco to watch it at a local café.

More to come.

Abrazos,

Mariah

P.S. The venue where I performed on Friday night also made a little video from the show. Check it out here!