Where Ah Been

Well, I flew to Great Barrington, went to the smallest bear's AA graduation (she really isn't the smallest any more, her sibling girl bear who is older is shorter than her) The great boy son bear came up from DC on the bus. I played banjo sitting out in front of motel room. The guys on a golf tour who were sitting out drinking loved me. We visited with other parents at grad dinner. Turned out that one girls father actually lives in a apartment in this house cited on me web site helenadekaygilder.org  Mark Twain spent a summer here with his kids when his wife died. Tyringham is about 15-20 minutes from Great Barrington where the bear goes to school. Anyhow, went over to visit and took a couple of pictures and met the 92 year old descendant that married into the family. Will try to write to her to get access to Helena's artwork, but am not too hopeful. 

We drove down to Bethesda and hung out with the very large bear boy son and saw where he worked and lived- never been there before. - Then drove to Knoxville to see brother and wife and mother. Played banjo and sang to my mother a couple of days, which was well worth me carrying the banjo off and on planes and driving with it. One of me bandmates, played for her father just before he died and encouraged me to do so. Me mother enjoyed it, she was patting her knee in time. (She's very gone- can't remember anything past about ten minutes. When I think about it, and my poor brother who has to deal with it, and despite his angst about her and everything she did wrong, it is a testament to her strength that she is still living alone in a trailer and is dressing herself and sort of taking care of herself and is still somehow making those around her focus themselves on taking care of her so she can continue in some way under under her own terms.

She fell under my watch, but bounced and we think she's ok. Me thinks next times, when the bear gets her bachelors that neither me mother or brother will be there- hoping for the best.

Next year its Paris for the little cub and we will trade our house and go to bring her home after her year there. I got to polish off my three french verbs.

So, I found a Square Dance place in Knoxsville and we went and danced. Just like home, except they had a huge old building in downtown Knoxville that was a Square Dance Hall.

Found this place:

which was a whole building devoted to music jamming Tennessee style. They had concerts and weekly jams in the "front rooms" (above four to five of them) where every one jammed. I went and hung a bit. There was not a piece of sheet music or words with chords in the place. Maybe 20 really good musicians playing at breakneck speed and 10-20 people just sitting around listening. I gave up and went home.

Any how its been very busy being back- with checking up with work and dealing with a bunch of friends who nixed the band on a potential gig and I'm happy to be back even if the So Cal thing is so different from the hinderland.