I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity. Edgar Allen Poe
The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all. - H. L. Mencken Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so -Bertrand Russell What I have been telling you, from alpha to omega, what is the one great thing the sigil taught me — that everything in life is miraculous. For the sigil taught me that it rests within the power of each of us to awaken at will from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits, to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness. If the sigil were proved to be the top of a tomato-can, it would not alter that big fact, nor my fixed faith. No Harrowby, the common names we call things by do not matter — except to show how very dull we are ... -James Branch Cabell
July 31, 2017 - 12:59 p.m. Yesterday was my third consecutive day of live music; the second annual Common Ground Front Porch Jamboree. The lineup was Abbie Gardner, David Massengill, the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival House Band (Radoslav Lorkovic, Eric Lee and Mark Dann), as well as Emily Mure and Letitia VanSant. Letitia VanSant is a character in an Edith Wharton novel, right? Letitia is the only one that I didn't know, more importantly didn't know me. Welcome to my blog Letitia, you don't get a newbie pass. I think you missed when I heckled Abbie. I get by on my looks and modesty. I got there early to help set up. The show was at the Dobbs Ferry Historical Society; I think of it as an easy trip, two buses to the MetroNorth, then getting picked up at the station. I grade commuting on a curve. I was on the same train as David Massengill but he gets on at Grand Central and I board at University Heights in the Bronx so we didn't find each other till we got off the train. After a little misunderstanding we found our ride, I know the person who gave us the ride, I know her name, I just can't access it. I'm getting a 404 error, page not found when I look for it. I got to hang out with the talent until I had to start moving tables and chairs. I grabbed the best spot for the merch table. The stage was on the front porch of the historical society, the audience was on the lawn. I was in the shade under a tree. Some volunteers were late so I started by manning the door, I'm flexible. I had to provide change for the first paying customer. Good thing I remembered to take it back. I'm patting myself on the back. As expected I knew many people in the audience, Mike, Rick, Barbara, Beth, Perry, Artie, and oh, come on, I knew more than that. People were spread out and moving around so my usual geographic memory system isn't working well. Emily was up first followed by Letitia, they are both Falcon Ridge Emerging Artists. Emily is also at the Budgiedome, solo and backing up Joe Crookston. Yeah, we got Joe Crookston. We are just that cool. I will have to get to know Letitia better. She's from Baltimore and knows my friends down there, ilyAIMY, We're About 9, and Becca Derry, all came up. Heather Aubrey Lloyd from ilyAIMY will be at The Budgiedome too. You can go and tell your friends you saw Heather, Emily, at the Budgiedome. They will think you are the coolest. It just hit me, that everyone at the Jamboree other than Letitia has played or will play the Budgiedome. If she gets there by Thursday I invited Letitia to our open song circle. Anyone can play that. Think how cool your friends will think you are if you do that. David did old favorites like Riders on an Orphan Train and On the Road to Fairfax County, one of his Apple Tree Fairy Songs, and some brand-new ones that I had never heard. God knows how many times I've seen him over the years and in how many venues … including the Budgiedome. Have I mentioned the Budgiedome? The Falcon Ridge House Band got to take center stage. Eric did a song just for me. He resurrected Matty Groves from the Strangelings catalogue. With the Strangelings he fiddled like a madman. Here he sang lead and played guitar. Rad played keyboard like a madman. Madman is an important part of Matty Grove. The first or second place Eric played it with the Strangelings was the Budgiedome. Abbie along with Jon-Paul closed out. Abbie headlined the Budgiedome Jam many times and also played it with Red Molly. That's the kind of talent that plays there. Not that I have anything to do with it. I'm an unbiased writer. Some guy with the same name as me, wrestles the talent or maybe blackmails these cool people into playing. There was a pot luck. Grazing and browsing are my natural ways of eating. I didn't stuff myself too bad, I didn't explode. The trains to University Heights run only once an hour. If I missed that I'd have to go all the way to Harlem on the half hours and that would not save that much time. I was going to say that I lucked out but I parasite out is more accurate. I knew that Emily didn't take the train so she drove and had to cross the Bronx to get home. I asked her for a ride to Fordham Road, right by the University Heights station. As she's a I'm not giving the full schedule as everyone isn't confirmed. I will go through emails today. Sorry, not me. The guy with the same name as me. I am just your humble blogger. The weather was beautiful, the audience was beautiful, even the band was beautiful. What good is sitting alone in your room, come here the music play. Come to the jamboree my chum, come to the jamboree. This weekend was me being me. There are even times I like being me. I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge: please hold me accountable.
Memories: Not that Horrid Song - May 29, 2018
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