Who Am I and Why Am I Here?

Hi, friends,

Long time no talk! Trusty and I had the most amazing trip to Ireland ever, and the best part wasn't even the tunes. No really. It was the chat. We had a chance to be around folks at home, and in their daily lives. I would guess that most of you wouldn't tag yourselves as tourists, so you would have appreciated the slow times as well as the blasts of tunes as much as we did. Now don't get me wrong -- the tunes were mighty and plentiful, thanks to some of our friends. But, what's different was that we spent more time this year than ever just tucking in with our friends and listening to good jokes and laughing at each other's foibles (okay, mostly they were laughing at me...) and generally having a grand time appreciating each other.

We saw some parts of the country we hadn't seen before. We went shopping in a district we didn't even know existed before. We saw some beautiful mountains, and some new family members we hadn't met before. We came away bittersweet for the new friendships we forged and the old ones we rekindled.

I have a friend who is leaving her hometown (not for the first time, but after a loooong time) and traveling south and west to live in west Texas. She is chronicling her travels and it touches that wanderlust in me. I'm desperate to get back over to Ireland and sip the sweetness of life over there. I realize it's a fantasy on my part, because I'm not dealing with a day job and the everyday stuff of life, but you know what? I don't give a shite. I love it over there.

So, to tunes: yes, there were many. And they varied depending on who was leading a session. I think the most dynamic and varied would be a session in Ennis, because there was the most variety of instruments and the widest of influences and interests in the music. The singing was great, too, including lots of plastic Yankee stuff, including "Your Cheatin' Heart"...

Oop, gotta run! Off to a rehearsal! Don't forget, Wednesday, February 11 is Slow Session Night at 7:30 PM in Old Songs Community Arts Center, 37 S. Main, Voorheesville. Come on over and have a little fun. I might bring some session files from our trip -- I'll see what I can pull together...nothing to practice this time, but if you want to, you could bring some tune suggestions and we'll have a round robin!

See you tomorrow!

The Trad