WNC Wrap

Had a great time at this past weekend's WNC Highlands Celtic Festival! 

Our final set was especially fun, with Connor Civatte and Scooter Muse sitting in with Don, Matt, Ann & Cal, Kate and myself, but the show-stealer was our new dog, Henry Ford, who stayed underneath my dulcimer for the entire set. I'll admit, I was a little nervous during our opening numbers, both of which feature dancing. I actually stood on his leash for part of the time ... lest he decide to "catch" those dancers! But he did very well, and actually seemed right at home, as you can see by this photo:

Here's a video of a "Fiddle Duel" between Matt and Connor, taken by my friend Sam Moffitt:

Introducing Henry

As many of my friends know, Greg and I lost our beloved little canine companion Maggie Muggins, just one month shy of her 16th birthday.  I cried practically non-stop for a couple of days, but pretty soon the "busy-ness" of concert and festival production helped me not to focus on how much I missed our sweet -- and sassy -- pet.  Sometime toward the end of March, St. Patrick's Day madness having come to a conclusion, we began to look in earnest for a dog who'd be a good fit for our crazy but happy lifestyle ...

Enter Henry

Henry is a dog who needed "re-homing."  If you're not familiar with the term (I wasn't), it means that the dog currently has a home but for one reason or another needs to find a new home.  Rather than simply surrendering the dog to a local shelter and hoping for the best, the current loving owners decide to supervise the adoption -- the re-homing -- themselves.

Here's Henry's story: About five years ago, he was found as a stray in North Carolina's Watauga County, up in the "High Country."  He was immediately reported lost at the local shelter, but his owners never came to look for him.  So his finders decided to keep the healthy and happy year-old pup, naming him Henry.  All was wonderful: Henry learned a bunch of useful things like sit/stay, roll over, dance, and everything was fine until his loyal and loving new owners welcomed a baby into the family.  As the baby grew into a toddler, it became apparent that Henry wasn't fond of the squealing and running around of a happy and healthy little boy.  And although Henry has grown to accept his "little brother," the concern is that he might not be so accepting of play companions, etc.  So the conclusion, probably arrived at with a bit of reluctance, is that what's best for Henry is that he find a home that doesn't have children.

Enter Marcille and Greg

We met Henry and took a short walkie last Monday at Black Mountain's Lake Tomahawk.  We all seemed to like each other well enough, so we arranged for a little sleepover last Thursday night.  Henry fit right in!  He loved exploring the Asheville East KOA, where we're currently living, and was immediately comfortable for his overnight in our Airstream trailer.  Slept right at the foot of our bed, he did, and welcomed us with great swishing tail wags the next morning.  We already knew that he traveled well in the car -- in fact, here's a funny little side-note: Henry usually rides in the back of his owners' SUV, so when he positioned himself between the seats in our van, he faced the back of the van!  :-)  He loves people and loves others dogs and is a pretty amiable fella all-around.  In other words, Henry's just the dog we were looking for -- just the dog we were meant to have, and at the right time!

Henry's coming to us this Wednesday.  Please welcome the new CEO of Celtic Heritage Productions, Inc.:

From Cedar Key

So now we're enjoying some down time on Florida's west coast -- in Cedar Key, a place neither of us has visited before. Today we explored the tiny old town and had lunch at Tony's Seafood Restaurant, which has the world's best clam chowder. No, really! They even won the championship in Rhode Island -- yes, Florida clam chowder took New England's top prize -- for three years straight, before retiring into the hall of fame. Afterward, more exploration, then shopping for provisions in the local market, then I bought boiled peanuts from an old fella sittin' under an umbrella singin' country music and playin' guitar. Just about a perfect day, I'd say!

Tartan Day

From today's Tartan Day in The Villages:

Here's Mary, of the Richens/Timm Academy of Irish Dance in Indianapolis. She asked us if we could play a jig for her, so that she could dance. Such a little natural! I'd say the future of Irish dance is safe in Mary's hands -- and feet.

Another photo -- this one captures Bob, of Glasgow, as he guests with us in singing "Caledonia." (And of course, Greg, Tam and Ann in the foreground.)

I'm Gonna Miss Jeter. No, Really! I Am!

Anybody who knows me well knows I'm no Yankees fan. But Derek Jeter, albeit a Yankee, is my favorite player in the game today, and ranks 'way up there as one of my favorite baseball players of all time. In addition to being highly skilled, he's the perfect mix of team player and hard-driving individual; supremely confident without being arrogant, he's the guy I'd want coming to bat in a clutch situation. Tough as nails, and no drama. I'm gonna miss him being in the game.

(PS: Derek Jeter, may you finish your career with 3,418 hits.)

Why Do We Shout In Anger?

A saint who was once visiting a river to take a bath found a group of family members on the banks, shouting in anger at each other. He turned to his disciples, smiled and asked.

"Why do people in anger shout at each other?"

The disciples thought for a while, then one of them said, "Because we lose our calm, we shout."

"But, why should you shout when the other person is just next to you? You can as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner," asked the saint.

The disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the other disciples.

Finally the saint explained,

"When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other to cover that great distance.

"What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is either nonexistent or very small ... "

The saint continued, "When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they need not even whisper, they only look at each other and that's all. That is how close two people are when they love each other."

He looked at his disciples and said,

"So when you argue do not let your hearts get distant, do not say words that distance each other more, or else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return."

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I'm a Musician ... and I Use Algebra

In the last 48 hours, I have used algebra twice, and geometry once, in my current vocation as a professional musician/concert promoter/small business owner.  I even had to solve the dreaded "story problem."

Yes, I'm quite sure that I'd have been able to find my answers by another method, probably trial and error ... eventually.  But I needed precise answers and I needed them quickly.

If you're one of those people who loves to boast about how useless high school math was for you, you may want to refrain from making a comeback to this post.  I've never been required to do a pommel horse routine outside of my high school P.E. class,  but I'm not gettin' all up in my gym teacher's face over it.