Just got home from a wonderful evening and thought I might share it with my friends here.

Ronnie Gilbert, who sang with the Weavers, during the fifties and early sixties was in Toronto doing some concerts and workshops. She's done a lot of acting over the years and has been an inspiration to countless younger women singers like Holly Near and Ani Di Franco in recent times. Just to meet this wonderful outgoing and totally engaging woman would have been a treat, but to get to sing with her was an unexpected bonus. After a duet on "Kisses Sweeter than Wine", I have to say I was in "Folky Hog Heaven"!

A thought occurred to me as Duckboots and I were leaving our friend's house where Ronnie is staying; If you ever wake up and think "Gee there's so much I haven't done, and I'll probably never get a chance to do it". Think again. You CAN make many of your dreams come true. Re-invent yourself...even it it means risks. Twelve years ago I decided I couldn't play "commercial" music in bars one night longer. It was literally driving me into a nervous breakdown. I wanted so much to get back to the music and the community that made me happy...and that's "Folk". Getting to know Grit Laskin and Sandy and Caroline Paton helped imeasurably, and I had to go through a year earning virtually NO money. It meant auditioning for tiny folk clubs and festivals and doing countless "opening acts". (For a twenty year pro with good skills, it was at times a bit humiliating) Finding that I loved to teach music helped in two ways; one, it gave me at least part of the "bar" income that I'd lost, and two, it allowed me to only accept gigs that I really wanted to play, and that gave me back my enthusiasm for music. Yup, re-inventing yourself can be scary, but it's worth the effort. The rewards have been astonishing for me over the last few years (the money still sucks, but I wouldn't trade the "folk community" for anything.

Rick