Well, I'm finally back. It's been a few "tomorrows" since I said I'd post my thoughts on the weekend. The weather here has been unutterably hot & humid & I've been entertaining a houseguest.

Susan of DT had put together a list of Mudcatters who said they'd be attending Old Songs. Like a few others I spoke w/, I printed out a copy & used it as a checklist of those I saw there. For those of you who attended & didn't have any identifying Mudcat mark, I'd encourage you, in the future, to wear a Mudcat teeshirt, button, or patch, or at least drop by the Folk Legacy stand once in awhile & say hi. It's fun to see each other face-to-face!

Here's my list of who I saw:

Renewed acquaintance w/ Susan A-R, Barry Finn (looking good!), & the Chucks (Sorry we missed your anniversary party! We brought our splits of champange, but nobody mentioned what time on Saturday it would be. We toasted you at home Monday pm, w/ the then chilled bottles!).

Great to see kendall (Singing or not, it's always a pleasure!), Sandy & Caroline (With Folk Legacy there, it always seems like home.), karen k, Jeri (Hard to keep that girl from attending the singing events; we never get to talk!), Charlie Baum, Naemanson (Shame on you for not telling us you were w/ other Mudcatters; we never met them!), Susan of DT & dick greenhaus.

Great to meet Sinsull (Thanks for keeping us informed on kendall's condition!), Burke, Don Meixner & son.

Appreciated seeing georgeward (You probably don't remember me, but I told you at last year's Old Songs that "You Gotta Talk My Language" is one of my favorite songs!)& Mike Stroebel (Thanks for your work at Old Songs!) I was sorry to miss the Shaws, but heard they were sighted by other Mudcatters.

I already mentioned that The Muse found out the hard way that wearing a Mudcat teeshirt puts one at risk of being talked to &, possibly, hugged by strange people!

For the 2nd year in a row, we camped next to Dharmabum. We arrived Thursday night, but opted for a motel instead of setting up in pouring rain. When we set-up Friday am, Ron offered to let us attach a tarp from his van over our car to keep it cooler. Friday night turned out to be very windy. Every time the tarp flapped, it woke me up. We found out the next morning that it also rocked the van, almost throwing Ron out of bed a time or two. Needless to say, we remedied that before Saturday pm! Dharmabum couldn't have been a more congenial neighbor. Last year, kendall & Peg camped in the same area. This year, Peg was unable to come & kendall was relegated to the RV area. Although we missed their company, we really appreciated getting to know Ron better. We hope to lure him to NOMAD this fall w/ the offer of a place to stay! As both Dharmabum & Hollowfox have mentioned, our Sunday night chat at the campground w/ the 2 of them was a wonderfully mellow way to round-out the weekend. We spoke frankly about our experiences in various areas of life, but without pressing the need for others to feel or believe as we do. As it happened, we neither played nor sang music, but the connection was surely there. Thanks to both of you for being a very special part of this year's Old Songs for us!

Highlights of the program:

Friday afternoon, we were able to attend Peter Amidon's Shape Note Singing class. We had tried to sit-in on a shape note session last year & left, clueless & embarrassed that we couldn't sing along. This year, after the class, we attended festival sessions Saturday & Sunday, as well as the Book Sing Saturday afternoon & did pretty well. We hope to share some of the songs as special music at our church in the future. For those of you who aren't familiar w/ Shape Note or Sacred Harp music, the songs are similar to Christian hymns. They are written in what's meant to be a simplified scale of 4 notes, represented by shapes, to help those who don't read music to participate in 4-part a cappella singing. Each of the 4 parts sits on benches shaped to form a hollow square w/ a leader in the middle. The sound is truly glorious!

Saturday highlights for me were "What's so special about the Carter Family" w/ Ginny Hawker & Tracy Schwartz & "Songwriter's Choice" w/ Roy Book Binder, Bob Franke, Anne Hills, Alien Folklife, Jez Lowe, & Tom Paxton. We went to the beginning of the post-concert sing led by the Patons, but were just too tired to keep our eyes open. Sorry, Sandy! The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak!

Sunday, I went to Shape Note, Hymn & Gospel Sing, & Round Singing w/ Sol Weber & Joy Bennett. The highlight of the day, though, was "Spiritual Songs for Modern Times" w/ Bob Franke, Anne Hills, & Margaret MacArthur. I couldn't believe it; each song they sang just seemed to get better & better! Time w/ Patons & w/ Dharmabum & Hollowfox rounded out the weekend & sent us home Monday am still glowing w/ satisfaction! Thanks to all who contributed to what, for me, was my best Old Songs ever!

best,

bbc