We have a weekly Thursday night session at what passes for an "Irish Pub" down here in Bubba-land. Most of the dozen or so regulars live in town, but a couple of us have to drive for an hour or so - no big deal. So, at last night's session, a guy shows up from a town 250 miles away. He's not on vacation or visiting relatives or anything like that. He had heard about the session and just drove over to pick.

Now, I have driven a lot further than 250 mi. for a paying gig, or a festival, or a weekend-long camping-and-picking-party - but not for four hours of playing for free in a bar, turn around and drive home. If I had to put a number on it, I would say 125 mi. (2 hrs) would be the maximum I would travel just to play for a few hours.

I understand that, to some extent, distance is relative. 250 mi. might get you from one small city to another in Montana, while only 200 mi. will get you from Washington, DC to New York City and take you through Baltimore and Philadelphia to boot. And, of course, in some European countries you can't even drive 250 mi. and still be in the country at all.

Anyway, how far would you be willing to travel just to play or sing for a few hours with a bunch of amateurs? No money involved, no overnight accommodations - play some tunes, get in the car and drive home.

Bruce