Last time we visited Hardi's folks, Hardi had offered the nursing home a free Sunday-hymn-sing. Of course they accepted! Logistically it was the nursing home gig from hell, and we had a brand-new sound system to try for the first time, too. Blistering heat for lugging stuff.... I'll spare you ALL the details.

Because I insisted on going VERY early-- having read ALL the Mudcat nursing home gig threads, thanks all!!!-- it all turned out fine.

Stan was usually quite recalcitrant about participating in family social events for more than about 15 minutes, and usually pretty crabby even DURING the requisite 15 minutes-- "Take me home now." Or, "I'm going to bed." But when we played, he actually played tambourine for awhile, grinning from ear to ear, showing off for his geezer buddies! "Go Stan!" one of them actually shouted. They had never seen him animated at all, much less THAT animated.

This remanins one of Hardi's hapiest memories of his dad, and it's what we prefer as a last memory of Stan's form, to the open-casket visitation his mom offered.

I mention all of this by way of potential explanation for Hardi's mom's amazing and entirely unexpected decision to ask the church organist to play "Ivory Palaces" ...instead of asking us to do it??? She's heard us play, after all. :~)

And no, we cannot put the fart machine in the coffin. Stan's going to be cremated, and why waste a perfectly good fart machine after all. And no I will not be playing it during the funeral, tho it will probably be heard back at the house afterwards. You have not had the pleasure of meeting Hardi's younger brother Phil. Think of Catspaw and a martial arts master somehow oddly mixed together. Well the FM actually belongs to Phil.

BTW, we WILL be back from Chicagoland in time to host much-wanted houseguests on their way to the Getaway and back home again after G'way, and this will be a joy, not a burden. And we'd be damn happy to have more. I finally finished the Mudcat dorm yesterday. A few decor touches remain to do over the winter, but beds for 5 are waiting and it's so cute and comfy-looking up there!!!!

~Susan