2021 Getaway
Sorry for the abrupt ending--I didn't hit the button to end it, but the machine or the Zoom decided otherwise. I was being tech on one of my computers, and the other computer, which was the host, decided to terminate the meeting without informing anybody--even me.
I was about to end it with a very short song with just two words--in Georgian--because they were suitable ambiguous--mraval zhamier. They are as untranslatable as mazal tov or uff da! Literally, they mean "many years," but they can be sung as a thank you or congratulations. Thank you and congratulations to everybody--the planners, the tech crew, and everybody who came and offered a song or two or even just an ear to listen--we couldn't have done the Getaway without you. But the song can also be sung as a hope for many years in the future--may we all be able to gather like this (whether in person or virtually) for many years to come. The song has hundreds of settings, and they are all in harmony--which would make it difficult to sing on Zoom. (I picked a version that doesn't sound too bad as a solo.)
Thank you to one and all who made the Getaway 2021 such a wonderful event. And here's to next year!

Very tentative date--Sept. 30-Oct. 3 if we can go live/hybrid, but not set in pencil--more like written on the dew on the windowpane.

--Charlie Baum and the Getaway committee