There have been few things that have left me positively speechless (in a good way) but encountering a gaggle of Mudcatters before my concert in Washington ranks right up there. Nick-names and sobriquets became real and wonderful folks, and I'll remember that night for quite a while.

Didn't run into any other "catters" on the rest of the tour, but saw some old friends, made a few new ones, and spent a few days at Folk-Legacy with two of the "great ones". Sandy is now so computer literate (folk-singer-wise) that I'm filled with guilt and promise to learn my HTMLs, UFOs, and how to cut and paste lyrics.

I didn't realise how addictive this whole thing could be, until Heather and I got home at 3am yesterday morning after a long drive, and for a brief moment I couldn't decide whether to use the john or see what threads were currently running on the "cat". Fortunately I slapped myself in the face, said "get a grip!" and headed for the bathroom. Glad to be back perusing again though.

A quick P.S. to the folks who song circled after the concert in Washington. How much I would have liked to join in for longer, but while Ferarra was MacArthur harping upstairs, I was downstairs in the john (Geez, this didn't mean to be scatalogical) throwing up big time. I think I got a dose of the 24 hour flu about two songs from the end! Anyway, thanks so much for coming. It meant a lot to me...and maybe I'll get to see what ol' Cletus looks like as well some day.

Rick