Well, I had a pleasant experience today that I'd like to share with you all.

My wife asked if I'd like to spend the afternoon at what used to be the annual Nyack Antique and Craft show and since it was a beautiful afternoon and Nyack is just across the Hudson from our Westchester County, I said sure. (They now have such weekends in Nyack about a half dozen times a year.)

We walked the streets and checked out the booths, and then I spotted a store on the corner that said 'Susan Reed'. I thought I was kidding when I asked the elderly lady behind the counter if she had an Irish Harp. (Back in the 40's, Susan Reed was known and parodied for climbing on a tall stool and saying with her innocent soprano girlish voice, "This is an Irish Harp."

To my surprise, she replied. "No, but you've found an Irish harper," and she pulled out an LP which I recognized as an antique itself. since she's not on the 'Net, it's safe to say that she's a nice old lady; she makes no bones about being in her mid seventies. I told her about theMudcat and her contemporaries who are om it ("Jean Ritchie! She's years older than I am!")

We had a delightful chat about the good old days, when she started as a girl of sixteen (sixty years ago), interrupted by her pitching to customers and keeping her eyes open for shoplifters. She said she still sings, but mostly in the local park, recalls her most recent gigs at some folk festival in or near Philadelphia ("I love the people in Pennsylvania"), and expessed some regret that a three-CD compilation of the early days in Greenwich Village that someone sent her ignores both Burl Ives and herself. She also proudly showed me the album covers she's painted for Tom Chapin's CD's.

I left her to her immediate concerns of making a living selling 'folk clothing, jewelry and art" with thanks for happy memories and wishes that we would see each other again in years to come.

Her business address is 50 South Broadway in Nyack, NY 10960, and her business phone is (845) 358-5577, Tuesday through Sunday Noon to 5:00PM. Maybe a call will get better results than a letter.

I hope that Bill Kennedy, Don Firth and others will find this helpful and/or of interest.