Thanksgiving thoughts

Subject: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: harpgirl
Date: 21 Nov 98 - 01:56 PM

Looking for a Thanksgiving song I came across "Thanksgiving Eve" by Bob Franke on a Sally Rogers album. So I thought I'd share what I'm thankful for this year...no Gulf War II (so far), that my son has found an alternative high school that has a positive peer culture and that he likes to attend, that my parents are still alive, that I can play lots of music with my friends, and that I have work that I like...harpgirl
P.S. Art, you better not be having roasted flamingo for Thanksgiving!!!

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Roger in Baltimore
Date: 21 Nov 98 - 04:09 PM

Harpgirl,

The song you seek is in the DT, type in [thanksgiving eve] and there you are. I suppose the Mudcat is like a song, you can get so caught up in the singing and playing and the wonderful harmonies that you just plain forget the words. I suspect you were so caught up in giving thanks that you didn't check the DT. If you had remembered I am sure you would have mentioned you are thankful as I am for this wonderful forum and huge collection of folk music.

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Art Thieme
Date: 21 Nov 98 - 08:20 PM

No Ms. Harp---No flamingo.

I'm truly thankful to/for all the good people!!! (See Bob Zentz' song of the same name.)

Art

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 Nov 98 - 02:27 AM

I'm thankful because it's such a Pleasure to Know You, all of you. But I do wonder how I got stuck eating Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of vegetarians. Where's the turkey??? Can one of my fellow carnivores save me some leftovers?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Alice
Date: 22 Nov 98 - 12:35 PM

ditto on many thanks for this forum and the friendly people who share words, music, thoughts, memories, opinions...

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: BSeed
Date: 22 Nov 98 - 05:14 PM

I'm thankful for the Point Isabel Poodle Players (aka The Born Once Gospel Singers), my jam group that started when a couple of poodle owners at the Dog Park discovered that they had folk music in common as well as dogs and brought their instruments (autoharp and guitar) to the park the following Sunday where I came on them (in the company of my old lab mix and my young black lab) came on them playing, drawn by the wonderful sound of the autoharpist's (she objects when I call her an autoharpy) custom instrument. They invite me to join them the next Sunday and the rest is history: we now have nine regular members and meet weekly at the autoharpist's house.

I'm also thankful that despite the five-year long instrument buying binge I've been on since the group got together, I'm not yet totally bankrupt (close, though).

I'm thankful that my employer (Berkeley Schools) has agreed to let me teach traditional music to students in the independent studies program, in addition to my other love, photography.

I'm thankful for my wife and son, who, while they don't share my musical tastes, tolerate them and provide me with lots of love and support; and for my extended family, fantastic people all, many of whom actually enjoy my music.

And, of course, I am thankful for the Mudcat, where I find more kindred spirits than I could imagine existed, spirits who are generous with their love, gentle with their criticism, wonderfully creative and funny and compassionate--and always accessible, except when the threads go down. I'm even thankful for the occasional down time, for how else would we all know how much we love this forum? A special thanks to Max who makes it all possible and to Dick and Susan for their wonderful resource...

--seed

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Big Mick
Date: 22 Nov 98 - 07:23 PM

Wow, where to begin?

I am thankful to the Yankee Springs State Game area for providing the wonderful, rustic cabin in the primitive area of the park. It was here that 5 lads,(meself included) decided to get together for a weekend of making music. We decided to stay together and The Conklin Ceili Band was born. We have become friends, brothers and fellow travellers on the musical road. I am especially thankful to them and their families for putting up with my tantrums and sharing their talents and time as we seek to be faithful to our music.

I am thankful for the rich, musical heritage of my people. It is one of the most important of the elements that define who Mick Lane is. And I promise the memory of my people that I will do my very best to present it credibly and honorably and with reverence for the events that caused these stories to be told.

And how do I express how thankful I am that I found The Mudcat Cafe and The Digital Tradition? How do I tell Dick and Susan that their incredible treasure trove of music has literally expanded my horizons, and set me adrift and wandering in a sea of song. How would one tell Max that his sacrifice of precious time with his family, has enabled others like myself to have friends from around the world who share this love of music. Good friends, lifelong friends, I am sure. And how about Joe Offer, who spends so much of his time taking care of us and fixing our boo-boos? How does one tell these good people, that Godlike, they have created a world built around the joy of a song, the love of a tune, and the enjoyment of a debate? And that I am grateful beyond what I can express.

And how do I tell you, dear friends, what you have come to mean to me. Whether in Sydney, Florida, Oregon, Sacramento, England, Ireland, Japan, Massachusetts, Michigan, every corner of the globe, we have become a community. And I give thanks for all of you.

Mick

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Alice
Date: 22 Nov 98 - 10:05 PM

--seed!! ? The Born Once Gospel Singers ?!

i love it

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Big Mick
Date: 23 Nov 98 - 01:06 AM

Wasn't that great, I chuckled for half an hour.

Mick

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: BSeed
Date: 23 Nov 98 - 02:24 AM

Alice, despite the fact that none of us, all being good Berkeley types, is at all religious, we love gospel music (and treat it with due reverence, as we do any good songs). We really don't have a name--we played a bit as theme music for a video on the dog park, hence the Point Isabel Poodle Players. We've had a couple of "come and play and we'll feed you" gigs, both in connection with the university and upon invitation from friends/former co-workers of our autoharpist, and there we were known simply as Sally's bluegrass band. I first suggested "Charlie Bond and the Bailjumpers"--Charlie, our lead guitarist, the one I met in the park with Sally, is an ethno-musicologist out of Duke who migrated to law. Everyone laughed but no one took it seriously, so I suggested the Born Once name, but the other members of the group are afraid the name might offend people (even in Berkeley). Since we're really just a social group with no professional aspirations, it doens't much matter. --seed

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Barbara
Date: 23 Nov 98 - 08:44 AM

To turn this thread back to Thanksgiving, I am REALLY REALLY grateful that we made it through this last weekend without a 'Cat crash! May it continue thru the next long one! Thank you Max, and everyone else who helped.
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Alice
Date: 23 Nov 98 - 02:30 PM

Like B Seed, I am grateful for all the people I can make music with, live and in person, in addition to all the wonderful Mudcat music people that enrich my life thru the internet. Also thankful for all my family ancestors who are gone yet not forgotten, the ones who kept the culture and music alive.

alice in montana

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Bill in Alabama
Date: 23 Nov 98 - 03:27 PM

Amen, Alice & Big Mick--I am thankful for the music and the strong sense of heritage which goes with it; thankful for the two generations preceding me, who taught me personally, and for the three or four generations before them, who taught them; thankful for the son and daughter who have carried on the tradition; thankful that my son impending marriage next month gives me a chance to work on another generation while I'm still "young". I'm just generally thankful to be blessed far beyond anything I deserve.

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Animaterra
Date: 24 Nov 98 - 09:05 AM

I am thankful for so much this year- for the 'Cat of course, which has become my favorite "cyber-community", for my dear children- my daughter, who is finally at the age (for a brief time, I'm sure) where she LOVES to go to folk concerts with me and sings along robustly, for my son who in spite of having Asperger syndrome (an autism-related disorder) is usually kind and patient at 13 and will occasionally even join in the family sings instead of retreating to his room; for my dear husband who accepts my hectic performing and concert-attending; for my teaching job where I'm valued for the music I teach - and where, to close my list with the most recent thanks, I am encouraged to bring such musicians as Sandy and Caroline Paton, bless 'em, who spent Sunday night at my house and performed all day at my school yesterday! This brings my story full circle: when I was a child, I ruefully concluded that since I didn't have an instrument I couldn't be a musician. Don't know where I got that notion, but I was into adolescence when my mother brought me to hear Sandy and Caroline in concert- and like a bolt of lightening I realized that I could be a musician after all- and that I wanted to impart to others the warmth and joy in music that these 2 did for me. So it's with double gratitude that I have them in my life still and that my kiddies at school just loved them. By the way, Joe, there's turkey and to spare at my home in Keene, NH- come on down!!

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Mike T.
Date: 24 Nov 98 - 11:34 AM

We should all be thankfull that the good Lord has given us an extra portion of a, truely universal, gift -- MUSIC --. And especially thankfull for the ability to share that gift with others. Our band does a show once a month at Burr Oak State Park Lodge, In southeastern Ohio. We sing any music from, for, or about Appalachia. This includes many of those old tunes passed down through the generations. I am most thankfull when I look at the crowd and see a tear of happiness (or sadness), and know that we have touched a heart with our song.

My thanks to all who share that gift on the 'Cat.

Mike T.

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Barbara Shaw
Date: 24 Nov 98 - 11:52 AM

I'm thankful to be thankful. Pity the ones who don't realize all they have and don't appreciate it.

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Roger in Baltimore
Date: 24 Nov 98 - 06:15 PM

First, I am thankful just to be alive. As I waddle through the second 50, I become more aware that no day is promised and no matter how bad things are, I am at least awake and aware that they are that bad. And then I have an opportunity to make some good days.

I went on-line this year and I sampled "chat rooms", but they all seemed so dreadful and shallow. Fortunately, it did not take long to find the 'Cat. I believe I was looking for information on Lead Belly's strings. I was quickly hooked. I am grateful for all the information I have gained through the Mudcat and I am grateful that I have been able to share some of the musical tidbits of information that have crowded into my brain since the Highwaymen sang "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" so many years ago.

I am grateful for the many people in many lands whom I have grown to know and for whom I care. There is truly a connection on the written screen.

I am grateful for my two sons and a wonderful woman who fills my life with love. There is much more, but it has been good to share just a portion of my gratitude.

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Big Mick
Date: 28 Nov 98 - 12:28 AM

Well said, Roger, well said.

Mick

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: McMusic
Date: 28 Nov 98 - 05:00 AM

I'm thankful for everything about the 'Cat--from the links, to the database, to the fine people on the threads. For a long time I thought I was one of a vanishing race--getting to know all of you have shown me I'm not wandering alone in world of synthesizers, loud noise, and meaningless lyrics. God bless and keep you all--in the holiday season that is now upon us, and in the days, months, and years ahead. May we all become old farts together. Traditional music lives! Hi Art.

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Sir
Date: 28 Nov 98 - 08:10 AM

I'm thankful for all those with whom I disagree. Life would be boring without them and I would never learn to look at things differently than I do.

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: GUEST,harpgirl
Date: 20 Nov 00 - 08:43 AM

...reread...

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: Bill in Alabama
Date: 20 Nov 00 - 10:55 PM

Thanks, Harpgirl, for bringing this'n back. It's been nearly two years, and We've got that next generation: a fine grandson, William Nicholas Tyler Foster. At four months, he's already a veteran of several of our concerts. I'm still blessed beyond anything I deserve, and the making of the music just gets better and better. Bill

Subject: RE: Thanksgiving thoughts
From: CarolC
Date: 21 Nov 00 - 05:39 AM

Thankful...to be a part of something so big and so amazing that the world has barely even begun to wake up to it. We are all people. We have each other. Sometimes we don't know it, but we do.

Thankful for the spark within me that brings life to everything I do and everything I am.

Thankful for laughter. Especially for laughter.

Thankful for joy.

Thankful for beauty.

Thankful for the natural world.

Thankful for my son.

Thankful for the Mudcat, and for all of the people who make it possible. You are all helping to make the world a better place.

Carol