Chance encounters with music

Subject: Chance encounters with music
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 26 Jul 05 - 05:54 AM

Back in the great metropolis of Higgins Texas, USA last weekend, having been "volunteered" to dig ditches in the Texas hardpan to put modern plumbing in at the cemetery, we stopped in at the famous Gene's Do Nut Shop for coffee (he'd sold all the donuts) on Sunday morning.

'Mongst the other bits and pieces of local intelligence, Gene volunteered that a short time back a couple of crazy bicyclers passed through, and he showed us a short letter he'd got from one of them. It seems Gene had some local favorite CDs going on his boom box when the fellers stopped by, and this guy had promised to send him a couple of his own CDs – which had actually come with the letter. Gene was good enough to play a few numbers for us, and they sounded pretty good. Although I'd guess that they were not "big studio edited" they were pretty clean, and we enjoyed the selections.

I didn't get many details about the band, but did find a newspaper bit at Seeing America, one person at a time that explains how this feller Jim Krikorian, with his friend Bob Alessio, took a month leave of absence to bicycle across the US from San Diego to his home in Milford Massachusetts.

Now this here Jim sort of fits the mold of the part-time musician with a bit of the wanderlust, so it seemed he might be some sort of inspiration to some of y'all. I would have to mention though that:

Jim would probably agree now that planning a trip across the southern US desert "in the season with the most daily hours of sunlight" might not be the best of the available options.

In addition:

His month long leave of absence didn't quite cover the 58 days it took him to make the trip so he got fired just a little before he got back home. (Jim says he's applied to get his job back, and he seems optimistic.)

I didn't find anything on Jim's musical activities with my web search, although I did find several pretty technical medical papers he may have written. The papers were all long on citations and references but omitted any author credentials, so I can't be sure they were his – but they fit with the job description he used to have.

Anyhow, if any of you know this guy (or if he's one of us?) he can be informed that Gene got his CDs and is enjoying them, and is sharing them with the citizens of Higgins and surrounding areas, so they'll probably soon be famous (at least in and around Lipscomb County). They may never become as well known as the locally famous *Frankie McWhorter and his "ex-lax symphony" (music to make you move), but it's a start.

* Lin In Kansas has a niece who married into the Cooper family, mentioned in the article, so it's clear that Frankie has "local advantage." Young Mr. Cooper was out at the cemetery diggin' post holes most of Saturday (107 F in the shade most of the day). He's in a lot better shape than I am.

And if any of the rest of you are fussin' about how to get yourselfs known, just hop on your bicycles…

John

Subject: RE: Chance encounters with music
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jul 05 - 07:41 AM

Can't help you, but thanks for putting this up.