2005 Getaway Reflections Here...

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Janie
Date: 21 Oct 05 - 08:38 AM

Glad you liked it, George. It's one my favorites too.

Janie

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Ferrara
Date: 21 Oct 05 - 08:24 AM

LOL

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Janie
Date: 21 Oct 05 - 08:20 AM

Annie--I can't the new pics you put up to load? Is it me or is it you?

Wait--I thought YOU were the crazy sister! I'm going home to WV this weekend-I'll get Mom to confirm that *grin*

Oh--another sound bite--listening to a boink, boink, boink in the dark and finally figuring out it was Annie flossing. She puts just the right amount of tension on that string.

Janie

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: kendall
Date: 21 Oct 05 - 08:15 AM

In spite of the fact that I can no longer sing, this was the best getaway of all I have attended. There were too many high spots for me to mention, and I don't want to leave anyone out, so suffice to say, I enjoyed every one of you!

As far as the food goes, well, I've had worse. Anyone who has been in the military has. Just because there was a faint spot of blue paint from a Ford escort on the chicken doesn't mean it was road kill. Give the cook the benefit of the doubt. (Actually, I hear the cook got the beef and the chicken from a different supplier this year, the Maryland highway department)

Last evening, Jacqui and I went to Bugaboo Creek steakhouse here in South Portland. The noise level was just short of painful, and my split roated half chicken was no where near hot when it arrived, and by the time I was finished, it was cold as a dead man's tongue. Then, in the middle of the night, I had the most painful belly ache ever!. All that after they raised their prices by 20%! Compared to the chicken at the getaway, that chicken was a bargain.

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 21 Oct 05 - 06:26 AM

Luckily you can't see this old Skiffler who's turning green with envy and dabbing his eyes, just reading this (NOT a pretty sight!).
Thanks to all for providing such powerful word pictures for non-attenders to share.

RtS

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Ferrara
Date: 21 Oct 05 - 12:38 AM

Ron, David Olive is also responsible for the country song accompanied by Bulgarian bagpipes. It was (what else?) "Please Don't Play A-11."

For you folks who never knew them, the Getaway Scholarship Fund was established in memory of Dave and his wife Linda Lieberman. If Helen Schneyer was Queen of the Getaway in my mind, David was -- not King, more likely the Jack or Knave or even the Joker of the Getaway! Bill and I Loved his doo-wop version of Barbry Allen! And his blues songs in the concerts. I do remember Dave as Blind Lemon Pledge, but my favorite was the evening concert when Eric Cole led Dave, in his dark glasses, to the front of the room to sing a blues song, where he introduced himself as Blind Harry Palms.

I think Roger in Baltimore sings one of Dave's songs, "Nine Beers with the Wrong Woman."

Sorcha, I just sent you a PM about the food when I read something you wrote earlier. Sounds as if the food was worse than I realized. I detest bloody chicken, that really got my attention.

Actually I missed a lot of the meals, slept right through them. I always bring something to eat even if it's only crackers and peanut butter, because I have to take long naps that may interfere with meal times. Also I bring my own food because even some years at the old Getaway camps, I flat didn't like the food. It does interfere with one's enjoyment. So do clogged toilets. We have had an entire camp area's toilets out of commission at least once, it seems to be a perennial problem with camps that take large groups. That doesn't make it any less frustrating though.

Ron, I enjoyed your post. I was talking today to an FSGW member (I think) from out of state, anyway a friend who has been to a number of Getaways. He said he loves having all the new people, keep 'em coming, the Getaway is better than ever. Love to hear that.

Rita

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Nancy King
Date: 21 Oct 05 - 12:26 AM

Yes, Ron, I remember. Just one of the umpteen high spots in umpteen years of Getaways...   I think you must be referring specifically to the truly unique rendition of "Please Don't Play A-11," done by the late Dave Olive, our own Nan Goland (absent this year because she and Paul went on some trip or other -- get your priorities straight, Golands...), and Mark Gilston on the Dead Goat, er, Bulgarian (?) bagpipes. For some reason, or no reason, most of the audience accompanied this stellar number with remarkably well-coordinated hand-jive. Somehow, the description just doesn't measure up. I guess you hadda be there.

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Ron Davies
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 11:54 PM

One more MUST be mentioned-- "Rolling In My Sweet Baby's Arms" in Icelandic--Skarpi, you've also contributed one that is guaranteed to enter the lore of the Getaway, right alongside our old favorites like Built for Comfort by Blind Lemon Pledge (Dave Olive) and the Hand Jive on dead goat (bagpipe). Or was it a country and western song on bagpipe? Nancy, Rita, anybody remember?

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Ron Davies
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 11:37 PM

Oh no, Janie 19 Oct 2005 8:29 AM, I definitely don't claim to be in the same league as Judy Cook in knowing songs. (I sure am glad she had a chance to learn the "Buckskin Bag of Gold", though--I ran across that on a Henry Clay Work LP I had--- and it had Judy written all over it so I took the record to her. Among other things, Work almost always seems to have great choruses, so there's something for the rest of us to sing.)

I'm also not in the same league as Amos--he'd certainly be a top candidate for human jukebox--and it doesn't even cost anything---the songs just tumble out. And a fantastic guitarist of top of it. And of course a great guy.

Or Noreen.

Or Keith Baldwin.

Or...or...or...

But that's why it's so fantastic-- we weren't competing with each other at all--in fact we were proving over and over that the Getaway sum is worth far more than any of its (uncountable) talented parts.

What I like more than any other aspect of it is its cooperative nature. And that was there in spades. It is such an indescribable joy to go from one type of music to another and witness and/or be part of enriching the musical life of the group. I love throwing in a viola low harmony or vocal low harmony and hearing people do their harmonies with their instruments or their voices. The Friday, Saturday and Sunday impromptu sings were each totally unique--- such an incredible range of music-- (of course sometimes there was more than one going on in various areas)--and totally stunning-------and far more fun than the law allows in public. But there is something about voices intertwining which just beggars description.

And that's not even mentioning the great official concerts--the grand finale Saturday night was probably the most entertaining ever to the Saturday concert--I wished it had gone on for a lot more songs by that troupe. We've never had anything like that before. And other wonderful moments--I certainly second LaMarca's enthusiasm for that incredible Hawaiian slack-key original by T. J. O'Malley.

And the Sunday concert--I think that song by El Greco really hit us all where we live.

And other great moments in both concerts that I can't recall.

And I wished that K T's miniconcert had gone on for hours. Just her and her guitar. She may have asked for some help--but K T--you really need absolutely nothing else.


And it was such a delight to meet more of the people behind the Mudcat handles, as well as to experience so many hidden talents--at least not experienced by the Getaway before---obviously, as others have noted, the Duelling Banjos solo duet--kazoo and midget banjo (what's that called?) by Geoff the Duck has to be particularly singled out.

But there were so many others--just can't possibly mention all the highlights.


OK so the food wasn't the best. I have to admit I was pretty impressed with the first breakfast--it was even worth getting up for after singing til 5--it had both pancakes and fresh pineapple. Well, I'm just inordinately impressed with fresh pineapple.

And after that the food went downhill. But at weekends like that my main goal is enough fuel to keep singing as long as the singing lasts. And that was there.

I'm real sorry that Jan wasn't there--we even had some songs to do.

But despite that, I have to say that was the best Getaway I can recall.

And I'd also say that it was the Mudcat people who made the difference. The Getaway is always one of the high points of the year--even before Mudcat was a gleam in Max's eye that was so. But Mudcatters have added just staggering richness to an already wonderful experience.

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 11:30 PM

Pictures Some New Ones Added

Some of my favorite things were learning a Hank Williams song from Ebbie and playing fiddle/guitar duet. Being with my crazy sister, and with Dani, Holly, and Elena. Meeting Pauline, Skarpi, Jeri again, talking to Eric in the parking lot. Power neck rub from (you know who you are). The weather! There is a God!! Selling my guitar five minutes before I left. Walk in the woods with my downtoearth spiritual advisor (you know who you are). Gospel to raise the roof. Workshop til ya drop. Kendall's timing. Singing when I had something to sing. Humming when I didn't.

Annie

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Nancy King
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 11:03 PM

Well, we can (and do!) certainly hope for better food next year, but there's no chance we'll be doing it ourselves. The new camp (West River Camp, near Annapolis, MD) won't go for that. But it is a much nicer place: flat grounds right on the Bay, fairly modern, reasonably well-maintained buildings with LOTS of bathrooms, etc.) I'll be surprised if the food isn't better than Ramblewood's, but there's no way to tell until we've tried it. As some have mentioned, many years ago at Prince William Forest Park we hired Debbie McClatchy to honcho the food, and it was always fine. When we moved to Camp Letts, we had to settle for the camp's food (very blah..) the first year, then convinced them that we could do it ourselves without wrecking their kitchen. After Debbie stopped coming (and didn't I hear a rumor she's slowly getting out of the folk-camp-catering business?), we had to find other volunteers to be in charge of the kitchen, and that got harder as time went on -- it's an absolutely exhausting job, both before and during the event, and the head cook never got to participate in the rest of the Getaway. It also meant everyone had to contribute at least two hours of work time. That actually was a lot of fun, what with the chopping shanties and all, and it was an excellent way of getting to know some folks you might not otherwise spend time with, but it did mean having to decide what two hours of workshops to miss. Anyhow, when we first approached Ramblewood about this, they replied with an adamant NO. So that's the way it is. When we visited West River last year, we did ask about this, and were told it wouldn't be possible. I expect there are insurance issues involved, for one thing. So we'll see how it goes.

More details about next year's camp will emerge in time.

Sorcha, I'm sorry you were feeling bad and didn't enjoy the Getaway -- you were one of the people I was looking forward to meeting, but it never happened. I hope you won't give up on us!

The pictures posted so far have been great! Thanks to all concerned! I particularly like Annie's shot of my son Dan Schatz (surprise, surprise!), and Larry's photos of Jeri and of Keith Baldwin. I'll try to post some captions/comments on Larry's pictures before long. And I'm looking forward to yet more pictures!

Getaway highlights for me included:

The weather! Best we've had for a long time! Too bad we can't program that in advance…

The "Raise the Roof Gospel" session – that's my kind of gospel singing!

Seeing Barry Finn up and around. He's too skinny, but otherwise in fine form and still one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. And this year we got a bonus – Justine!

Great singing in the Dining Hall Saturday night! I didn't last beyond 2 am, but what I heard was dandy.

The Saturday concert was excellent!   I particularly enjoyed Roger's "it's a duck (not an armadillo)" song; Lorcan Otway's song and lore about the Underground Railway; Kathy, Mary & George ("Oak Ash & Thorn") sounding really great; the Byzantine (now, is that "bye-zan-tyne" or "bizz-an-teen" or "buzz'n-ten" or what?) Babes; and of course the "Ladies of the Club" finale.   What I was able to hear of the Sunday concert (had to leave before the end to get Ken to the train) was also fine, particularly George's beautiful song.

I was delighted to hear Mary (Maryrrf) Smith's singing – great voice, great songs!

Another treat was seeing the various Mmario shawls in evidence – particularly the gorgeous one he made for Jacqui. Simply beautiful.

One thing that made the Getaway special for me was having both of my sons (not to mention my daughter-in-law!) there. This has happened several times in recent years, but not every time, and since we all live in different cities it's a special treat for me to have us all together. The only downside to it is that I tend to spend a lot of time with them instead of getting to know other people. Well, I suppose there are worse things…

And a special bonus for me this year was working with Rita and Carly on the program committee. We're old friends, of course, and we've worked together in the past, but somehow this year it really went especially well, and made all that advance work a pleasure. And of course the great advantage of being on the program committee is that all the work is done in advance – there's nothing to do once you get to the event, so you can relax and enjoy it, which I did!   

Special thanks to Charlie Baum, who did a great deal of work in advance and still had to deal with on-the-spot problems like lost items and nonworking toilets. Thanks, Charlie, you're a prince!

Next year's Getaway can't come too soon for me!

Nancy

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Dani
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 10:56 PM

Yeah, screw the food. BUT it would have been nice had the place been cleaned before we got there. Also, room service sucked: never answered the damn phone.

The space outSIDE the cabins is magically beautiful to me, and I will miss it. Memories from the last few years I'll remember: walks by the pond, the smell of the pine needles in the sun (we took a nap under a tree, thanks for not stepping on us), the almost-full moon through the pineboughs and tears, the random benches situated for valley-viewing. The place has potential it's not living up to, but in any case, it's water under the bridge, right?

And, I also am a cook and a caterer. And my daughters (sniff) thought those breakfasts were fabulous. Sniff.

Let's consider asking everyone to work a shift next year. Even if the kitchen at the new place doesn't much want us, I think there's a proprietary interest created by involving folks in the housekeeping. Just a thought.

Dani

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: CarolC
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 10:39 PM

We chickened out and did our sleeping in a hotel, and we brought our own food, so I can't really comment on any of those things. But I'm glad I had an opportunity to meet you, Sorcha. I hope you feel better soon.

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Maryrrf
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 10:29 PM

Well, thanks for the compliments, everybody. That means a lot because I know its coming from people who understand folk music. Bobert I will be PMing you. If you have a recording of the Churchill tunnel song I would love to hear it and I know that Maria would also. She was deeply moved that somebody would remember such an incident, since most of the people involved were poor black workers that nobody bothered much about back in those days.

Hearing the discussions about the workshops makes me really wish I could have attended them all - an impossibility, I know, and I so enjoyed the ones I did get to. The Performers workshop hosted by Judy Cook, Kendall and Chance and Suzette was very useful and really was more of what I would call a real workshop rather than a singaround. Don't get me wrong, I loved the singarounds but I wish each worshop could have been expanded in length so that the moderator could have talked more about the genre that was being explored, and so there would be time for questions. The wealth of knowledge at the Getaway is staggering, isn't it?

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 10:29 PM

Janie, was that YOUR greek potato salad? This old Greek geek would like to give it top marks - I had thirds on Friday! At last, a woman who understands that one can never have too much oregano... Well done!

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Ebbie
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 10:24 PM

hahahhaha giggle giggle giggle Oh, I love the Mudcat! And I love the Getaway! And the people! (Not necessarily the food!)

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: jacqui.c
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 09:52 PM

The funniest food moment was Sunday night when Kendall and catsPHiddle were trying to eat the chicken - possibly reheated from the previous night's meal.

Khatt mentioned that it was a bit tough and Kendall made some comment about it being roadkill. I thought Khatt was going to fall off her chair....

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: KT
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 09:37 PM

It's true the food was not the best, but it served as a great souvenir. I'm still chewing the roast beef! No matter, I could've eaten cardboard and would still be very happy with the weekend!

Kudos again to all who made it happen!!

KT

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: SINSULL
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 09:25 PM

The food was grim and the bathrooms less than clean. Sorcha, I agree.

The music and company and generosity and laughter outweighed any minor inconvenience. Meeting the Ducks and Ducklings and Dani's daughters was magic. The twins were singing harmony to Northern Tide while Dad and Mom performed on stage. With eyes glowing with pride Rowan turned to me and whispered "That's my Dad!"

Theresa is so full of life. Her enthusiasm is contagious. Her spirit - WOW! Is there a song she doesn't know? Then to see her upstaged by the demure Wakana - priceless.

Linda Goodman's emergence from her cocoon to share her wings with the rest of us - another WOW! InoBu in plain clothes vamping amid the well endowed ladies.

Charlie Baum's Rudolph followed by Rudolph/Amazing Grace.

Workshops - RiB's funny songs, Dave Diamond/Micca/Jacqui's parodies, pub songs, Helen's memorial with laughing crying friends and acquaintances sharing her music and life. Dick emoting Blood on the Saddle. Ron slogging thru Slowing Down To Lethargy, Dick Rogers waltzing the graceful KT around the lunch room, Dueling Banjos on banjo/kazoo, Irish Rebel songs in the Friday PM session, Mick and KoKo, Giok and Ewetopia,

Sorcha, I know you must have moments to share. Screw the food. What happy memories do you have? You were jamming outside the cafeteria - and?

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Janie
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 09:24 PM

Hey--maybe Charlie grabbed the greek potato salad I went off and left in the cooler---we can have it again next year. Yum !:+)

Janie

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Bobert
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 09:23 PM

Yeah, Maryrrf, like Jeri said, I loved yer concert song....

Also enjoyed talkin' with you and Maria at supper on Friday night... Okay, it might have been Saturday... Heck, it might have been lunch????

But, yeah, Richmond is my favorite city anywhere an' if you'd like me to come down an' play sometime, I'll sho nuff do it... Just need a place to crash... That's all I ask...

What you all are doing is really needed in Richmond...

Dopn't firget to see if the Crossroads Coffee House, where I was playin' in ther 70's, is back.... It's in the basement of a church on the south side of Franklin St in the 1400 block...

Lotta good memories there... I rememeber always being real nervous and sittin' on the bathroom floor with my guitar..,.. Never threw up but I was always terrified... There wasn't any noise... Everyone was so danged respectfull they would go outside if they even had to burp.... You could hear a pin drop in there, an' it was dark with spot lights in her face an', an', an' I met a lot of great folks there and learned how to perform there...

"All my memories are there..."

Yeah, yopu check it out... I heard it was back....

Also, check out the Churchill Tunnel stoery that I was tellin' you 'bout... Mark Holmberg is the man at the Times-Dispatch to get you into that story....

BTW, I wrote and frecorded a song about the story... The song??? It sucks but the story I told in it is one fine story... PM me if you'd like to suffer thru the same 12 minutes I had to suffer thru when I recorded it... Great story, bad song...

Nice meetin' both of you...

Bobert

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: jacqui.c
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 09:20 PM

The food was not good for the main part and the accomodations could have been better.

However, the magic of the Getaway made those things of minimal consequence. I was so busy enjoying the people and the music that the rest of it became immaterial. I just survived on Bruce's ginger and copious amounts of booze and didn't bother with sleeping too much.

I think, with an event like this, you get out of it what you put in and most of the attendees seemed to be having one hell of a good time.

For myself I would be quite happy to volunteer to help in the kitchens if we went self-catering. Communal cooking can be great fun.

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Maryrrf
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 09:13 PM

Ebbie, yes there were a lot of Marys there. In our cabin we had at least four Marys (and of course nobody wanted to be Mary Hamilton! ) You were one of the people I wanted to meet - I saw you a couple of times but didn't get a chance to introduce myself. I have short reddish hair and am ummm....kind of middle aged, average height and weight which isn't much of a description. I sang Mattie Groves at the Saturday night concert.   As Leadfingers always says, everybody ought to post a profile and I will do so very soon..

Well Sorcha I don't know about out voted - "one man's meat is another man's poison" as they say. I'm a vegetarian so I didn't eat any of the undercooked chicken or the greenish tinted roast beef! For camp food, I thought it was fine but maybe I was just under the magic spell of the Getaway.

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Jeri
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 09:04 PM

Sorcha, it's not a matter of being "voted and voiced out." It was your experience and everyone's is equally valid. The plumbing in my cabin worked and I didn't eat the chicken - very easy to see how my experience would be different. I'm sorry you felt bad. I missed playing some fiddle tunes.

Mary, I loved your singing, and Maria wins the prize for most attractive bedspread/blanket - love that green!

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Janie
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 09:03 PM

Mary--did you have really short hair, a big guitar, a great voice and repetoire? I think so--and I loved listening to you. Like you, I'm a song as opposed to a tune person, and the Getaway is just taylor-made for song!

(And what most people really notice about Ebbie is her sparkling eyes!)

Janie

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: GutBucketeer
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 09:00 PM

The mattresses get a little more lumpy, and the cabins a little more worn each year, but then so do the people. However, the (((HUGS))) get a lot more softig and just plain better each year. AND I'm a (((HUG))) addict. I've been know to drive for hours for a warm smile, a glint in an eye, a snatch of song, and (((HUGS))). I guess that's why I return year after year and why each year is better than the last.

(((HUGS)))

JAB

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: CET
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 09:00 PM

Lor - what's Mudcat Flickr?

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Janie
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 08:59 PM

Naw Sorcha--just come back next year when you are feeling better and less worried--and when it will be at a new location! Musta been a drag to come all that way and not to have felt good or to have enjoyed yourself.

Been keeping you and yours in my thoughts.

Janie

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Ebbie
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 08:45 PM

Maryrrf, which Mary are you? There were multiple Marys there and I'm not sure I met you. I did meet Maria- what a gorgeous woman! - but I don't remember that I met a companion of hers.


You may have noticed me: I'm the fat woman in the corner with one arm hoisted above my head trying to get all the music on disc that I possibly could.

I too felt that the weekend was pure magic- all I actually want as improvement is MORE of it!

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Sorcha
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 08:41 PM

Fine. I knew I'd be out voted and out voiced. I'll shut up now.

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Maryrrf
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 08:25 PM

Oh add me to the list of Mudcatters - I know I haven't posted much but I will stop lurking and participate more now that I have met more Mudcatters in person. I have to say that for me, the weekend was pure magic. I actually thought the food was great - it's a camp, not a five star restaurant, and they did a nice job. My friend Maria (the only black person at the event - she kept getting mistaken for Azizi!) and I haven't stopped talking about it since we got back. It was like a spiritual vitamin shot - really lifted my spirits and proved the old spiritual truism about the importance of being around like minded people and how it raises your vibrations. I find myself singing more around the house, and with more gusto and enjoyment, than I have felt in a long time, and I'm charged up and busy thinking of new songs to learn (and there's plenty of inspirational material, with the great CD's I bought from Camsco). I felt a sense of community, a sense of "family" as Charmion put it, like I haven't felt for a long time, and it just reinforces what I've always believed about the power and importance of music. I loved meeting people I kind of felt like I knew from Mudcat. I wish the Getaway could be an entire week and not just one weekend - I hated for it to end. Let's see, highlights were:

Being with people who love folk music and know that it's more than Peter Paul and Mary, the Kingston Trio, and Bluegrass. Nice to spend time in "the folk stetle" as Charlie Baum put it. And while I'm on that subject, what a nice host and announcer Charlie is! He really pulled everything together and made everyone welcome - the perfect MC.

Meeting folks and hearing their music - Ron Davies, Charmion, Barry Finn (he sure knows a lot of good songs!), Giok, Leadfingers (what a charmer), Skarpi, El Greko, the unforgettable Bobert, Lorcan, Mmario....and so many others.

Just drinking in all the songs! I'm a "song" person as opposed to "tunes" and the Getaway is hog heaven for songaholics!

Oh I can't wait till the next one!

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: InOBU
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 08:17 PM

Same here, Skipjack -
The showers were great, the toilet was clean and worked, the beds just right, cable in the rooms... oh... ummmm... Genie and I were in paralle universe, we stayed in a motel... whoops...

lor

PS Hey GUYS Get on Flickr and post discriptions of the photos in the comments!!!!!!!!!!!

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Charley Noble
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 08:09 PM

Skipjack-

Not only are you and your clone in parallel universes but you both managed to post to this thread!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble, who actually enjoys a good food fight

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Skipjack K8
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 07:58 PM

Damn it, I love it when I'm in a parallel universe. The showers worked, the bog flushed, I got as much sleep as I awarded myself, I put on weight, and I have absolutley no complaints about the camp, or the massive efforts of our unpaid organisers, just thanks for gettin' off your collective ass and making it happen for us.

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: LilyFestre
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 07:58 PM

200!!!!!!!!!!


More later!!!   :)

Michelle

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Charley Noble
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 07:55 PM

Sigh! If I wanted a quiet weekend and a gourmet meal I certainly would not have decided to go to the Getaway. Good lord! Certainly the salmon we had in the Pacific Northwest was fantastic. And we even have folks in Maine that prepare food better than the kitchen crew at Camp Ramblewood.

However, I was there primarily to make music and meet some other folks who shared that archane wish.

Sorcha- I'm sorry that it was such an unpleasant experience for you.

Charley Noble, with the iron stomach

PS

If it wriggles or is bloody I don't eat it!

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: InOBU
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 07:51 PM

Hiya Kiddies... I started putting some comments on the Mudcat Gathering Photos on the Mudcat Flickr site... so I invite others to post comments when you see a photo with no name on it, click on the photo, add a comment, then folks will know who is who and you can leave as many words thereafter as possible... like photo of Greg... Skipjack, you can post a comment under the photo saying, Greg - Skipjack, loved the singing, good backup band, that sort of thing...
Cheers Lor

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Janie
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 07:48 PM

So the food was worse than it had been in the past. The price is right for the Getaway. I, for one, don't want the job of locating camps who will take all of us wild banshee types. And I don't attend the Getaway because of the prospect of good eats. (Or a decent mattress, for that matter. Not only were they woarn out, when everyone in the cabin rolled over, it sounded like popping corn and woke me up from my sweet snoring!) Shared travails bring us closer, eh?

Jeri--how come I didn't know you are a gardener? You been holdin' out on me, girl! I demand pm's about the joys of diggin' in the dirt and gardening in the North vs. the South. Sheez!

And Bobert--stop that sniffin'--go to doctor, boy. You done infected half of mudcat!

xxoo,

Janie

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 07:47 PM

Enough about food already (said the fat omnivore); I see that as a "maintenance" factor at events like the getaway, and not for prime consideration - though if it really is terrible I accept that it can detract from the overall enjoyment.

Me, I'd have enjoyed the event just as much with a couple of slices of bread and a hunk of cheese for each and every meal. But that's just me (a cheeseaholic omnivore). Non-working toilets are more of a problem, but then things do break down now and then, and the timing often follows Murphy's Law. So I shrug shoulders, shout "kismet" and move on to the next toilet, or even better, the next session.

I know I am being a little flippant here, and don't take me to task on it, but don't you find that sometimes a little hardship aids the camaraderie? By all means let's try for better next year, but also let's not allow such things to detract from what was still a magical weekend.

Even if some of the magic was slightly odorous or under/overcooked :-)

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Ebbie
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 07:40 PM

I agree with you, Amos. By the way, it was such fun to see you have such fun! I wasn't at all surprised that you are an excellent guitarist and a great singer but it hadn't occurred to me that you would leap in with both feet as though Camp Ramblewood was just what you were expecting. It was great.

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Amos
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 07:22 PM

Well, Sorcha as for top form, I was out of that shape after Friday night, which as I recall ended about sunrise; and it kinda got shaggier and funnier from then on forard. But I must say that taking the waves as they came, and making th emost of it, was by a long shot the best attitude I could find and it seemed to work purdy well!

A

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Sorcha
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 07:20 PM

Welll...on the chicken or night, I chose chicken...it was bloody in the middle. Took it back, fussed, got another piece. It was bloody too so I was a veggie for the night...I can't eat fish. Overcooked, dried out burgers and cold stiff buns don't cut it.

I AM a cook and a caterer too....have fed multitudes many times. The food was, IMO, inexcuseable.

So is a toilet that won't flush at 2 AM (yea, so we told them the next day...that doesn't help at 2 AM), sinks that don't drain, showers that run either HOT or cold but not both...

Still no excuse for the mess I saw on Monday AM.

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Bobert
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 06:47 PM

Well, not to be complainin' but there are folks, myself included, who don't eat red meat... Other than the chicken/fish night, the rest of the meals were slim pickin's... Thank God fir the salad bar, though...

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Ebbie
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 06:43 PM

Every now and again I hark back to the days when I used to camp out. I did my own cooking and -trust me- the food was not that great. I really don't care much about the variety. The judicious applicaton of some seasonings on individual items would not come amiss, however, and without great additional expense. But I expect you are right- taste buds differ.

Bill D, I don't know if you got any of the three pounds of smoked wild salmon KT and I brought? Last year we added two pounds to AlaskaMike's store (And ssssshhhhh- a Juneau friend of ours makes the stuff we brought, unlike the store-bought salmon Mike brought. humph. *G* Incidentally, don't anybody yump down my t'roat- Mike himself told me that he bought his at a store.)

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: lamarca
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 06:28 PM

Ebbie, the farmed salmon was topped with surimi - fake crab - which goes right along with the "Cheap Food to Feed the Masses" approach of the camp. I thought the naked hamburgers and hotdogs with stale buns for Saturday lunch were pretty awful. This is where I REALLY miss the Good Old Days of the Getaway, pre-camp Ramblewood, when Debby McClatchy, banjo picker and cook extraordinaire, was hired to cater the Getaway. She had imaginative, tasty, affordable meals for a crowd, crafted over her long years of cooking for dance camps, the Bay Area Getaway, etc.

Everyone who attended the Getaway had to sign up for 2-3 hrs kitchen duty sometime over the whole weekend, which led to Carrot-Chopping Shanties, Chicken Puppet dances (don't ask, it's disgusting) and other communal activities that helped make the work more fun. I'm hoping that perhaps the new camp will allow us to do our own food again, and that Debby would be willing to come back from the Left Coast to organize it!

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Ferrara
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 06:22 PM

As to the "chicken OR beef," we ask to have all registrations in by about October 5, and we had 145 people by that day. That is the day we need to tell the camp how much food to order.

In the final 2 weeks, we went up to 170 people. The camp let us keep adding people, but they couldn't work miracles with loaves and fishes and I guess it was a bit tight by Sunday. But we really preferred to let everybody come who wanted to, rather than have a bit fancier or more plentiful food.

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Bill D
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 06:15 PM

The 'good' salmon would have raised the cost of the weekend 20%, I'd bet...*grin*...and would YOU have trusted that staff with top-notch salmon? (Alaska Mike has brought good smoled salmon for Friday night a couple of times! YUM!)

Many years ago, even before my time, the Getaway used to survived on hot dogs and beans and cheap salads, I have heard. The only really great times were the years we hired Debby McClatchy to do the food...and even then there were menus that pleased some and irritated others.....me, I don't like meals based on large amounts of onion and eggs...but, I'm from Kansas.........

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Ebbie
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 06:01 PM

Charley, I thought the stuffing on the salmon was great- delicate flavor but crunchy. The salmon itself was so blatantly farmed fish that I wished there was someone to whom I could strongly suggest making the effort to get wild salmon. The difference between the two is quite remarkable.

The chicken was gone by the time I got there- but I was told that we were informed that the choice given us was EITHER/OR chicken or beef. I sincerely hope that the greenish tint to the roast beef was because of herbs! *G*

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Bill D
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 06:00 PM

The director...the big cheese...has been 'pretty' reasonable for 5 years. The little Sgt. has his own interpretation of the rules, unless the Boss tells him specifically what to do.

This camp caters to a WIDE variety of eccentrics...from nudists to SCA folk...etc., and they adjust by being a bit inflexible on some subjects *grin*....The food has been better, and could have been ok this year with just a little better preparation. The morning bacon was not up to previous years..perhaps they had different suppliers or cooks..*shrug* (Several years ago, Rick Fielding complemented it as being WAY above some camps he has met!)

Some things were fine...some were borderline....but we sorta survived!

Subject: RE: 2005 Getaway Reflections Here...
From: Charley Noble
Date: 20 Oct 05 - 05:54 PM

Well, in my opinion the salmon entre Saturday evening was actually quite good. The chicken was good. The roast beef looked awful but one didn't have to choose it. In general I think the kitchen crew did a reasonable job, even if they were a little surly. They were particularly pleased that Amos showed up for his early Monday morning breakfast but were rather pissed that no one else who requested an early breakfast materialized.

I didn't notice much of a mess but I wasn't in the dinning room for a late night inspection.

There was regrettably no recycling options available for plastics, bottles, or cans. It would be nice if this were an option for next year. I suppose I should have taken more of my empties back with me to Maine and cashed them in.

I'm pleased that so much of the area was smoke free, although I noted that some folks at the barn workshop lighted up around the big open door oblivious to the wind blowing the smoke in.

But I had a great time and only regret that it couldn't have continued on for a week or two longer!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble