30 Years +. . . Time marches On
Nice
to see you out. . .
Enjoying those holidays, aren’t you? Happy Holidays to you, my friends.
I hope yours were as good as ours. Lots of presents and parties abounded.
Obviously the kids had a good time. So did we, as the smiles on the kids’
faces and the speed of which they tore into each gift (literally) made it
all worthwhile. It’ll be tough to beat these holidays, but next year
the same acclamation will no doubt be uttered. This writer is looking forward
to a great year. Perhaps we’ll all prosper in 2006.
An apology is in order for missing the last two months. Big-time miscommunications ensued, for which “sorry about that” is stated, but not used as an excuse. We’ll be back on the ball this year. Check out my new and improved website when you get a chance. We’ll be trying to keep the entire year’s up-to-date calendar schedule posted.
30 Years . . . But Who’s Counting?
“It
seems like only yesterday when I heard the teacher say,
One and two makes three, we were children, you and me
Let us pray – for the ones they call the children of today”
Opening lines to a Gordon
Lightfoot song do not necessarily apply to this situation. . . in a sense,
though, it does seem like only yesterday. Yes, that long ago day of October
3, 1975 – a Thursday afternoon about 5:00 p.m., when sales manager Lou
Paris broke those words to me that my sales territory was being consolidated,
and would be split among two other reps. Employed by Consolidated Foods –
i.e., The Monarch Institutional Foods Division – was of small consolation,
and it left me wondering: “Quo Vadis?”. Well, where are you going?
In the back of my mind, I always wanted to give music a full-time shot, but
for many reasons – mainly academic – it didn’t seem right.
The answer came about a week later in the form of a phone call from one Terry
Harris, a music pal then of a year or so. How about you and I, he said, doing
a gig at the VFW in McHenry – and we’ll split the $50 for the
evening? I jumped at it – headlong – and continued solo at the
VFW until Christmas time, when it became time to move on. So it was on to
Crescent Bay Landing (dining with Sasha), and to the Last Chance Saloon in
Grayslake, where Terry and I alternated weekends, for the next 6 months. Things
were starting to pop.
It was determined back in October, 1975, that I would give this music business
2-1/4 years – until January, 1978. By then I would have gotten this
folk music “bug” out of my system, and would be ready and eager
to return to the real working world. Funny thing – it’s never
happened, and I’m still doing nearly everyday what I was doing only
occasionally back in 1975. And still loving it. Oh, yes – Dick Feller’s
song “Some Days are Diamonds, Some Days are Stones” – you
know, the one John Denver sang – sure holds true of this business. More
of the latter than the former – way more. But the good days are so satisfying,
that it keeps one coming back for more. Thank you for you support, kindness
and tolerance of the past 30 years. Corny as it may sound, I couldn’t
have done it without you. As you are no doubt aware, most people scratch mosquito
bites. But I scratch guitar strings with a .73 nylon pick and the more I scratch,
the more it itches.
Kids
Korner
After a fun-filled summer vacation, fall semester and holiday break, the kids
are back on track. Time-telling, money-counting and stories are occupying
much of 1st grader Deirdra’s time, while Kaila’s 3rd grade class
is concentrating on math, English and spelling. Both girls love music classes,
gym, library time and computer studies. They are in an “after-school”
homework group, and Kaila is also in a community service club. In addition
to schoolwork, Awanas, piano and Girl Scouts are also filling the extra curricular
time slots. Deirdra turned seven in November (I thought it would never get
here), so they are now only one year apart – until Kaila rings up number
nine in February. Besides playing with their various presents, the girls’
winter break was filled with a trip to the zoo, swimming and taking Dad to
a 3D movie, where we had to wear those necessary glasses. During the coming
winter months, we will, no doubt, get in a game of bowling, some ice skating
and maybe another movie. Kaila got a nice volleyball from Santa, and it seems
she may have chosen her future sport. She continues to read, read and read
some more. Deirdra? She also likes to read, draw, and sing. Santa brought
her a karaoke machine, so she will undoubtedly provide us with many hours
of entertainment. They certainly keep us active, and we definitely wouldn’t
want it any other way.
