Old Friends

Christmas ran against the odds this year. Tina is traveling with friends, the kids are staying put in New York and Charlotte and Blondie and I are home ripping old tile out of the bathroom. No lights, no tree, no shiny wrappings and yet it was a very nice Christmas. We'll have to go back 60 years or so to start.

I cannot ever remember when I did not know my friend Ray. School, Church, Camp, Scouts, from the time we were both very small. I met his wife Linda much later. When we were 12 or 13 and her family moved back to town. We all became very close friends. They married and went off to college. We stayed close and I always had a place to sleep if I wanted to visit them or just visit High St. in Athens. The summer when I was between college and grad school I helped them build the house they still live in. Ray's Dad took time off work to help and we drove nails all day in the days before nail guns. Linda and Ray's mom would feed us well every day and keep the site tidy. I remember Ray's Mom shoveling gravel into the basement excavation while we were down below spreading it out. We could barely keep up. She had known a life of hard work and wasn't afraid of more. Still isn't.

Time marched on as it usually does. We visited often and remained best friends. They had kids. Their son was wearing the first diaper I ever changed and he thoroughly christened me. Tina and I married, we moved. Still within a drive but farther away. Ray started a business, I started a side business. We visited, we went fishing, we got busy being adults. Tina and I had kids. The visits we could fit in were more dedicated to Grandparents than friends. We drifted apart as life squeezed in more and more and months between turned into years between.

Jump ahead 30 years or so. Last fall we all had a class reunion. We got together. Talked a lot. Saw other folks who looked older than they used to and promised to stay in touch. Life marched on a little and I called them Tuesday morning to wish them a Merry Christmas. Linda said dinner is in an hour and a half you should come. I said lets do it when you don't have all the kids and grandkids there. She said come. I did. I had the best time.

Ray's Dad had a serious stroke a while back and in the fall it had sounded like he was in pretty bad shape. I guess he had started some new treatments recently and is doing much better. He was able to come to dinner, feed himself, and carry on some conversation. He is 91 and I had never expected to have another conversation with him. His wife is 89 and still his primary care giver. They have been married 68 years and lived in the same house for 64 of them.  She works as hard as she ever did and takes very good care of him. She reminds me a lot of my mother. She is a little younger than my Mom who would have been 100 this year but they both grew up in the depression , worked hard all their life, went to church on Sunday, and never complained or asked for help. Tougher than most of us will ever be. When you work shoulder to shoulder with people you form bonds that transcend time. It was a privilege to spend time with them again.

I sat next to Ray at dinner and had a great meal with plenty of time to compare our ailments and degradations. I didn't have as much time to talk to Linda but we don't have to. There is so much warmth that immediately felt at home and at least for a few hours 30 years younger.

Christmas day I went to my brother's for dinner. We had another great meal and talked about our other brother. His grandson's were there and were loving their Christmas. One boy who is 5 or 6 had wanted a grappling hook for 2 years. They are not really sure why but blame it on Spiderman. He got a grappling hook this year. A real steel one. My brother has a big pile of huge logs out back and all the boys wanted to do was go outside and climb with hook and rope.  Real boys having real fun.

I stopped at our niece's house after that and dropped off  the clay projects the Girl Scouts had made a while back. There were bunches of handmade thank you cards and positive feedback from the girls waiting for me. Tina's brother was there and took me to see the house they had just bought. It needs some work but it has 12 acres and will be a nice home for them.

"Neither do they sow nor do they reap" I didn't shop, I didn't decorate, I didn't give presents, I didn't get presents. It was a very nice Christmas that focused on love and friendship without any stress.

Lessons Learned

Regular readers have probably noticed me posting some musical interludes this year. Most of you are kind enough not to comment. I post these not as a path to stardom but as a way of allowing some insight into things that I enjoy. I have been playing with a folk music club on Sunday nights for the last year or so. Some weeks we have 15 or 20 pickers. Some weeks there could be 40. Believe it or not, I have actually been practicing both my picking and singing. Posting them is really more a sharing of songs that I like that you may not have heard than anything else but I have learned a few things that I can apply in other areas.

If you can't sing, sing anyway.

If you REALLY can't sing, sing louder. You will sound better and may drown out some of your critics.

A good steady rhythm is more important than always picking the right string.

If you screw it up, keep going.

When it's your turn, stand up and play. Nobody wants to wait while you try to tune a banjo.

Every note in the scale is equally important. Some because you put them in, some because you leave them out.

You will never play like Lester, Earl, or Mississippi John. If you try you will be a poor imitation. Play it your own way. It's just a song .

You can't buy skill or talent. Get some reasonably good equipment then quit shopping and start practicing.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great holiday season, a super solstice, and a Merry Christmas.

Thanksgiving

 

Blondie knows what she is thankful for !!! Fifteen pounds is a lot of dog treats.

I know what I'm thankful for too. I have a ton of treats : A wife who has put up with me for 38 years in a row, 2 kids who are successful and not living in our attic, relatively good health, healthy relatives, that we worked hard and spent reasonably so we could retire early, that the cars start and the new furnace works, friends old and new. The list continues. I am also very happy that the internet has allowed me to visit with all of you and that you stop by to visit from time to time. I am very grateful to the people who stop by the shows I do and take a little Whistle Creek Pottery home with them. The Prior Buyers Club has grown this year and I appreciate every member. What are you thankful for?

The Customer Experience.

The elixir in the picture is Apple Pie Moonshine. It is legally made and sold by C&S Artisan Distilling in Yellow Springs Ohio. It is basically pie in a glass. Very tasty. This version is 60 proof. They also have a 40 proof. Yesterday I drove 30 miles to get to the distillery to buy some to take to Thanksgiving dinner. It will be a hit.

Since I had time to think on the way home, I started to consider my experience. I could have gotten the 40 proof version or some other flavored rum at a state liquor store closer to home. Why didn't I ?

The place is owned and run by 2 couples who are shoestringing it into existence out of pocket. They have been around for 2 or 3 years, been through the license process, and been putting out "Apple Pie Moonshine" from the distillery and now in some local stores. If they called it "Apple Rum" they would not sell as much. There is an allure to the name. When you go to the distillery and talk to the people who make it, you can hear the passion they have for their product. You can taste very unique (Walnut and Herb Schnapps) products that they are not licensed to bottle yet. You can get an education about European Schnapps v/s American Schnapps. You feel the hospitality and share the enthusiasm. You also feel good about helping a small business succeed. Buying direct puts all the money in the hands of the makers. Pretty sweet idea. Not only can I share a drink with the family Thursday, I can share a story. I could have bought a $2 bottle of wine at Walmart but I would have missed so much. When people buy pottery from me, I hope they feel the same way.

Invaded !!!

Yesterday the studio was invaded by Girls Scouts. Not big Girls, 7 and 8 year old wiggly giggly bundles of energy. I had been cleaning all week and while I wouldn't eat off the floor ( unless it was a cookie) I thought things looked pretty good. I ended up with 7 girls and 2 moms. Given my available space, that was plenty. It was going to be an hour or so but they came early and we had so much fun they stayed late. We ended up with about a 2 1/2 hr. visit. The girls were mostly interested and had lots of questions which always makes it better. I explained a bit about materials and process, then demonstrated cylinders, baking dishes , trimming, and handles. The last job was to make some "Happy Clams" that I will fire and get back to them. It was a fun fun day for me and I think the girls had a ball too. Now for the part you all like best.....