I am the Audience

National Folk Festival

July 15, 2020

a day in this life, poetry and songs, Southern culture

The National Folk Festival has been around for 79 years. It’s a traveling event that stays in its host city for 3 years. The intention is to seed a local festival as it goes. Six years ago, it landed in Greensboro, NC. I was already working weekends and didn’t know I needed to take time off. We went on Friday evening and fell in love with the event. I take the weekend after Labor Day off every year, now.

This year, the pandemic has caused the North Carolina Folk Festival to be virtual. And they are doing it with panache. There are going to be virtual. This is unfortunate for the food truck vendors and the local artisans who populate the Marketplace. But, it means a few of the musicians still get heard. With air conditioning.

The festival is nominally free. They do ask for donations to help cover what sponsors haven’t and the easiest way to avoid being asked multiple times is to go ahead and cough up. They give you a sticker that says you donated and after than you’re left alone until the next day. I give gladly because I want it to keep happening and I like that everyone can come, even when they’re broke. Those of us that can, should.

The music is a little bit of everything from all over the world. Africa, Mongolia, Canada, Ireland, Louisiana, Memphis, the list goes on. Some has been wonderful. Some has been for other people. I love that there are so many choices.
https://ncfolkfestival.com/splendid-isolation-fiddle-tunes-from-ireland-scotland-and-north-america/
So many changes

June 23, 2020

a day in this life
We decided to take down the raised beds. We were both frustrated by the ongoing battle against the Trees of Heaven that kept growing up through everything. Chuck had put serious effort into getting the roots out of 2 or 3 of the beds last year. And it helped. But, it wasn’t a cure. And the asparagus couldn’t win.

So, Chuck sold the cinder blocks and we’re letting the grass grow in. Of course, this has been THE best year for the asparagus.

He put 2 100-gallon watering troughs in the part of the hazelnut ring where the bushes don’t grow, filled them with compost and planted salad in one and tomatoes in the other. The tomato varieties are ‘Cherokee Purple’, ‘Rutgers’ and ‘Golden (something)’. The yellow ones are cherry sized and ‘Rutgers’ is supposed to be sandwich sized.
I got another watering trough and transplanted the asparagus. Wrong time of year. I know. But, the cinder blocks were gone and the roots were exposed all around the edges. And they aren’t dead. There were even 4 edible stalks last week. So, I remain hopeful.

I’m late to post. So, the salad is already done and there is Candy Roaster winter squash in that trough, now.

My first peach is putting out fruit prolifically this year. But the Damson plum next to it is dying and we have no clue why.
Bodies are annoying

June 2, 2020

a day in this life

I have had a dry cough for a couple of months. No other symptoms. Saturday it got worse and I has become worrying to Chuck. Saturday evening, at work, it finally occurred to me that I have had this before. A time when someone’s cologne set off a coughing fit. It’s acid reflux irritating my larynx.

I always take my stress out on my stomach, even when my head doesn’t feel stressed yet. And between fretting about my offspring, the pandemic in general, my mother and my child during the pandemic, coworkers troubles because of the pandemic and an unasked for promotion at work…. DUH. Hello stomach acid.

Fortunately, during the last go-round, I learned that I can treat it with dried papaya. Which I keep around. It’s miraculous how quickly it works for me.

Add to that a gallbladder that has decided to develop stones and I’m just in a mood. The stones aren’t horrific. But, a constant ache of varying degrees below my right rib cage has become unpleasant enough that I intend to have the damn thing removed in July.

And a crown has cracked causing a toothache that is going to be addressed tomorrow.

2020 sucks.
The king is not actually dead

May 2, 2020

family, Laughing, Southern culture

A friend and I got on an Elvis-is-not-dead kick in the mid-’80s.

My dad jumped on board and offered the theory that Elvis’ twin brother Aron hadn’t really died in childhood. Instead, he was hidden by the family in the old Southern tradition because there was “something a little wrong with Aron.” When E did the crazy stuff, it was actually when A got away from his handlers and acted out. It was actually A that died and E, who was tired of the fame, etc., took advantage of the opportunity to slip off into oblivion. And, was living happily in MN working at a Burger King.

My cousin’s husband had just finished a pathology residency at UT-Memphis where the autopsy was done and it just made him crazy to hear that conversation.

“Elvis is dead! Dead! Dead!”

That man never did have a sense of humor.

#TCB
If you gaze into the abyss….

April 28, 2020

dancing in the field of dreams, Laughing

(If I knew who the cartoonist is, I would attribute it.)