The Getaway That Almost Got Away
This weekend got off to a thoroughly crappy start. We were supposed to spend the entire weekend at the FSGW Getaway. Things did not exactly go according to plan.
Earlier in the week, I had to go up to Atlantic City for the latest round of building code hearings. The parts I cover were supposed to be debated Thursday and Friday. But things got behind the published schedule and they wound up being debated all day Friday and a good portion of Saturday. I made it to the Getaway site with 10 minutes to spare before the serving line for Saturday dinner shut down. (Sheryl had gone over on Friday.)
Once I finally arrived - and got my dinner - things improved rapidly. The Saturday evening sign-up concert was good as usual, and the Saturday night jam/song circle I like to join was rockin'. Particularly fun was a run of Shel Silverstein songs, to which I contributed "Son of a Scoundrel." A bit after that the mood inspired me to toss in "Old Blevins."
Sunday was a full day of concerts and workshops (that's theme circles to my fellow filkers). We caught concerts from Mike Agranoff, of "Ballad of 10-Ton Molly" fame, and from Andrew McKay and Carole Edgerton, a Welsh couple with some fine songs based on the history and culture of their native Swansea. Workshops included New England Songs (where I sang Tom Rowe's "Molasses") and Pub Songs (where I offered "Non Barleycorn"). I also co-hosted the Funny Songs workshop, where I sang "When I Was a Boy" and "Naked Highwayman."
Usually, we leave the Getaway after Sunday dinner and before the Sunday evening sign-up concert. (And Sheryl did in fact go home, to feed our poor, deprived, starving kitties and take care of other things.) However, I had already arranged to take comp time on Monday. So, having missed my opportunity to sign up for the Saturday concert, I made my debut in the Sunday concert. I sang Fred Small's "Denmark 1943" to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the rescue of the Danish Jews. It was very well received.
Monday I spent relaxing, catching up on e-mail, and knocking off episodes of Hell on Wheels and CSI from the DVR, before heading out to 3LF practice for the evening.
And thus, I salvaged a pleasant weekend out of a dismal start. Hooray for friends and fine music!
Earlier in the week, I had to go up to Atlantic City for the latest round of building code hearings. The parts I cover were supposed to be debated Thursday and Friday. But things got behind the published schedule and they wound up being debated all day Friday and a good portion of Saturday. I made it to the Getaway site with 10 minutes to spare before the serving line for Saturday dinner shut down. (Sheryl had gone over on Friday.)
Once I finally arrived - and got my dinner - things improved rapidly. The Saturday evening sign-up concert was good as usual, and the Saturday night jam/song circle I like to join was rockin'. Particularly fun was a run of Shel Silverstein songs, to which I contributed "Son of a Scoundrel." A bit after that the mood inspired me to toss in "Old Blevins."
Sunday was a full day of concerts and workshops (that's theme circles to my fellow filkers). We caught concerts from Mike Agranoff, of "Ballad of 10-Ton Molly" fame, and from Andrew McKay and Carole Edgerton, a Welsh couple with some fine songs based on the history and culture of their native Swansea. Workshops included New England Songs (where I sang Tom Rowe's "Molasses") and Pub Songs (where I offered "Non Barleycorn"). I also co-hosted the Funny Songs workshop, where I sang "When I Was a Boy" and "Naked Highwayman."
Usually, we leave the Getaway after Sunday dinner and before the Sunday evening sign-up concert. (And Sheryl did in fact go home, to feed our poor, deprived, starving kitties and take care of other things.) However, I had already arranged to take comp time on Monday. So, having missed my opportunity to sign up for the Saturday concert, I made my debut in the Sunday concert. I sang Fred Small's "Denmark 1943" to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the rescue of the Danish Jews. It was very well received.
Monday I spent relaxing, catching up on e-mail, and knocking off episodes of Hell on Wheels and CSI from the DVR, before heading out to 3LF practice for the evening.
And thus, I salvaged a pleasant weekend out of a dismal start. Hooray for friends and fine music!