Friday, September 14, 2018

Thinking about North Carolina

Tonight I’m thinking about the state of North Carolina.  Of course, nearly everyone in America is thinking about that state tonight.  Florence is taking her sweet time and unloading more water on the state than can be absorbed.

But for me tonight is not unusual.  I often think about North Carolina, but usually in a different context.  You see, I grew up there.  Western North Carolina to be more accurate, and to be specific, Hendersonville.  This is the mountainous part of the state.  We could easily drive over to the Blue Ridge Parkway in about 15 minutes, and be on our way to Mount Mitchell, or Mount Pisgah, or Craggy Gardens, or dozens of wonderful places to hike or picnic and enjoy the outdoors.  I’m sure it isn’t reality, but it seems that we were up there nearly every weekend.

Before I was old enough to be in school we lived in a house that had a bathroom at the end of the hall.  My younger brother (he forces me to make the distinction) and I shared a bedroom right next to the bathroom.  Every morning my dad would shave and shower in that bathroom.  He was kind of a news and media guy, so he always took the radio into the bathroom while he got ready for work.  And every weekday I would wake up to that ancient song, Carolina in the Morning.  It was an old Mitch Miller recording that was played at 6:00 am on WHKP radio.  Kermit Edney was the announcer and he used the recording as the theme for his morning show.  He was known as “the old Good Morning Man.”  It is certainly my very first memory of radio.  Kermit ended up owning that radio station which became a treasured part of Hendersonville.  Still is I think.

Hendersonville was a mecca for retirees from all over the country.  The climate is considered to be mild, and the scenery is amazingly beautiful.  As small towns sometimes are, life was a little slower.  When in the eighth grade, I picked up the trombone as a musical instrument.  Seems kind of late to do that these days, but my parents would not allow me to learn any instrument other than the piano until I had gained a certain proficiency on the piano.  That turned out to be excellent planning.  I ended up playing in the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra, and gaining a teacher who had retired to our town.  His name was Kieg Garvin.  He had retired from the US Army and was the soloist with Pershing’s Own Washington, DC army band.  That was his job for 20 years, and I was able to study with him!  I later visited Fort Myer in DC and went to the music hall (that base is basically a big music school).  Mr. Garvin’s picture is all over the place!  I really wish I had studied harder.  It is dangerous when something that you try is fairly intuitive and you experience early success....your doom is just ahead if you aren’t careful and studious!  There are many things that he taught me that I have not completely accomplished, even now....

When I was seventeen I had a part time job driving an early morning bread truck route delivering for a local bakery.  I really got to know my home town then, and many of the locally owned grocery stores and restaurants.  It’s a great place to visit, and even a better place to grow up!  Planning a visit next month.  I always feel that North Carolina “pull” as we get into the early fall.

So now you know a little of my North Carolina mental ramblings.  But not only am I thinking about my old state, I’m praying for it, and for all the people who are there.
 
Not sure I have ever done that before.  I hope you will join me!

Thursday, September 13, 2018

My Quest for an Analog Life


Hello everyone!  

This post from my Facebook page has been a long time coming, and there are so very many reasons for it.  I’ll outline just a few:

I’d like not to have to purchase blue blocker lenses.

I’m anxious to read more books, especially the 66 found in the Old and New Testaments.  The perfect vehicle for that is hundreds of years old.  No need for electronics or memory!

Our house sports 800 square feet of front porch, which is too often vacant of humanity.

We need to finish our basement.

We built our house on 7 out-of-the-way acres.  Unfortunately it is a privet farm.  I MUST spend more time “harvesting.”

I seriously need to do more score study!

If I practice, my handwriting might improve….maybe I can then send out a handwritten letter to someone via the US Post Office.  What a luxury it is to receive an actual handwritten letter!

I need actual face time with friends – you know, REAL faces, REAL time, REAL conversation!  Conversation that is complete because all of the elements are there for true communication. 

I’ve always had a secret envy for friends who have had this same sort of epiphany and have followed up with action.  I have begun to move forward with having better success with several of these things.  Netflix and Amazon Prime are gone!  I do enjoy reading the Kindle books I have and I will certainly continue to use ForScore on my iPad for choral work (perhaps the blue blocker glasses will still need to be acquired), but because I’m on a quest for more of an analog life, I’ll be reading more from my bookshelves at home and working more outside around our place.

All this to say that I will be leaving Facebook on Sunday evening, September 16.  I have enjoyed the connection with friends, and the conversations and keeping up with everything and everyone.  But it is one of the casualties of the diminishing of my online presence.  

To all my Facebook friends, let me just offer up the George Costanza line as he “breaks up” with a girlfriend:  “it’s not you, it’s me.”

My online presence will now be limited to email and this long neglected blog.  Sorry, no Twitter or Instagram for me.   You can find me here!