Earl
Babbie PhotoJournal
September 2009
| Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
| 01 |
02 |
03 |
04 Ozarks |
05 Ozarks |
||
| 06 |
07 |
08 Gangof5 |
09 Singing Policeman |
10 Shelby |
11 |
12 |
| 13 ASO |
14 |
15 Chamber |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 County Fair |
| 20 |
21 DAF |
22 |
23 Community Fair |
24 Gangof5 |
25 |
26 |
| 27 |
28 Ross |
In case y'all don't know, neither Suze nor I are native Arkansans. However, we are eager to learn
more about the "Natural State." (Like what the hell does "natural state" mean? Not naugahyde? Not genetically modified?)
To that end, we drove north today to Mountain View in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, to visit the
Ozark Folk Center State Park and hear some local music. Despite threats of rain, it was a pleasant drive
through new territory.
Booking rooms online, I had cleverly made reservations for August 24th and 25th--evidently
when I booked them. Now, it was a busy week/week-end, but the helpful and friendly staff at
the Folk Center Lodge found a great cabin for us. The lanai doors looked out on a forest scene
almost on a par with what we have at home. (But I'm possibly biased.) We quickly settled in for a
siesta and awoke refreshed and ready for a new cultural experience.
We had tickets for tonight's concert, featuring Jesse McReynolds, evidently a legend on the
mandolin. As luck would have it, we arrived at The Skillet for dinner, just as he was leaving,
and I took the liberty of intoducing us and shaking his hand, saying we had driven up to hear
him play. I mention shaking his hand, because he recently turned 80, and I worried that the
hand I shook was possibly beyond mandolin picking. (I was very wrong.)
Here's a peek at The Skillet restaurant, with a friendly staff, fascinating antiques as decor,
and food that was . . . served by a friendly staff.
There was no public parking at the auditorium, so we parked about 200 yards away and
took the shuttle bus up the fairly steep hill. We planned to walk, but the aforethreatened
rain was starting to arrive. A little later, it got heavy, with dramatic lightning and thunder.
These pictures are, alas, not the best. I am still learning which camera is best under
these circumstances, and I thought it was the FlipHD. Evidently not so. We arrived
early enough to learn about all the upcoming events--again and again.
Jesse McReynolds, we learned, played for about fifty years with his now deceased brother,
Jim. Tonight, his combo included some family members, including a granddaughter vocalist
and a grandson on guitar.
Any concerns I had for Jesse's ability to play the mandolin with 80-year-old hands quickly
fell by the wayside. I'm not familiar with his younger work, but he was a master tonight.
Although Jesse's group was the featured act, they were preceded by a fantastic opening act.
Evidently the now-deceased Grandpa Jones is a legend in these parts (and in country music),
and we got to hear several remaining members of his family--including his wife, Ramona--and
a number of other musicians who had played with him.
The Jones Family's music and demeanor was so joyous, I found myself wiping away tears
as they began. I have pretty much reconciled myself to my crying in public now and then,
and I think I figured out that the trigger is an unexpected sense of joy. That would explain
how I can cry at the wedding of strangers . . on TV . . . in another language. I don't know
the exact mechanism, but whatever it is, the Jones Family had my number. I was fixin' to
cry before you could say Mountain Dew.
We thoroughly enjoyed the evening and gratefully took the shuttle back down the hill in
the rain to retrieve our car.
September 05
When we arrived yesterday, we bought tickets to admit us to the Folk Center village, which
features a variety of native handicrafts. Once again, it would be necessary to take the shuttle
to and from the village. As the 10:00 opening time approached, however, the rain had not
abated and images of slogging through the mud between cottages danced through out heads.
We reminded ourselves that our admission fees supported a scholarship fund and elected to
pass up the hands-on experience this trip.
Instead, we explored some native thrift shops on the way home.
In retrospect, the trip accomplished exactly what we had intended, and I'm sure we will
return in the future. (Yes, I realize we can't return in the past.) (Or so the international logicians conspiracy
would like us to believe.)
September 08
Today was the first meeting of the "Gang of Five." Two Democrats and Three Republicans
have started meeting to discuss issues like health care reform to see whether reasonable
people with differing political points of view can reach meaningful agreements. Our first
meeting lasted three hours without any fist-fights, and we each agreed to assignments
prior to our next meeting--on September 14th.
At the very least, I have found it thought-provoking and informative.
September 09
Suze and I subscribe to a concert series here in the Village, and tonight's concert featured
Daniel Rodriguez, better known as "The Singing Policeman," who resumed his singing career
as a way of uplifting the nation after 9/11. Tonight he was accompanied by a piano, his wife,
and his wife's twin sister.
To my untutored ear, he has a fine operatic voice (baritone), which, I felt, was complicated by
his use of a microphone. Clearly, he could have filled the hall, unassisted. The same could have
been said for the piano accompaniment. Still, there was good music made, and I especially
enjoyed his duets with his wife and sister-in-law.
They announced that photography was prohibited, and I complied. (Maybe I was intimidated by the
"policeman" part of The Singing Policeman.) Hence, I have no visuals to share with you.
As a bit of trivia, Larry Ebner beside me in the Gangof5 photo above is the president of the
concert series and handled the Welcoming Ceremonies for the evening.
September 10
One of the political friends we have made in Arkansas is State Representative Gene Shelby,
an emergency-room physican who has contributed to the community in many ways. Now, he
has decided to run for a term-limit vacated seat in the State Senate.
This afternoon, we attended a campaign kick-off in one of the Hot Springs bath houses.
These photos only include the early arrivals. The room filled up shortly thereafter. That's
Gene in the white shirt in the center of the photo below and his wife, Farideh, with glasses
at our table.
I'll probably have more to say about this campaign in the future.
September 13
As I may have mentioned earlier, the musical director and conductor for the ASO, David Itkin, will be
leaving us next Spring. As a consequence, the Symphony has been conducting a search for David's
replacement. They have narrowed the field down to five finalists, and the selection process will now
involve guest appearances and reaction from the audience.
Tonight we met Arthur Post, currently in San Juan, Colorado. Both Suze and I (and others we talked
with) felt he did an excellent job in the pre-show seminar in which he explained the night's program and
took questions from the audience.
The first piece of the evening was Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, with guest violinst, 27-year-old
Karen Gomyo, who was so awesome that she received a standing ovation at the end of the first
movement. I've heard this piece many times, but I swear she played more notes than normal and
made it all work beautifully.
September 15
Tonight was a chamber music concert at the Clinton library. The string quartet was augmented by an
oboe, a bass, a harpsichord, and a soprano vocalist. Suze enjoyed the vocal renditions, but I found them
distracting and sometimes unnerving. I'm sure she was very good; my untrained ear tends to hear a
woman in pain.
The second half of the program featured a cello/piano duet, which was less threatening.
The most dramatic part of the evening was when we waded to the car and slogged home, driving
well under the speed limit all the way. The forecast called for three inches of rain, but I think we got
that much on the way home.
September 19
Today, Suze and I took a turn staffing the Democratic booth at the County Fair, competing with
Republicans and other livestock. Actually, we had a good relationship with the folks in the Republican
booth. I was concerned about their passing out balloons with elephants on them. I asked if they had
any with donkeys, but they had evidently neglected to bring any.
September 21
Every third Monday of the month is the meeting of the Democratic Action Forum, acronymed DAF.
I guess it means we are confronting the daffyness abroad in the land. Yeah, that's it.
Today's meeting was focused on health care reform, with guest speakers and active discussion
by the regulars. As much as I've been involved in discussions about health care reform, I learn something
new every time we meet to discuss it. There is no room for "death panels" or keeping the government
out of Medicare. Serious people across the country are giving serious attention to solving a VERY serious
problem. We pay more for health care than any other modern nation, and we are ranked #37 in the
provision of health care to our citizens. Our infant mortality rate and average longevity are a disgrace in a
country, most of whose citizens remember us as being #1 in everything.
In eight months, President Obama has made great strides in undoing the eight years of the Bush Economic
Miracle, but we have a long way to go. I have every confidence that we will get there by working together.
September 23
Following the Garland County Fair, we turned our attention to the Hot Springs Village Community Fair.
Our participantion consisted of arriving early to set up the booths for Jackson House . . .
. . . and the Democratic Club.
September 24
This afternoon was the third meeting of the Gang of Five: three Republicans and two Democrats in the
Village, trying to reach common ground on ways of solving the nation's health care/insurance problems.
We completed our second draft of a proposal, which we will now begin presenting to our members of
Congress.
September 28
During the national deliberations over health care reform, a couple of Arkansans have been featured
prominently in the news. Senator Blanche Lincoln serves on the Senate Finance Committee that produced
a much-discussed reform proposal. On the House side of the Capitol, Representative Mike Ross, has led
the Blue Dog Democrats on this issue, much to the consternation and frustration of more liberal Democrats.
Today, Rep. Ross met with the members of the Garland County Democratic Central Committee to hear
our concerns and to explain his positions.
While we had a frank conversation, it was a far cry from the shouting matches that sullied
"town hall" meetings across the country in August. As Rep. Ross entered the room, I had a
chance to introduce myself, and Jerry Yeric gave him a cover letter for the report of the Gang of
Five and told him we would be meeting with his staff.