BLUEGRASS MUSIC

**My family knows that Saturday morning is a favorite time of the week for me because it means Bluegrass music. From 9:00 AM until noon a fiercely independent radio station based in Portland, OR, broadcasts a program they tout as the longest continuous running Bluegrass show west of the Mississippi River. They call it “Music from the True Vine.” The station is KBOO; it airs locally on 90.7 FM and streams on the internet so you can listen in wherever you live. This is one program I make a serious effort to hear every week, because I like Bluegrass Music.
**Mostly I hang around the house doing minor tasks or tinkering in the garage. Sometimes I‘ll sort and simplify stuff in drawers or closets or the attic or even tackle light yard work. Chances are several radios in the house – bedroom, kitchen, garage, a portable in hand and sometimes a transistor radio with ear buds – are all tuned to hear the programming. I tend to wander around, I guess, and don’t want to miss part of a song. If I should have to run an errand or decide to seek out a few garage sales, no problem. I have buttons preset to the right station in both vehicles. Usually I’m not available for other activities during this time slot. Sorry.
**While there is no set format for the three hours of “The Vine,” during a months span most varieties of Bluegrass, classic, modern, and cutting edge, can be heard. Basically, there are four main hosts, each taking a weekend, and should one of the four not be available, two or three capable substitutes are ready to fill in or to cover a fifth Saturday. Over the several years I have been listening, I have formed opinions about and favorites among the regulars, and I have begun to anticipate the styles of Bluegrass to expect and which artists are likely to be featured. Local bands and musicians are supported and local gigs are announced each week at eleven o’clock. Enough information is inserted now and then by the hosts to give a sense of where Bluegrass is going, what some of its history has been, and what the local scene is like. This has been helpful to me in gaining more appreciation, especially of specific artists.
**Bluegrass as an evolved branch of folk music is fairly new and uniquely American. Its roots, of course, can be traced to multiple older, and often, foreign origins, but its basic content, musical formats, and acoustic instrumentation are all ours. Among the prominent musicians, most of whom are professionals, are many I enjoy and some I even admire. Still, some of the most satisfying Bluegrass is produced by home-grown pickin''n grinnin' groups and other completely amateur efforts. My own tastes tend toward Gospel Bluegrass and other “righteous” lyrics, selections based on tight vocal harmonies, and selections that demonstrate really superb mastery of an acoustic Bluegrass instrument. I have a small collection of CDs among which are many personal favorites I can enjoy over and over again. As badly as the banjo can be played, I still somehow favor it above all the others when it is in the hands of a master (and there are several) who treats the instrument and the music with respect and precision.
**Mostly my wife and family are patient with my Bluegrass compulsion and give me only a little grief over being more focused on the music than upon them. I do sometimes notice that when more than one of them are around late Saturday morning, there are grins and smirks, mutual comradely support and the shared rolling of eyes as they kindly accommodate my passion for the music. Thanks, folks.
**Anyone else out there afflicted with the Bluegrass bug?

PS If you tune in a couple of hours early on Saturday morning you may hear an eclectic mix of Country/Western Swing and novelty music that is often a lot of fun and full of memorable old tunes. Of course, growing up listening to radio in the late forties and the fifties has predisposed me to favor music of that era. Maybe you are not that old.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PATTY

**May I ask everyone who knows "My Baby", Patty S., to be especially kind and gentle to her today (August 17th) and in the days to come. It's Birthday Time again. She certainly deserves some recognition, considering all she does for everyone else: her hubby, her daughters, her prayer group, various church and home school groups, the several writer's clubs and conferences she supports, neighbors, friends, community functions, et.al. Even if the day slipped up on you, give her her a call or send a card or mention her in your blog/facebook/twitter/or post a note on a nearby bulletin board.
**Patty is a remarkable and most special person. She puts all of us before herself, and she puts God before everything and everyone. It's nice that I can tell you how proud I am of her; it's even better that I can to testify to her Christan life. She is one of God's favorite daughters, but most of you knew that already.
**Happy Birthday, Patty.

FAMILY ART AT THE COUNTY FAIR

 

Grandpas should brag at every opportunity, so here goes. One of my fabulous five granddaughters has art work hanging at the county fair. Can you spot the "Golden Leopard" at the top left of a display in the picture? That belongs to "J", who is just barely the oldest. It's a pastel, and it won a ribbon in her division. All the girls are artists and each one has done remarkable art work. It is nice, though, to see one fine piece on public display where the whole world can enjoy what is usually only seen by immediate family. Good job, 'lil Darlin'.