March 18, 2008, Western Head, N.S. Music and N.S.

Today I contacted the four groups that will be playing at our anniversary. I could have hired thirty other groups, all well within an easy drive of our home. It takes a while after you move here to discover the number of people who play an instrument and who belong to a group. The folks I spoke to today are full time professional musicians. One is a jazz trio, another plays primarily celtic music, another plays the bagpipes. They are all very good, which of course you can expect when they make their living at music. I read the Halifax paper last week and in the entertainment section I counted 42 places where live groups were performing. Now Halifax is a city of about three hundred thousand if you include the larger surrounding area and this is still winter, so the tourists are not here. Look up the groups in Bethesda who regularly perform. It makes me wonder how these musicians survive and thrive in this area. It is a complecated question I am sure but I think you have to start with the celtic tradition. Those old time Scots had large families who all played and sang. What else could they do all winter.

I already mentioned the number of wood workers living here. Add musicians to that list. The other group in abundance is artists. Almost all our art here was done by local artists. Perhaps the cost of living appeals to the artists and musicians. It is certainly cheaper to live here than either Toronto or Bethesda. What ever the reasons, I am happy to have both the musicians and the artists here and in my life.

Your mind is a complicated piece of business. This morning while showering I wondered what I like the best that did not exist when I was born. While standing under the hot water, I decided that showers were the best. Remember, most of us in 1937 used the bath tub. Then when doing the laundry and loading the wet clothes into the dryer I decided that the dryer must be the best. Certainly hanging clothes on the line at twenty degrees must make for some uncomfortable moments. Then when organizing my gear for the trip back to Chevy Chase I wondered if the transportation might not be at the top of my list. A phone call from my daughter-in-law Suzanne from Lake Tahoe could make me re-think what is the best. It is a connundrum for sure. One thing I know for sure. I will take today. But you knew that already!!