The Day of Unexpected Twists

 

Today was the Day of the Unexpected. It started when we arrived at Mass, and the woman who leads the Care for Creation team reminded me that we had a meeting I had forgotten all about. Whoops! Then our drumming lesson was short today because the teacher had to play at Fete de Marquette. Travalon had gone to the East Side Club to see a band playing classic rock, so I felt bad telling him he had to leave early to pick me up. We went back there so he could watch more of the band, who were pretty good - I don't love most of that kind of music, but I did know all the songs. I suppose most of my classmates from drumming class went to watch our teacher's band perform. Then Travalon went to Fete de Marquette himself to watch Marcia Ball with Cecil Markovitch and the Single B-Boy. Ever since we went on that Serbo-Croatian day with them, Travalon has been on a Croatian kick, listening to tamburitza music in the car (which I really enjoy) and even dancing around the house to it. He said I should mention on here how he was doing some Croatian steps he's seen in videos, and I was loving it.

Our bandmate who always hosts band practice is out of town right now, so the leader said she could host it at her house. Hardingfele said, "That won't work. Famous is deathly allergic to cats," because she has two cats. (Hardingfele has four.) I said, "I'll take some drugs and stick it out as long as I can," but Hardingfele kept insisting this wouldn't work, so I assumed she just didn't want to come. Oddly, the bass player, who was the one that suggested we have practice at our leader's house, never made an appearance. I took both the violin and the mandolin, got a bit lost and arrived late, but was still the first one there. I pulled out the violin, and the leader and I were playing along when Hardingfele arrived, so then we could play pieces for two violins. Not long after that, the leader's partner arrived with her eleven-year-old grandson who also plays the violin, so we had THREE fiddles. He only started playing the violin last year, but he's not too bad. He seemed to be keeping up. Then he asked to see the mandolin, so I put away the violin and took out the mandolin. I let him try it, but he had no idea what to do with it, so we all played "Metsakukkia" and the leader's partner recorded us and put it on social media. Considering that the kid was sightreading, I don't think we sound half bad. 

I needed exercise and to pray the rosary, so late at night I went out in my high vis gear.

There was a rumor that there could be northern lights visible tonight, but I saw nothing. That's okay, the ones I saw last October were so spectacular that they will sustain me for quite a while.

I did get an interesting email yesterday, about that piece "The Mystical Rose" that was set to the poem (or actually part of a poem) that I wrote. Some Lutheran (it's always Lutherans) wanted to perform it, and he wanted to know more about the poem, or me, or something. Like, he seemed confused that it had one last name on it, but now I have two last names. Maybe he has never heard of the institution of marriage? He asked what name I wanted on it, and I don't really care, but I did mention my pen name that in an ideal world I would use for all my writing. Just to confuse matters more. I'll be curious to see which name he uses, if he tells me.

Famous Hat