8 Hours of Heart Pounding Celtic Heaven

Three of my favorite Celtic/American group all contained in one festival - now that is what I call   heaven!  This year's Michigan Irish Music Festival was great and the temperatures were cool enough to enjoy simply strolling between venues, and taking in the food and the market as well.

Like in years past the young and old alike mixed and mingled in all of the concerts and also in the food and market tents which held goodies to savor and so much to buy. 

My granddaughter and I kept going back to the market tent where everything from shirts, kilts, jewelry, Shillelaghs, as well as the ever present unusual and strange items which lurked under the merchants signs.  Though the huge market tent was filled  with almost everything you might imagine from CDs, tin whistles and one of my favorite items this year Irish Wackie Woolies.  (All kinds of products sport these colorful (Irish) "sheep with an attitude.")

The main attractions were of course the many concerts that featured some of the best Celtic groups from all over.   This year Gaelic Storm was the biggest draw.  If you saw Titanic, you saw and heard this talented band who provided the music and was also the band playing the tune "John Ryan's Polka" for the Irish party in third class.  Unlike the ship, the group has sailed off into quite a sunny career in the Celtic/American music scene.  Most of their first albums were reflective of many of the Celtic groups on the scene these days, but their newest album has much more of a rock and roll feel, and so did the performance we enjoyed in their Saturday evening show.   The music certainly did not disappoint with more white hairs in that "mosh pit" up front than I have every seen.  The group seems to be reaching all ages, and really enjoys sharing their love of all Celtic music with the audience.

My personal music favorites were three groups that have graced the stages of this Irish Fest before.  Blackthorn who uses both tight harmony and grand tales between the songs which made for a very enjoyable 2 hours.

Leahy (pictured here), an eight sibling band from Canada had no trouble holding all captive with their explosive musical ability.  I really enjoyed the true Celtic soul in their music.  Donnell (husband of Natalie MacMaster who also is a master fiddler.), the oldest of the siblings plays a mean fiddle, but he is not the only talent in this group as each of the family members are really musically gifted as well.  From drums, keyboard, piano, fiddle, to guitar they bring their brand to the Celtic music and keep  singing through their phenomenal playing.  This was a really enjoyable concert that was way too short in my opinion. 

Brent Hoad, one super fiddler, is just one of the talented crew that makes up The Elders.  This Kansas City based group with lead singer Ian Byrne sang us through so many of their well known and riotous songs as well as one of their signature ballads, Men of Erin which was done with a tight harmony in acapella.  This group based in the Celtic tradition blends stories in song with an almost rock based musical excitement that is truly impressive.  As I shared my thoughts on the group with a fellow concert goer we both agreed, "this group is totally jigs and reels based Irish music - on steroids!" 

Always one of my favorite parts of this festival, the Session Tent was a way station for many of us who between concerts wanted to enjoy the best of musicians there, and some of the up and coming young instrumentalists as well.  This is simply one of the best events of the whole festival because it offers young musicians a chance to experience playing with professionals from every walk of the Celtic music world.

  As we looked back on the day with the songs, food, shopping, as well as all the pure joy that this kind of festival brings we were glad we came.  We were thankful to those who shared their music; to all those who listened, stomped and clapped in time; and of course to all who served with such gracious abandon.  This is what makes a festival like this a real gift every year to the whole community here in West Michigan.

People - Less Frustration

So many changes are happening - almost daily, and sometimes every moment these days.  Many blame it on the computer and it's demand on our time, but I think we all like the anonymous way we can sometimes link with others online.  Many of us pay bills online - there are no more face to face with the people at the phone company!  We don't even write checks, we do it at the bank site or our creditor's sites.   Speaking of phone sites, who still has land lines these days with all the cell phones out there?

We've become disengaged in so many ways...but is it really because of the computer and all the technology?  For me the choice to be a techie and people person in much of my life is as balanced as I can make it.

Because of all the disengagement in my own world these days, I really try to be more involved with the people around me and do something that is almost unheard of here - I talk to people in line at the supermarket.  We all know that  we wait in all sorts of lines these days at places like Walmart.  While waiting you have a choice of how you spend that time in line - you can stand and day dream, get hot under the collar, or you can do what I choose to do.  I spend that wasted time getting to know those who are held captive with me.  It keeps me happy, and can often diffuse a tension-filled line at the check-out.

So what do you do?  Are you a friend-maker in line?  How do you handle that hurry-up-and-wait time?

A Special Find

I enjoy used book sales, and our library has one every year in the bowels of the building that seems to be overflowing with tables that only really attempt to contain the mountains of books they have to sell.  This year I went from room to room, and table to table enjoying the feel, the smell, and of course the many titles that were there for perusing and buying.  To me, a book is alive with the thoughts and friends that people the flat worlds on its pages and I enjoy the discoveries I make at events like this one.

There were three books I picked up while getting to know some of the toms that leaned together on those tables to make a part of my very small collection (I haven't much room, so I have to truly love a book to make it part of my family.).  One of the books was a small gem that I know I'll be quoting from for a long time.

Leo Buscaglia was a college professor who was loved by his students, and also by the many viewers who got to share in his lectures that were taped and shown on PBS stations around the country during their pledge drives over the years.  Known as Dr. Hug, he spread a message of love...love by stepping out of yourself and really getting involved with people you come in contact with, as well as with life itself.

He touched my own life through those lectures.  I use to watch them in the middle of the night during pledge drives from my local PBS station.  Often repeated over the years, those lectures were absorbed and loved by many who saw his message as totally opposite of what we're hearing from leaders now so many years later.  Today, we are told that this group is evil, or that group is out to get us.  Maybe so...but how does that kind of fear help us, or change anything?  Reaching out from your heart is the ONLY way to change lives and often times that can cost you everything, but it also can change everything.

Leo caught me unaware in the depths of a nasty part of my life and changed the way I look at the world, and live in it.  I can honestly say that it changed the way I look at the people around me every single day.  When I began to read this tiny book called Papa, My Father, I was once again drawn in by how the man lived his life, what he said, and how he used examples from his own family to tell a story about what is really important in life.  I laughed and giggled in parts, and did more than just feel like crying in others.  He often would cut his own life open so you could see everything.  It was the way he shared what gifts he had to give to the world.

I finished the book yesterday and the last few lines in one of the last chapters have become my own life's mantra.  Words on a page are nothing until you somehow chew on them a while, and digest and find that warm glow of life from them for your own life.

A Code For Life
by Dr. Leo Buscaglia
Dance, sing and laugh a lot.
All things are related.
Don't waste time trying to reason with pain, suffering, life, and death.
An animated person animates the world.
Find a quiet place for yourself.
Don't ever betray yourself.
Birth and death are part of a cycle.  Neither begins or ends with you.
Stay close to your God.
It's crucial to love.
Idealism is strength, not a weakness.
People are good if you give them a chance to be.
Discrimination, for any reason, is wrong.
Self-respect is essential for life.
Except in the eyes of God, people are not created equal, so we are 
       all responsible for those who can't help themselves.
Cruelty is a sign of weakness.
Commitment and caring are the basic ingredients of love.
Love is indestructible and therefore the most powerful human force.
Change is inevitable.
People who think they know it all can be dangerous.

I know my motto is a bit long, but I think it really says it all.

Thanks for the reminder, Leo.

Vicious Attacks Happening Right in Your Own Backyard

Is anyone else fed up with the vicious attacks that are occurring these days?  You know those attacks flying to and fro between the Republican or Democrat running for office in your area?  To differentiate themselves they are really getting nasty these days.  That's not totally true...but this year there is little respect for each other and besides the normal rantings and ravings there has been a bit of smear campaign going on here - even AFTER the election.

I do so detest all things political.  There is little truth in any political ad, and they never tell you how they're going to fill the job requirements for whatever office they are aspiring to attain.  I really want to ask each of them to give me their actual qualifications and why they would have the qualities necessary to fill the job.

I believe that the pack of them are simply enjoying running us into the ground simply to satisfy a need to dominate their world, and ours.  We  really need a few real people with real jobs to get into those offices and remind them that those normal, wealthy representatives and senators haven't a clue what life is like down here among we average citizens...that my friends is a very sad fact to face just after any kind of election.

Night

Tonight I roamed a hot, muggy, darkness.
Filled with moments of
hushed and muggy sounds.

A screech owl's voice echoes softly,
as do the grinding sounds of neighborhood crickets
and the reverberating hum of a lone cicada.
all seem to still the flow of moments
that ease us toward
the real world of sunny daybreak.

3:00 AM.
quiet.
this the world longs for,
Here in my wood clad suburban nest of quiet.

For these few hours
there are seconds...even moments of a silent world
that enfold and can free any mind.

The earlies
with their lyrical, avian voices
in chorus with a coming sun,
(almost newly born)
can hold such promise -
quiet can be found
long before the sun dares shadow
a scorching, droopy eye.

Soft, and silent, this space affords a joy
not found within harsh, or painful confines
of any world news.
No buzzing,
not even flickers of feathered wing
traversing this space on daily flights
to far reaches of down-feather's skyways.

the owl and bat,
silent,
still,
can command all above,
and all that lives along the edges here.
even the hush from a single star
reaches the street with a wand
of silence, spreading such wonder.

Award Fun!

Patricia Stoltey on her blog (http://patriciastoltey.blogspot.com/) was kind enough to pass on the Versatile Blogger award to me this week. Thanks so much Patricia, I really appreciate the award! I have to admit that this was quite a pleasant surprise for me!

This award comes with rules:

1. Thank those who loved my work (and me) enough to bestow this gift.
2. Share seven things about myself.
3. Bestow this honor on 15 newly discovered or followed bloggers-in no
    particular order-who are fantastic in some way.

I try to follow the rules so here goes:

1.  I am a mother of three grown sons with four grandchildren (3 granddaughters, one grandson).
2.  I was an English teacher for a time, and wrote for a small local newspaper as a columnist for two years.
3.  I adore Italian cooking, and love exploring other cuisines as well.
4.  I went back to college at 38 and graduated at 42 with a degree in English with all of my three kids in middle school and elementary school.
5.  I am an animal lover and am drawn to any creatures that I find out walking their owners!  (I have 2 dogs of my own right now - my 10 year old Foxy and her dog, Mac -  It's a long story.)
6.  I love medieval mysteries!  I've read all the books in the Cadfael series, the Owen Archer series, and way too many others.
7.  I am exploring the possibility of taking a trip next year to Ireland which is where many of my ancestors came from at least four generations ago.  I'm extremely excited about the possibility of going!

Now I need to pass on the coveted award to 15 newly discovered, or followed bloggers who are fantastic in a really special way.

1.  Marty Rubin at Aphorism Of The Day
2.  ChrisJ at At My Soiree
3.  Susan Bearman at Two Kinds of People
4.  Elizabeth Munroz at Elizabeth Munroz Official Blog
5.  heirloomgardener at heirloom gardener
6.  Linda J. Gross at  Linda's Photo Journal
7.  Iowa Gardening Woman at My Iowa Garden
8.  Meam at Shining History :Medieval Islamic Civilization
9.  Bax at The Celtic Music Fan
10.  Ken at Expat From Hell
11.  Plants at  Plants and more
12.  Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs
13.  Robert V. Sobczak at  The South Florida Watershed Journal
14.  Dorothy Stahlnecker at Grammology.com
15.  Doreen McGettigan at They say everyone has a story..this is mine..

Now I have to contact all these wonderful bloggers by Monday and let them know!  Please take a few moments and check out Patricia Stoltey's blog, as well as these special bloggers that I've discovered over the past few years.  They all have a variety of blogging gifts that I bet you'll find interesting!

Oh, Bother...

After what seems to be an eternity I have a connection for my keyboard - again.  You see I only have had a keyboard with a very black screen and no computer.  It's a long story.  Simply put I lost my old friend in a lightening strike on Memorial Day.

I bought a new(er) tower for a few days thanks to my son and a local computer store, that is until it's old owner came back to haunt my screen with boxes filled with "didn't save," and "lost files."  So the black tower was taken from me and returned from whence it came - for repairs, erasure and other corrective surgeries.

Today it returned strangely different, and yet somehow the same.

I'm relearning some things, and finding my way through the Alice like world that is like my old computer - but isn't as well.  I only have a Swiss cheese folder for my files these days.  The computer seems to be taking forever to find each rabbit hole that holds what files are there...I've lost so many since the accident.

Maybe a blank slate is better than nothing, but I certainly miss my old blather.  Hopefully, I will return to the real me soon, but until then I shall play with the words and pop in and out with my own elegant and colorful Cheshire Cat online.

Cheshire Cat: You may have noticed that I'm not all there myself.