Body Beautiful...

This week, Dan Shady successfully removed the steel outer shell from the rear of my 1932 Plymouth roadster. This is in preparation for restoring the wooden framing that supports the body. By 1932, Walter Chrysler was only producing the open cars - roadsters and phaetons - in the Chrysler Body Works. All closed car production had been contracted to the Briggs Body Company, and they had made the transition to all-steel construction. But my roadster is a great example of how cars had evolved from carriages, with a wooden structure underneath the sheet metal.

I feel fortunate to live close to Dan Shady, who has years of experience in the restoration of these wooden structures. We'll be reusing as much of this car's wood as possible, only replacing those pieces that are dryrotted beyond usefulness. We'll re-glue every joint using modern glues. Ain't it interesting how times and technology change?

The tale of one old ukulele...

My brother Bill was a wonderful ukulele player. He first got interested in the ukulele during the early 1950's when Arthur Godfrey promoted the instrument on his daily radio show. My recollection is that his first Ukulele was a plastic one that was sold by the Arthur Godfrey folks. Willy learned to play using self-instruction books and eventually got an instructor, a gentleman named Vic Tyminski, who had played the ukulele and sang on the vaudeville stage.

As Bill's playing improved, so did his desire for better instruments. At one time in the mid-fifties he acquired a Vega baritone uke. He bought and sold a few others. But his pride and joy was his Martin tenor ukulele. He special ordered it from Martin in about 1954. He was working at Goldstock's Sporting Goods on lower Broadway at the time and had saved up for months. He played this wonderful instrument until shortly before his death in 1994. Then I became its caretaker.

A few weeks ago I heard that a young man who goes to church with me, John Philip Williams, had played a piece in church on a ukulele (John had played with me and some friends in the Bermudagrass Boys, an impromptu bluegrass band that entertained at a church cookout a couple of years ago). His playing in church got rave reviews. It gave me an idea. I decided that John should be the next caretaker of that treasured 1954 Martin. A couple weeks ago I gave him the instrument. I asked him to play it, enjoy it, and eventually pass it on to someone whom he feels will enjoy and treasure it.

Sunday evening, Mary Ann and I went to a concert of guitar and vocal music put on by John Williams. During the concert, he played the old uke and sang a song dedicated to me and Bill.

I knew I had made the right decision.

More Weekend Festivities...

Every year for the last 19 years, our home town of Fayetteville has celebrated the second weekend in November as the "Host of Christmas Past." Our downtown merchants go all out to encourage shoppers, but it spreads way beyond that with outdoor food vendors, music, storytelling, a children's playzone at the museum with real snow, Santa Claus, and a wonderful costume competition. I participated as a "Town Crier" walking around the square and welcoming guests as I announced upcoming events. I even bought an old school bell on Ebay to play the role.

Mary Ann helped sponsor the event and took this picture of yours truly as I was preparing to leave...

Weekend Festivities

This past Saturday we hosted a celebration of Ebabe's Gifts' 1-year anniversary. We had an outdoor concert by Microwave Dave (our good friend Dave Gallaher) and the Nukes (Rick Godfrey on bass and James Irvin on drums) playing in the gazebo. The weather was absolutely perfect! We had a good crowd considering it was a multi-football game weekend. The event was catered by the Gourmet Grillers from Fayetteville.

The parking lot filled up and the crowd spilled over onto the road and our driveway but it never became a problem. Some of our neighbors joined us and a number of Huntsville friends drove up to join the celebration -- Charlie and Brenda Stroud, Monty and Dinah Love, Tex and Theresa Longcor, Richard and Booty Leach, Pat Lewis, Nancy Woodall, and others.

We fed a real crowd, everybody raved about the music, and Mary Ann retained her sanity! The store was busy all day long. If you live nearby, think about us as a source for your favorite Christmas items.

World-Famous Goat Celebrity!

I work with a lady named Melissia Meeks. Her four-year-old son, Hayden, raises Tennessee fainting goats. This past weekend, he showed one of his fine goats, "Karen," at the 7th Annual Lewisburg Goats Music and More Goat Festival in Lewisburg, Tennessee. Hayden and Karen earned a third-place ribbon against very tough competition. Congratulations to both of today's celebrity heroes, Hayden and Karen!

Go, Hayden! -- Go, Karen!

Remarkable Transformation...

I have been a member of the Huntsville Chamber Music Guild for at least twenty five years. When Margo and I joined the organization way back when, it wasn't very exciting. We had 5 or 6 concerts per year. They were held in the Roberts Recital Hall on the campus of the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a venue known mostly for its abominable seating and less-than-ideal acoustics. Average attendance was in the range of a couple hundred. As a result, the budget was quite constrained. As a result of that, the groups and soloists who were brought to Huntsville were less than stellar. Nonetheless, we appreciated the opportunity to enjoy small ensembles and soloists a few times a year.

Enter Dr. Wilson Luquire in the early 1990s. He arrived as the dean of the UAH library. But he doesn't only have his doctorate in library science. He also has a doctorate in organ performance. He also has more energy than any other five people put together. And not long after his arrival in Huntsville, he was asked to serve as President of the HCMG. He accepted, and the results have been phenomenal.

Dr. Wilson Luquire, world-famous cellist Yo Yo Ma, Dr. Mac Phillips (President of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra Board), and Mark Reneau (Concertmaster of the HSO) upon the occasion of Yo Yo Ma's appearance here in 2005
- Photo courtesy of Ron Roberts

Wilson has through his remarkable charm, chutzpah, imagination, energy, boundless enthusiasm, and personality managed to create a world-class chamber music organization. Recent guests have included Yo Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Frederica von Stade, Marilyne Horn, the Vienna Boys Choir, and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. For several recent years, the Guild's concerts have been held in the sanctuary of Huntsville's Trinity Methodist Church, a great venue and much larger than Roberts Recital Hall. It is packed for every concert.

Last night, Mary Ann and I attended a fabulous concert involving two Metropolitan Opera sopranos, Susanna Phillips and Angela Brown, both of whom have Huntsville connections. It also honored Ms. Ginger Beazley, a local music professional who taught both of these singers as young ladies. The mayor had declared yesterday to be "Susanna Phillips, Angela Brown and Ginger Beazley Day in Huntsville." He presented each of them with certificates of recognition during the concert.

Ms. Susanna Phillips

Ms. Angela Brown

The concert also involved the Oakwood University Aeolians and the choir from the Episcopal Church of the Nativity. It was spectacular. But even that wasn't enough for Wilson. The concert was followed by a banquet honoring the stars at a private club overlooking the city.

Mr. Joshua Bell

The remainder of the season will give you an idea what we have in store:

October 23 - The Guarneri String Quartet (Final performance)

October 30 - Stradivari String Quartet
January 29, 2010 - Jonathan Beyer, a young baritone and the 1^stPlace Winner at the Marian Anderson Prize for Emerging Classical Artists.

February 14- Joshua Bell, "Classical Music Superstar"

March 12 - Paul Jacobs, virtuoso organist

April 23, 24 - The gold, silver, and crystal medalists from the Van Cliburn piano competition.

Thanks, Wilson, for your hard work and dedication. You have earned your incredible success in transforming this entire program!

Best of Friends...

We have a cat who thinks her mother is our dog, Sheila. We got the kitten at a time when Sheila needed to be kept inactive. It was winter and too cold to put the kitten outside, so we housed them together. They bonded. The cat, Belle, still sleeps in the dog house. I got this picture shortly after I fed them this morning. The cat ignored her food to dine with her adopted mother.