It’s time to get back to writing. I had a bout of COVID-19 but that might be more of an excuse for not writing than a reason. It’s hard writing every day. How did I do it for 20 years? My blogging muscles were strong from use. I must make the strong again. I’m not going to give you a blow by blow of what happened to me, but I’ll touch on the highlights.
A week ago, last Thursday I went to the opening of the Brooklyn American Festival at Jalopy. Jalopy is a great venue but it’s a long way off, a subway and a bus ride or long walk away. If it were closer, I’d go all the time. Who was able to lure me to deepest darkest Cobble Hill that everybody calls Red Hook? Fern Maddie. Some people sing folk songs, Fern is a folk singer and banjo player. She sounds like John and Alan Lomax discovered her in the hills of Vermont. When I first heard her, she was living on a goat farm. She makes folk music as pure as it comes, it goes from her mind, to her voice and through her fingers to the banjo, through the air, and into the listeners heart and mind. This is why I listen to folk music. My friend Katrina found her on You-Tube, told me about her, and I was instantly hooked. Sadly, I have never had a chance to see her, but now I could. There was no way I was going to miss her.
Sounds like a great plan, right? It was until a monkey wrench was thrown into the works, COVID-19. No, not my COVID-19, that was still to come. Sadly, Fern was sick. There were other people on the bill and Fern was replaced by someone great, Hilary Hawke. I saw on Facebook that David was going too so we met at Jalopy Tavern next door for dinner before the show. We then took our seat at the second row of pews. If I had written the next Day, I would have told you all about the other artists on the bill and the people I knew that I ran into. COVID-19 and time have wiped that out of my memory banks. I know I saw Jan Bell, she organizes the festival, Lynette, who owns Jalopy, and Janelle the bartender Janelle and I have bonded over knowing exactly who the other person is without remember his or her name. is it ruined now that she remembered my name and I remember hers? Nah. Janelle is a doll. I also saw Andrew aka Hopalong Andrew. Andrew is exactly the kind of person I should know.
Fate was kind to me. I hated missing Fern, but Hillary has taken it to a new level. She played songs from her upcoming album, and I loved each and every one. This album is going to be special. It’s great when an artist you already love can become a revelation. I wish I remembered more. She did an amazing call and response song. Everyone in the audience got into it and kept singing after her set was over. I felt the same way. I will be playing many songs from that album on Gord’s Gold when I get the chance. Don’t forget to send it me Hilary when it’s ready.
It’s a long trip home and the timing for the bus was right for me to leave after Hilary’s set. I hate leaving early especially when I’m with someone, but my sleep has been so erratic I didn’t want to get home after 1 AM which was the alternative. I probably had stories about the subway ride but those are gone now as are Friday and Saturday. Sunday, I woke up with the sniffles. They were just sniffles, but I don’t take chances with other people’s health. All my tests were over 2 years old, but my roommate had one newer test. I didn’t expect it to be positive, but the blue line appeared. It’s a boy! No, it’s COVID-19. Still, I wasn’t feeling sick, I just had a running nose that wasn’t severe. I had issues at night when my usual congestion was amplified, and I couldn’t breath through my nose. I finally found that with my nasal strip that if I slept on my ride side air could get into and out of my nose. I did not get a great night’s sleep. Like Gregor Samsa I had uneasy dreams. For some time, I thought I was awake and trying to clear my nostrils. I know I was dreaming as the technique had to do with solving one of those interlocking puzzles where you have to do something like separate two bent nails. To make it more fun the key to solving that was to find the pangram in a game of Spelling Bee. I had it but could never focus enough to see all the letters in it at the same time. Yes, this was a dream.
Monday was felt like I was hit by a truck day of COVID-19. I had no fever on Sunday, but it went as high as 101 on Monday. It was actually not that bad as the main effect was that I slept all day. Only stirring from my recliner to go to the bathroom and eat. Needless to say, I don’t remember much. My focus much of this time was on the Mets they have been doing great and they kept me sane. Thank you, Mets. On Tuesday I still had a fever, down to around 100 but was not feeling so dead. Instead, I had a cough and then a sore throat. The disease’s presentation kept changing. But it couldn’t fool me.
I was supposed to go to the Met game on Wednesday but of course I didn’t. That was the day I was over all the symptoms and had no fever. I wasn’t going to tax myself or put other people at risk by going out. The Mets won 10-0, I missed a great game. On Thursday I felt good enough to go to the store to buy a few things. I wore a strap over the head mask. I wasn’t going to put other people at risk. Friday was a gathering of the tribe, the first performance by The Existential Bell aka Katherine Etzel. Katherine was joined by three friends of both her and me, Jen McDearman, her bandmate from Bobtown, Carolann Solebello, who My Gentle Readers have all heard about from me, and Dottie Moore. It was just a four song set but as everyone was just learning the songs which had never been performed before they practiced that was an accomplishment. When they were done, we all had the same reaction, when’s the next show? I had to resist hugging all my friends or even shaking hands. I had to settle for bows and elbow touching Who was there? Bev, Aviv, David, Karen, Mark, Glenn, how could I forget Glenn? He was on before Katherine. I’ve seen him perform in jams and on porches but never on a stage. He played autoharp? Who would have known? Not me. There was one person I could hug, Katherine, she just got over COVID-19. As kid and young man I was not a hugger. I don’t know when that changed but I’m glad it did.
I’m writing way too much. Nobody could stay afterward for dinner, so I grabbed pizza and headed home. My next adventure was Sunday when I went to the Mets’ last home game of the regular season. It was a great game, They beat the first place Phils 2-1. Things are looking good for the postseason as the Mets are two games up on the Braves for the last Wildcard spot
Today I was good and took a three mile walk. I rediscovered that if I walked to the reservoir, do one lap, and walk home that’s almost exactly three miles. OK now to put this to bed.
Wise Madness 