Hello Groovers!
Ah, the travelling life – I’m sitting writing this outside a Starbucks next to a dual carriageway, during an enforced hiatus while I wait for a very generously offered lift. It’s been the first real time I’ve had to myself to write some stuff for the blog – things have been very busy – both business and pleasure wise (hard to key stuff into a laptop whilst swimming in a lake!), so it’s actually quite nice to have a break.
Today I had my first USA driving experience – driving about 1 ¾ hours north of Pittsburgh to a small town called Meadville, to meet up with a doctor who seems to have done most of the published research about drumcircling – a chap called Barry Bittman.
It was only the second time I had driven an automatic car – leading to some lurches in the car park from whence I rented it, and some frantic grasps for a absent gearstick the first few times I drew to a halt! Apart from that, the journey passed without incident and I made it there and back in one piece (and so did my bank account – there are hefty charges for ‘incidents’. I was accompanied by the strains of the local country and western radio station (when in Rome…) – playing such delights as ‘She thinks my tractor is sexy’; ‘My favourite view is my front porch looking in’; and ‘Have you forgotten’ – a guilt inducing number designed to stir up memories of 9/11, and justify colonising the Middle East. Good tunes though…
Musical propaganda aside, the trip was very well worth it – the medical centre where Dr B is based has a room stuffed full of drums, which they use in all sorts of sessions from people with asthma, to stress release for heart and cancer patients. We also talked a lot about the phenomenon of ‘recreational music making’ which is sweeping the music products industry world here, and very much aligned with what I’m studying.
Back in Pittsburgh, I’ve been staying with a lovely woman called Nancy and her family, enjoying the classic American diet, (good n'plenty!) a small, energetic Dachshund, and a cat which only eats its food when you go to the loo. I kid you not – I was extremely surprised (not to say a little nervous) when the bathroom door began to slide open while I was enthroned – only to be joined by a ginger tom cat eager for his meal, which apparently he won’t touch unless lavatorially accompanied – most odd, but you do get used to it!
Yesterday I accompanied Nancy to the retirement home where she works, enjoying a picnic with the residents, followed by a drum circle and bingo. Hope I land in a place like that if I need it when I’m old! The residents seemed to have a keen capacity for drumming – one of them was seriously getting down with a beatbox-type thing and sounding extremely funky – much to the envy of the others…
Presently working out how to get to Baltimore tomorrow – either by bargain flight, or greyhound bus – all the travel arrangements so far have clicked into place just the day before, which unnerved me at first, but now I’m getting used to it, and I’ve been very lucky with it all so far!
Ohio
Well, to expand a bit on my post conference travels, I mamanged to catch a ride with a conferee to half an hour from my final destination, where I was met by the Kellars – a lovely family who are establishing their life and drumming business in rural Ohio after ‘downsizing’ from Connecticut. They live in a GORGEOUS house right above Lake Seneca (about 5 miles long – the lake, that is…). Their company and surroundings made for the ideal post-conference decompression. No sooner had we arrived, had a sandwich, and played a game of cards, than we were headed out on the lake on a wee twin hulled craft (think of an ice-cream tub floated on two bananas, shape wise) to visit their parents, who happened to have a pair of ‘wave-riders’ (mentioned previously), and very generously offered me a ride on one! Three of us set out along the lake, and once we’d puttered [past a line of bouys (pronounced locally as ‘booeys’, which made me chuckle once I’d realised what they were referring to), we could let rip and skim across the surface of the waves. My smile was bigger than my face!!! We then beached them on a little island and jumped in for a swim in the lake – (ah… watery bliss!) before heading back, firstly to their parents’ house, where I saw my first hummingbird - astonishing and almost unearthly in the flesh, like a cross between a fairy and a large bumble bee.
Wonder was being heaped upon wonder – when we arrived home I was treated to the most gorgeous meal of wild venison (from the woods) and fresh corn on the cob, and I loved both – not bad for an ex-vegetarian! To round off a blissful day, we sat outside by a campfire and made another American classic - Smores – which consist of a fire toasted marshmallow squidged between two biscuits with a lump of chocolate. Mmmmm – tastebud heaven – dietary purgatory!
I had one more day with the Kellars, spent very conversationally, finding out about their drumming work, and admiring their collection of field-dug prehistoric and art knapped arrowheads. Stunning. In the evening, we went to a local youth detention centre, where Toni runs a workshop once a month. Loading happened through double-locked doors, and we were met by eight extremely excitable boys – not as overtly rude and destructive as some I have worked with in Glasgow, but very far along the attention deficit syndrome spectrum – they seemed to find it extremely hard to focus on anything, and had a very explosive energy about them, barely under control. We had two full on tantrums, and several calmings down by staff, but persevered. There were some lovely moments however, which made it all worthwhile. Two of them came up for hugs at the end, and left me with a great big lump in my throat.
Hanging around to chat with them afterwards felt important to me – they seemed fascinated by the idea of different time zones around the world – and had lots of questions about British cars, and my funny accent….
In Baltimore now for a couple of days before heading across to LA - all the arrangements are still rather "flexible" just now, so I'm hoping they'll settle down a bit soon!
tara!
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