There is a conspiracy afoot. It being Thursday, you might think TBT but it is more TBM (throw back March). Like Bruce’s column yesterday, this is column generated some pretty good feedback when first published. I’ve reached back for one of my first 1st Thursday columns from April 2012. That’s five years if you’re counting.
Crossing Over
As we make plans for this year’s FDF, Linda and I need to consider a very big change in our life, a change that has significant implications for our band and our friends, a change that will be very stressful for all of them and us. You see it is our time to cross over………… over the water ditch.
For the 8 years we have been attending the festival, we have camped in the tent campground in our VW Eurovan, a tent. Our site has been close to the same spot each year with the mostly the same familiar campsites up and down the row, the Schwartz family, Mike and Deb’s camp, the swing jazz guys on the corner and the very famous Camp Spam at the crossroads at the other end. You all know this place. This “street” has been our Grass Valley home, vacation resort and the highlight of our annual bluegrass experience for a special week each June but all that is changing because it is our time to cross over.
The drill was that Linda and I get there early in the week and stake out the space. The other guys in our band and the rest of our group arrive a day or so later but we have always managed to save them space (I know, I know there is no saving space but when you are as wily as I am, pulling one over on the campground police is not that hard).
Anyway that is how it was but it is all changing this year. We will be crossing over to the place on the other side, the large parking lot with all the heavy artillery parked in rows. Yep, Linda and I are crossing over and even with my renowned wiles, I won’t be able to save the rest of the band any space over there. They are on their own. We are crossing over the water ditch, the Great Divide.
It is possible we may still be able to see a few of our old friends and our band mates as I understand there is some intermingling allowed. You know, stray jammers crossing in each direction, campground dwellers going over to the “real” bathrooms with the cold showers, late night stragglers heading for the hot dog stand and zipping golf carts with VIP’s but make no mistake, there are two worlds, canvas and heavy metal, and we are crossing over to the heavy metal.
How is it that it is our time to cross over? What would drive us from our familiar camping haunts and cause us to abandon our friends and band?
Well if you remember from a few 1st Thursdays ago, I had a severe case of bad back last year resulting in my soiree with the scalpel in October and camping the “natural way” last year at Grass Valley was the beginning of my final descent to the swing with surgeon. Also, speaking for myself now, my spring chicken days are well past, so in hopes of no reoccurring back problems, and in acknowledging the graying of the baby boomer generation, Linda and I had some decisions to make if we were going to continue to attend the festival and not attending did not seem like the wise choice for all sorts of reasons including, most specifically, we really like attending.
Our choices were to stay in a motel (or with friends in the Grass Valley area) or to cross over. The former option had many positives like real beds and showers but the huge downside of potentially missing many jamming opportunities. Let’s face it, we could either, retreat to a motel, drink tequila and watch Law and Order reruns or find a way to get to the other side of the Great Divide and jam as much as we wanted, drink more tequila and jam some more. The choice was obvious for me (I purposefully changed pronouns here as the choice wasn’t clearly as obvious for both of us.)
Anyway with the decision made, the next step was to figure out how to get over (the ditch). Step 1 was to enter and win the FHU lottery. This could have been a very steep hurdle for us as for as far as I can remember (and I am old enough to get the senior discount at Denny’s) I have never won anything. The next step, if we happened to win the lottery, was to come up with an RV.
To my complete surprise, I received the post card from the CBA FHU Coordinator indicating we had won and we are now all paid up and ready to go. Also with the news of the big lottery win, we have rented a Class C motorhome for the week (music camp) and are looking forward to the new experience. The deal is to try out a few RV’s by renting before taking the real plunge as this graying thing doesn’t reverse and our plan is to keep showing up. Also, I have heard though grapevine that once you cross over there is no going back.
Our plan is to invite our friends from across the ditch to temporarily cross over to jam and visit (but only if they have the proper credentials). Hopefully, Linda and I will be accepted on the other side by our new neighbors. As I indicated previously, I will have tequila to share so please stop by and say hello. The tequila is on the table. Help yourself.
‘till next 1st Thursday
Dave
