Okay, it’s the year 2020. We’re all older than we were yesterday. The national parks are overcrowded (but not right now!). The freeways and highways are jammed (in so called “normal” times that is). Are there really any backroads of California left where you are the only driver? The bluegrass festivals are jammed with people. Sorry, I mean they were jammed with people. That’s a good thing for the festival promoters, marketers, and bluegrass bands who need jobs at festivals. Sorry, I mean it WAS a good thing for bands who now need to rely on live streaming and other forms of media transferring to our home computers and other devices.
But wow. Remember when? Remember when we, the general population, first got acquainted with Earl’s banjo, Monroe’s bluegrass, Flatt and Scruggs, and a bunch of other stuff that we and our neighbors all know about now, but didn’t then?
I’m talking about trips to Yosemite and other places where you didn’t need to book a reservation at least a year in advance. When you could camp on a beach without paying. I’m talking about a 1940 Ford Coupe with a 1955 Chevy V-8 engine that I bought in 1959 for $400,
and one I just looked at yesterday that is for sale for $45,000. Lots of places and things that are jogging your memory right now.
And how about bluegrass festivals in Grass Valley, California in the early 1970’s?
Now I’m not saying that the CBA’s FDF in Grass Valley is something that got too big for its britches (though some of you will disagree with me on that). It’s a wonder and marvel to behold and get lost in for four days. But think about it. To get a good camping spot at Grass Valley now you have to get there a week in advance. And there are flap to flap tents, and RVs that are parked so close together that it’s often impossible to walk between them. FDF used to be held in the “country;” now it’s held in the “city.” Of course we all agree that everything good grows and grows.
But in the good ol’ days you could get to FDF at Grass Valley on just about any day of the week, and you’d have some decent spaces to park, pick, and scratch your behind without six people observing and commenting on your unsociable behavior.
And what about the pickers? Those guys and gals who were few, who could play a guitar, banjo, or fiddle like you never heard before? Now it seems like everyone and his/her brother, son or daughter can play and perform at what seems like a professional level. When’s the last time you caught a performance of Kids On Bluegrass, where you thought you were a good picker, and then you realized those kids can leave you in the dust? That’s a good thing, sure, those kids are the foundation of the future of bluegrass in California.
All I’m saying is that it was a good thing that many of us geezers got to those parks, beaches, bluegrass festivals and whatever when we did, way back when. No, you can’t go home again. But you can think about it. Sometimes home is where the mind is.
The only thing is, that when we did, we didn’t realize how good we had it. Of course with the big “V” happening now, we couldn’t have realized last year at FDF Grass Valley how good we had it, because we didn’t know we wouldn’t have another one until the year 2021. But right NOW we do realize how good we had it last year, without twenty years going by to get to that realization.
Yep, time goes by, and we get older, and hopefully bolder (at least some of the time). Speaking of getting older, here’s one for you.
“I’ve sure gotten old! I’ve had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, and new knees. Fought prostate cancer and diabetes. I’ve half blind, can’t hear anything quieter than a jet engine, take 40 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts. Have bouts with dementia. Have poor circulation; hardly feel my hands and feet anymore. Can’t remember if I’m 85 or 92. Have lost all my friends. BUT, thank God, I still have my driver’s license!
