I’m having nightmares of Mr. Cornish and that crazy tea bag string dangling from his mouth. Am I the only CBA member who has the image of a hand slowly pulling the tea bag string from Mr.Cornish’s mouth and a ten foot stream of connected multi-colored satin scarves come out one by one, just like when a magician does it.What makes it scary is that Rick is smiling that demented smile the whole time the scarves are being delicately extracted.
2017: I look at the calendar and it says October 2017.Where does the time go? Really where does it go?We are told time is relative. If not for clocks and calendars we would be forced to count how many times the sun went down and how many times it came up.I digress. Fall begins. No Giants playoff, the 49ers are playing hard nosed football but have yet to taste victory.The NHL and our San Jose Sharks are about to begin and the World Champion Golden State Warriors return to Oakland to defend their second world championship in three years. Of course this pales to what is coming up in just a couple of weeks. The annual CBA fall campout will be held in the city John Fogerty made famous. No ,not Porterville but that other Central Valley city, Lodi. I don’t think our CBA members will be concerned about being “Stuck in Lodi” for a week amongst their CBA friends and fellow pickers. Heaven awaits you all.
What makes this fall campout so special is the band that will be performing. The band is a quartet of junior high students from various cities in northern California. You heard that right. Junior high. They are called North Country Blue.They pick and sing with enthusiasm and boy are they fun to watch. Members are Tessa Schwartz, Ida Winfree, Megan January,and Daisy Kerr. Ida is the son of noted Cal State Stanislaus philosophy professor, Mr. Jason Winfree. Jason is also singer, guitarist,and songwriter for local bluegrass band Red Dog Ash. I have had the opportunity to play bluegrass with Jason and discuss philosophy with him over a brew or two at the Dust Bowl in Turlock. Jason’s pride for daughter Ida in her newest endeavor has cost him many buttons on his various shirts due to an expanded pride filled chest.Good luck to North Country Blue at the Fall Camp Out. You can’t help miss Jason. He will be one of the many CBA fans watching the band with smiles on their faces but I do think his smile will be the biggest.
2017 : Where do all the years go? In May of 1987 I was asked by Rick Cornish to attend my my first Father’s Day Festival. I have written extensively about that week end and others. Even though I have not immersed myself into the CBA like so many others that one weekend did have an impact on my life. Rick made it all possible. There are times I give Rick a bit of grief only because, well hell, I love the man. We do go back 69 years. Of course, Rick hasn’t shied away from pushing my buttons more than a few times. That being said I remember the various “Macho Man” jams Rick would have at his home in San Jose. I was just learning the bass and Rick would invite a few friends over (no bass players) because Rick wanted to give me the opportunity ( I am a shy sort) to play the bass and not opt out like I usually did with another bass player present.Rick set these things up with a full dinner etc. I would thank him each time but sometimes you gotta do it publicly. Thanks Rick. Those jams were special to me and I will not forget them.
2017: I turned 69 in June and that means if my math is correct and I am still alive and kicking I will be 70 next June. In 1991 I took Jessica to the Oakland Coliseum to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They filmed the show and the next one in Nevada and put it out of DVD. It was fun to watch it and try to pick out what songs were played where. the music of course was the thing. Tom Petty had a tight group and was a joy to watch. Early in his career Tom took on the record companies over the pricing of his albums. I do believe he won. The company wanted to charge an extra $1.00 on each album. Shortly after the lawsuit was settled Tom’s house mysteriously burned down.
Last year Jessica wanted to take her dad to the Fox Theater in Oakland to see Tom Petty’s pared down group, “Mudcrutch” the groups’ original name. They played no Tom Petty hits but did original Mudcrutch numbers from way back when the band first formed. I am glad Jessica wanted me to go see Tom.It was a great show. Tom Petty will be missed.
2017: At my sister’s home in Hayward next Saturday the California Band Selection Committee will meet to select the California bands for the CBA Father’s Day Festival. It is a fun activity and an opportunity to see folks who I haven’t seen for a while and maybe folks who I have never seen.
Until November 3: Read a book, hug a child, pet a dog, stroke a cat, eat a bar of chocolate,and smile.