We don't have a lawn but there's Blue Grass in Tucson

Last year I wrote about Anita & I going to Nogales in Mexico for our anniversary (also her birthday). This year during the week before our anniversary I had to go to Detroit, MI to teach a class. I got home late on Wednesday night and spent most of Thursday and Friday getting caught up on work that I was doing for a client in Virginia. Friday during the day Anita took a class in making patterns for sewing pants and I had my self buried in the computer until about 3 p.m. when I jumped up headed out to find a few small gifts for the next day.

Friday night we went to the musical "Annie" put on by a traveling group. We have season tickets to Broadway in Tucson. It was one of the best of the plays we’ve seen in the last couple of years. I came out humming and singing one of the major songs. We had tickets for Saturday night but since we had plans for all day Saturday and Sunday we traded our tickets in for something on Friday night. Some how we ended up with tickets in the first row so for the first time Anita didn’t have someone in front of her that she had to peek around. The conductor was about 10 feet away to our right. The orchestra pit wall was at our feet. The edge of the stage was about 15 feet in front, and at intermission I could stand and watch all the happenings in the orchestra pit as well as check out all of the people and what they were wearing. Dress up in Tucson means your wear socks with your sandals and long pants (no shorts). In Tucson the usual attire is shorts and sandals year around.

We usually skip dinner before the play, maybe stop a Starbucks on the way so we won’t be too hungry, and then we go out for dinner or dessert after the play. One time we went to the Truck Stop on the way home. Not many places are open that late. Another time we stopped at a Waffle House sort of low end 24 hour breakfast franchises that are all over the south and south west. They serve grits with your eggs and have a hundred ways to fix hash browns.

We had just read about a new dessert place that was open till 2 am so we tried that. I had milk and a chocolate mousse and Anita had the carrot cake. It was very good and we will probably go back. It was close to 1 am before we were home and in bed.

We slept in the next morning which means getting up somewhere between 8 and 9. We have several chores in the morning. Mine include walking the dog, emptying the dishwasher, feeding the animals, and checking my e-mail and reading the NY Times on line addition. Anita’s include opening the drapes, walking the dog with me, making the coffee, feeding the animals with me, picking the cat boxes, feeding the birds, etc.

At around noon we left to go to the Tucson Blue Grass Festival. It is a two-day event going on both Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5:30pm. We found it in the newspaper last year and went the first day in the afternoon and had such a good time we went back the next day and ended up buying several CD’s.

The format of the festival is simple they have 8-10 groups that are brought in to play. Each group has their scheduled times and they perform for about 40 minutes after about a 5-minute setup. Some of the groups are local but most are from places like Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Colorado, California, etc. This is acoustic music i.e. not electronic. The stage is not cluttered with amplifiers although there is a microphone for each singer and instrument. Most groups are 4-5 people (bass, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo) all stringed instruments and there is some great picking and singing. Many of the songs are standards but members of the band write many. Voices are pitched to the high end of their range and there is a lot of harmony. Most groups have a few Gospel numbers as well as lost love and traveling songs. There are also just instrumentals. It is closer to western than popular music and connects with many of the songs I heard on the radio as a child. Bluegrass has roots in the Celtic music that came over and evolved in the Kentucky & Tennessee hills. Anita says we must have some connection in our DNA if we have Celtic ancestors.

Last year the festival was at the fair grounds and we took chairs and setup on the grass. This year it was in the courtyard of an Indian gambling casino. The first day there was a scheduled boxing match at the attached auditorium. During the last half-hour of music the toughest group of people swaggered passed us lining up to get into the fight. Many young men passed that were 5’ 6" to 6’ and weighing an extra 50-100 lbs. for their height but no fat. I wouldn’t have wanted to mess with them or the young ladies that were with them.

The crowd both days was generally older. The majority in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. A few in their 40s & 50s, almost zero under 40. There were many cowboy hats and boots. We hadn’t had lunch so when the last group come on and wasn’t very good we decided to try the food in the casino buffet. The food was very good and as usual at buffets I had to try many things and left very full. Then Anita took $20 and went to play the slot machines. I just wandered around and watched people. I don’t get much enjoyment out of gambling, but I am an incurable people watcher. Anita blew the $20 in less than an hour and we were on our way home.

We returned the next day at around noon and found seats in the shade. There were two groups we really liked and they were up as soon as we got there and then there was a family group from Chandler, AZ. The lead singers for the family were girls 9 & 13 and their voices would need to grow on you. The mother was on the bass and had a 6-month-old in a Gerry Carry on her chest. It was interesting but jarring. We went inside and got a sandwich and fries. When we returned a group with women lead singers (this is rare) was up and we settled in for the rest of the day.

The group from eastern Tennessee played around 4 p.m. then exited for their van so they could drive home. Most of these people have full-time other jobs and play the music because they love it. Few actually make a living even playing festivals, clubs, and selling CD’s. Finally as the sun was setting the last group finished. As we drove home we were talking about possibly going to the up-coming festivals in Wickenburg, AZ and Bullhead City. At least they wait until the cooler time of year in Arizona.

I think I gained 5 pounds.