Shaking Again

After a 2 hour drive up to Weaverville for a morning call (I left at 7 a.m.) and another 2 hour drive back, I went home for a nap and a spot of lunch. Just as I was waking from the nap, the house shook again, probably an after-shock from our little dust up a few weeks ago (as noted in this blog). It was like a dog trying to shake off fleas, if you want to think of our frail humanity as blood sucking parasites. Which, considering the politicians we have to deal with, might not be so far from the mark.

Weaverville is a lovely little town in the mountains between Eureka and Redding. It's been there since the mid-1800s and there are signs all over town reminding you that this building or that has been there longer than California has been a state. One interesting little side light is that many of the buildings on Main Street have circular stairways on the outside because the buildings were often tenanted by different businesses which didn't want to share their customers, so they came to the comprimse that the stairways would be built on the outside of the buildings.

I dunno. I always feel like I should pull into Weaverville in a horse-drawn cart rather than a car and wear my spurs and gun when I walk into the courthouse (built in 1854). The lawyers around there all seem to have long hair and bushy moustaches. I am weirdly out of place.

I'm weirdly out of place no matter where I go, though, so I'm used to it. I had a dream last night that I went to a party with my son's mother, a very big party where she was welcome but the bouncer at the door demanded to see my invitation. She went in without me and I wandered the party looking for friends. Finally I saw a guitar--a friend of a sort--and sat down to begin playing. You can interpret that any way you want. I think it's fairly clear.

Well, I am going to socialize tonight through my guitar. I play in a little band called "Robe and the Blue Knights," mostly doing my friend Rob's Christian Rock songs. Actually, Rob's songs are pretty good and musically they are outstanding. I play lead guitar and stand on stage looking pretty. It's fun in a subdued way for me. Really, no one has ever asked me to play lead guitar in a band before, and every time I play with Robe & TBK, I feel like an impostor. Still, there are moments where something takes ahold of me and I rip out something that suprises me more than the rest of the audience. Divine Inspiration or the Monkey and the Typewriters Effect, I haven't figured which one yet.

Still, it's fun and harmless and no one is damaged by my playing. I am taking part in the National Songwriter's Month project. The idea is to write 14 songs in 28 days. Here it is, the 4th and I've only done one, but it's a good one. I'm taking Latin phrases from the Catholic liturgy and writing songs around them. Again, harmless fun. Once I get the website where you can listen, I'll let you know.

In the meantime, watch out for those shakers. When I say I hope the music moves you, I don't quite want it to move you to that extent...