What can I say about today?

I can't really think of a good title at all for today's post. I don't even know what to say about today, but Nin got me think about some of the famous/semi-famous people I've met (not that I am some great friend of anyone, or have even met people that most everyone else knows-just famous people to me and my kind of ilk I guess) and who I would love to meet.

Now, let's say this first and foremost--I am a lover of blue-grass, old fashioned country, Christian, classical, and any number of other kinds of music that most people don't listen to a whole lot. I don't know most of the music other people my age listen to because Classical Public radio was played in my house from when I was tiny to even today (I don't tend to have the radio on much at my house now, but we almost always have Minnesota Public Radio playing in the gallery).

Soooo . . . I have met various people from different old jug bands from the Twin Cities and that also includes meeting Koerner, Ray, and Glover because my dad used to be in a jug band back in the 60's called Mama's Home Cooking (he played the washtub bass). They have the Battle of the Jug Bands every year down in Minneapolis and my dad always goes to see a bunch of his old friends. Of course, back when I first went to the Battle it was in a VFW (I guess it was an American Legion-according to the history on their site) Hall in Minneapolis and now it has moved to a much fancier location (I haven't been to it since I was in high school though).

Me and Sherwin Linton

I have met Sherwin Linton. He plays all over the state of MN and SD and other places. He and his wife and their band are out playing all over most of the year. He emcees our county fair's talent show every year and I have been known to go up on stage and try to make a bit of a fool of myself strumming my guitar and singing. He seemed to think that I have an alright kind of a voice (my guitar skills need a lot of work, though, I think). Anyway, he knows all sorts of people in the music business as well, including being friends with the Cash family.

Dan and I have been to a couple of Michael Martin Murphy's (caution-music starts playing when you go to this page) concerts. He always is really nice and talks to everyone after the show. (His most famous hit was Wildfire, but he has done a bunch more that people would recognize.) We have a CD of his in which Paulette Carlson sings back up on a couple of songs. Paulette grew up around here and even though I have never met her I worked for her brother and his wife at an apple orchard just a ways from here.

I have been able to shake hands with Osmo Vanska, Lori Line, and the Riders in the Sky. (I have been trying to make the links to these last two here and I am not being allowed to do it. grrr, so you'll just have to look them up if you're interested in them)

Oh, and here's a silly story. Last month, we went down to a graduation party for my cousin's son and I asked my dad to drive around and show me how to get to my grandparent's old place because I couldn't remember how to get there (since I couldn't drive back when they used to live there and couldn't remember the way). We ended up driving into the neighborhood and stopped at an old neighbor of my dad's house. He restores old, old cars (the kind that look more like a buggy than a car) and he had a bunch sitting outside, so we chatted with him for a while. Come to find out that Jay Leno had been at his house the weekend before us. He had been doing an act at one of the casinos North of the Cities and had heard about this guy, so he called him up on his way to the airport and asked to pop in to look at his cars. If only the graduation party had been a week earlier, we would have been there at the same time.

So anyway, those have been my brushes with fame and glory (sound the church bells). Not much in the whole scheme of things, I suppose, but still fun for me!

Someday, though, I would really like to meet and actually chat with Randy Travis. He has led such an interesting life. I would love to meet any number of people, though, I suppose, but I am a true Minnesota girl and try not to bother people if at all possible and figure they would rather not have some little weirdo like me bothering them.

Well, have a great day!