Idle Days...

I’m sure all the alert readers were on pins and needles waiting for the next post and were sorely disappointed that there hasn’t been one for a bit.. well, not much was going on

Oh, now that I think about it, there was a concert down at St. Mary’s College last Thursday given by Brian Ganz and Beverly Babcock. Everybody knows (or should know!) of their immense talent and that’s not new, but I couldn’t help but mention Brian’s introduction to the piece they were going to play (Beethoven’ Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 57). He started out by stating that: “you can never explain a great work of art”. Quite a thought, think about that for a moment. Then he went on to say that this work was maybe “The greatest piano concerti ever written”, then after a little reflective pause, said: Okay, it IS the greatest.. He went on to talk about the piece with little demonstrations at the piano. He used words like “motivic unity”, and “horn calls” which of course sailed over my head. No matter if you understood that or not, what followed was a wonderful performance of Brian playing the piano part and Beverly doing the “orchestration”. They are so fun to watch, you can just tell how much they enjoy it. I’ll try to keep you apprised of upcoming concerts. Especially the “piano talks” that occur during the day from noon to one.

So that, no wait a minute! Friday was pretty much spent in helping some with a catering event. I learned a lot of things. Maybe another subject for another time.

Finally, Saturday morning I sort of recovered from the previous evening’s efforts, and then settled in to watch my Spartans humiliate themselves and tumbling from a lofty, BCS thoughts fifth ranking to today’s 14th. Bye Bye. Throwing 4 interceptions doesn’t get you much. And to top if off, several other of “my” teams got whipped or beaten (U of M, Mizzou, Moutaineers, etc.) Bad day if you were an “M” team!

Buoyed by those great experiences I went down to Historic St. Mary’s City to help with their “Grave Matters” event which featured a tour of the City along with little vignette’s at various stops depicting events related to death and burial in the 1600’s. There was a recreation of a trial of a landowner who killed one of his slaves (and got off scott free of course), which included the ghost of “Antonio” the slave. Other sites included the Dove where a suspected witch was pitched overboard, plans for a funeral in Smith’s Ordinary, and culminated in a visit to the Chapel. I was the docent there, and explained a little about the chapel’s history and it’s reconstruction. Groups arrived in 15 minutes intervals, so it was pretty busy. They had the exterior of the chapel lit up, but inside there were several candles and some lovely period music playing. I don’t think I’ve ever been in the chapel at night, but it was quite impressive.

Returning home late brought an early to bed, and Sunday was spent out at Greenwell State Park for their inaugural “Monster Rockfish Tournament” festival. A beautiful crisp fall day saw pretty many people enjoying music, displays, face paintings (you always have to have face paintings, I think it’s a law), pumpkin carvings and food from several caterers. They also had a “Cook Off” contest with the catch of the day(s), and I was fortunate enough to be asked to be a judge! So, I got to sample 5 dishes from local and not so local caterers/chefs and rate them as to appearance, taste, originality, etc. There were three of us doing the awful job of eating good food. All were constructed around Rockfish of course, and preparations ranged from (beer battered) fried, blackened, poached, and maybe one was broiled. They were all done blind of course, we had no idea from where they emanated. Offerings were from the Rustic River Grill; The Laughing Crab; Day’s off Catering; Local Flavors; and Café Des Artistes. All were very good, but in the end, Café Des Artistes carried the day with their Poached Rockfish with Mango/Pineapple Salsa, Saffron Rice, and a Citrus Buerre Blanc. I enjoyed myself.

And that wrapped up the weekend, whoa! Hold on there, Sparky! I forgot that last night we joined a few of our neighbors on our circle for the annual Holloween Wine Drinking, er, I mean giving little treats to the passing “Trick or Treaters”. As usual they ranged from darling little people in cute costumes (lady bugs, princesses, etc.) to people who probably shaved before driving out to trick or treat. A little tip is if they have a pillow case, they might just be a little old for the spirit of the day. Of course, the delightful ones are the little folk who always have to be prompted by the parent of choice with “what do you say?” usually resulting in a quietly whispered “trick ‘er treat” with eyes averted, followed by another parental reminder of “now what do you say?” and a small voiced “thank you”. It’s so fun. I don’t recall anybody who had a riddle or rhyme.

And finally the nothing to do days are over..and by golly somehow it is November First – oh for you number freaks, today’s (contracted date) of 11 01 10 if treated as a binary number results in………………………………………………………………………. (figure it out!).

And more to come on

DFD

ps: tonight if you have nothing to do, there is a little talk on "Graves" at the Lexington Park Library at 7. Sponsored by the St. Mary's County Historic Preservation Commission. We'll be there.

pss: Dont forget to VOTE tomorrow. You can't bitch if you don't vote!