Friday, July 16, 2010

An UnSnowy Dog Picture. (Don’t Tell Snowy) And Irving Berlin.

becky with dog

Even if you haven’t seen this person lately, you may just catch a glimpse of her in the next day or two doing a Vlog (video blog) on Napkin Folding 101.

Stay tuned!

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There are many things I love about my daughter. For one thing, she is mine. Flesh of my flesh. Person of my person. Heart of my heart.

I also love the fact that she adores words, she is quirky, creative and compassionate, and when she sends me e-mails she always puts in the title line, “Hello, mother dearest.”

But this past week I found yet a new reason to appreciate her! (As if I needed one.)

Manteo has been sponsoring an outdoor summer concert series with all sorts of excellent and varied presentations in the line up. And the best part about them? They’re free? (And after having just come up with a down payment on a house PLUS paying $5,000 in cancer bills, FREE is a lovely word.)

This past week, the presentation was called, “I Love A Piano: The Music of Irving Berlin.”

Now as a pianist and songwriter of many years (started both activities around the age of six) you can imagine how interested I was in attending the performance. Steve had something else going on that evening and so I cast my eye around the rest of the Smith household to see who else might be willing to accompany me.

Snowy? Not so much. He had naps and snacks filling every spare moment of his evening.

Nathan? Um. From all reports we’ve heard, he is currently living in Florida and probably won't be seen around the Smith house again until Thanksgiving. (Waaaah.)

Sarah? Hmmmm. Sarah is almost fifteen years old. She likes current music. Irving Berlin does NOT represent current music. Would my teen age daughter deign to accompany her middle-aged mom to an evening featuring the music of a guy who was born in 1888?

She would.

And she did.

And we had a fun evening together.

We walked across the beautiful lawn to the stage area . . .

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. . . where I proceeded to skulk around the sound board for awhile. (It just brought back so many memories of the outdoor concerts we did during our fifteen years on the road.)

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In the midst of my skulking, I was entranced when a sudden gust of wind blew away Mr. Sound Man’s Rain Protection Mechanism.

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Happily, some intrepid Manteo-ers and vacationers helped him get everything back in place.

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I loved seeing an imagine of a piano on the screen as soon as we walked in. . .

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. . and seeing this dog all settled on his blanket, ready for a little dose of Berlin. (Somehow I doubt that Sir Snowy would have been so calm and obedient.)

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I loved seeing people lined up to hear the music. . .

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. . . and that the threatened rain stayed away.

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I loved the flags on the wall.

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. . . and the sense of community that is created when people gather to hear music that will never go out of style.

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And I loved that I got to share it all with this young lady.

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Note: Please try to ignore the fact that we were the only two people in the entire area who were sitting on folding chairs from a card table. Since we’re new to Manteo, we’re still working on some of the prerequisites of living here, one of which is that everyone seems to have lots of portable chairs to take with them to all of the outings and events. Thankfully, everyone was merciful to us as we dragged our tacky folding chairs in and out and did require that we leave the town. Or the state.

Thankful for small blessings . . .

12 Had Something To Say (Just click here!):

anonymous said...

I can tell you have never been a soccer mom!!! If you had, you would have had beach/lawn chairs in the trunk of all cars and stashed by every exit door in your house!

Shannon said...

Hi Becky,

What website did you use to create your doggie picture? I think you've used it before maybe billboards?
I think it would be fun to play around with!

lesley said...

Sarah is a good sport! It looks like a great time. I love the piano.
I wonder if my Sarah would like an outdoor concert. We have some in town. I should check them out. I never thought of it before.
Thanks!!

Sharon said...

Oh how I wish I lived near by. it seems there are so many wonderful things to do there. I would have been first in line to say I want to go hear Irving Berlin tunes.

Anonymous said...

We have a concert series in the summer in Carmel, on Wed evenings...ours is a lot more crowded than yours looked! And yes, you need to invest in some of those chairs that fold up and go back in their "cover" like an umbrella. :)
Keep them in your trunk..
Everyone brings their dinner with them to ours....and wine....and/or other beverages....some bring portable tables and lighted candles...It's all I can do to get myself there with my chair and cooler, with a box of KFC... :)
But fun it is indeed!
Just in case you missed it in the news last week, Carmel is in the top 100 best cities to live in...so of course we have all these fun things.. :)
Have a great weekend!
Buff

A Mom's Serious Blunder said...

I want to live in a town just like Manteo. I long to leave my busy life here in NJ where our taxes have now exceeded our mortgage payment. We live in the beautiful garden part of the state but it is still so busy. I want a simpler life where people talk with there neighbors and go on bike rides. What I guess I really want to leave is my complicated life.

Rachel said...

LOL, my dad used to drag me and my mom to "bluegrass" concerts when I was little. And, yes, we often had card table chairs. My dad, to this day, prefers to use them (he said those other chairs sink down until the circulation in your legs gets cut off). And....he's the funniest part. He used to glue carpet padding to the chairs to make them soft. Yes, the green-blue-pink multi color stuff. Really, you have nothing to complain about :)

Sue G said...

Ah, memories of Ravinia and Grant Park abound now that you shared your concert and photos. There are so many things I miss about Chicago...and concerts at those two places are among them.

One of my daughters came close to calling me "Mother Dearest." She called me "Mommy Dearest," but it was a direct reference to the Joan Crawford telltale diatribe written by her daughter. Little brat. Oops. I mean clever little darling girl.

Anonymous said...

Becky, went to Louisville, KY, for the Pilot International Convention July 5-11. The 12 hour drive home on the 12th was nice especially going through the mountains. We visited a chocolate factory -- very small house -- but it was unbelieveable chocolate. So expensive $22 per pound or more so I didn't buy a pound. Did find a t-shirt that is perfect for you. Not sure you like t-shirts but I had to get it. Will try to put it in the mail Wednesday at the latest. Get a small bag chair when they go on sale and it will be ideal to carry around. I have two--one I bought to take in the yard with Prince when he plays ball. The first one I got was for Relay for Life in Washington, DC, several years ago. I carried them to soccer, t-ball, etc. when my great niece was younger. Now I just go to "cheer" competitions and they have seats for that. Take care and have a great day. Must get some sleep as it is 3 AM.
Ann M.

Kelly Dunn said...

ha-ha...the folding chairs were the first thing I noticed when I got to that picture! Manteo seems so neat!

Anonymous said...

last few days our group held a similar talk on this topic and you illustrate something we haven't covered yet, appreciate that.

- Kris

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