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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

31 MAY 09

Today is the true Memorial Day.

It's my belief that some holidays should not be gerrymandered to just provide for commercial and social interests. (But that's just me talkin'.)
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It's been an interesting week.
Saw my granddaughter, Grace, in her school play, "The Jungle Book."
She played Kaa, the python. (Actually, she was the "head" of Kaa.)
It was a very good show, considering the cast were all 4th & 5th graders.
There were some very cleverly staged musical numbers and innovative set decorations.
I was proud and pleased.
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Rob, the bass player from the Midnight Blues, joined me with the Dukes And Dutchess Ensemble. He was reluctant because he wasn't sure he could still read charts after so many years playing blues and rock. He was great, fit right in. We had an exceptional practice that night. It was as if Rob had been some sort of missing spark that the band needed but didn't know it needed. An hour, or so, into the practice we did "Summertime"... it was an ethereal experience and when we finished there was one of those brief moments where we just sat there looking at each other... thinking, "Damn! That was good." Millie took the ending up another octave and raised goosebumps on my arms and back. Her voice was so clear and pure. Hard to think of her as being 80-something. Gershwin would have smiled.
(A word about Rob playing bass... Dennis Tang had been playing bass, reluctantly, for the past couple of years. He wanted to move over to trumpet. Rob's joining the group has made everyone very happy. Dennis was an adequate bass man... but Rob is more the artist here.)

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