Southpaw Jones

Is This Interesting?
Thoughts/feelings that just might not matter:

I’d rather not be back at work right now, but at least I have a roof over my head. Maggie and I spent Saturday and Sunday nights at the Kerrville Folk Festival.

I should include that we intended to go out Friday night as well, but we got skerred off by weather reports. “Weather.com! Accuweather.com! National Weather Service! They all say it’s going to rain all weekend. Heavily!” Knowing the tendency of my tent to leak (and how) and having experienced the Kerr-mud that is bountiful after rain, I agreed with Maggie that we shouldn’t risk it.

We went to see Year of the Dog, directed by Mike White (the king of awkward) and starring Molly Shannon. It was great, funny, and touching, even for non-dog-lovers. Go see it today on your lunch hour. Your boss won’t notice. He/she is under a spell/curse.

So a movie and some food and some friends made for a great urban Friday night, a Friday night that was decidedly…

…rain free.

Saturday morning was nice and dry as well, if a bit cloudy. It made us strong in our resolve. Strong like President Bush. 50% chance of heavy rain? Well, then, 50% chance of crispy-fun bliss, then! We shall pack up and go!

We were so glad we did for so many hours. We checked in at the volunteer booth, found our crew leader Dr. Ben, ate some dinner, watched some main stage music, reunited with old friends, and explored. It wasn’t until about 3 am that the rain began. We did everything we could to waterproof the tent, but we were on low ground that was already saturated from a week of off-and-on rain. It was only a matter of time before the black, cold water found our corners, our sleeping bags, our feet, our clothes. It was a rough night, and it rained pretty hard for four hours. We couldn’t exactly escape to the car, because traveling the hundreds of yards through mud seemed impossible in the dark. Especially considering that we didn’t want to fall into it. Some folks didn’t mind falling into it. Among them I am not.

At dawn, we did make the trek to my car to get a few hours of sleep. The following 24 hours were an emotional roller coaster. From community to calamity. Dry relaxation to wet stress. Conversation to condensation. Pushing through to pailing water. That’s just the way the Kerrville Folk Festival is. You bond with wonderful people through voluntary suffering. Had it not been wet, it would have been hot, and had it not been wet or hot, well, folks might not have been as eager to help, share, commune, and distract through song-sharing and game-playing.

Yesterday, all I wanted to do was get home, clean my car, take a shower, and eat some BBQ. Today, walking back into the office, I wished I was in a wet tent.

Quotopia
Freshly-picked quotes from the ol’ reference collection:

It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent.
Dave Barry

Online Museum of the Week
Very Small Objects:

Rhyme Time!
One clue whose answer consists of two rhyming words:

Slightly wet outdoor living situation.
Highlight here for answer: [damp camp]

Abi Tapia’s America
Our wanderlusty songwriter offers a view from her lens:

The Grove Arcade in Asheville. There were no video games inside.

Thank you, come again!
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