Just got back from NERFA -- the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance conference -- in Sullivan County, NY. I’m a singer-songwriter, among several other things, and I was at NERFA to work on the craft and business of that rewarding and maddening pursuit. It was my first time there, and I was at various times overwhelmed, exhilarated, triumphant, defeated, crystal clear, confused and just about any other adjective you can think of. I was feeling a little vulnerable on my last morning there, partly due to lack of sleep and partly because there were a couple of things I’d hoped to accomplish but, alas, did not. To top it all off, they ran out of caffeinated tea at the continental breakfast -- and I’m not a coffee drinker these days.
As I stood in bleary-eyed disappointment, an empty cup in my hand, Sonny Ochs -- sister of the late folk legend Phil Ochs -- noticed my dilemma. Realizing that she had gotten the last bag of the “real stuff,” Sonny did not hesitate for a moment: “Here,” she said, taking it out of her cup, where it had been steeping for less than a minute. She placed it in my empty cup with a smile.
In the grand scheme of things, it may have been a small gesture. But in that moment, it felt huge. Moments later, Lara Herscovitch, another wonderful singer-songwriter, offered me her slightly used teabag as well. Soon I was sipping a delicious combination of orange pekoe and green jasmine tea, grinning at how the universe always seems to find a way to come through for me.
Somehow, the items I hadn’t been able to cross off my "to do" list didn’t bother me so much anymore. There was no doubt in my mind that all those good things were going to happen eventually. In a universe like this one, how could they not?
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4 comments:
"A woman is like a tea bag, you never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water." Or until her fellow man does : ) Great story! Missing yous all!
Our weird and wacky NERFA world is proof that people can gather in peace and enjoy each other's company and sing and dance and just "be" and all is good...and all can be love if we only work on it a little bit each day.
Bob,
Great story, well told. These are all good 'folks.' I had left my guitar, suitcase, coat, and 3 other bags piled on a chair in the upper lobby, so I didn't have to go all the way up to my tower room after lunch. I just knew that they would still be there, unmolested.
What if we could persuade all the people of the world to adopt music as their religion? I doubt they'd be killing each other anymore.
Toni, Kathy and Henry -- everything you say fills me with hope and renewed purpose -- love you guys -- Bob.
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