The Monday After
Posted at 5:13 AM on March 2, 2009
by Dale Connelly
(33 Comments)
You hosted a party for all your favorite people and had a wonderful time.
The event had a shape to it, with a bright and exciting beginning, a quiet calm camaraderie in the middle, and raised voices and laughter with lots of commotion at the end. The whole thing turned out so well!
Just as the hilarity is winding down and people are saying goodbye, you play parts of the evening over in your mind, and through the haze it occurs to you that you might have spent the whole night talking about yourself.
That's all you can recall, anyway.
You remember talking about how much it cost to put on the party.
You recall mentioning how expensive it is to collect and organize all the music.
You discussed the mortgage and the utilities and blah, blah, blah.
You wonder - "Did I mention what a pleasure it is to have people over?"
"Did anybody else get a chance to say anything?"
You want to ask if you're remembering it correctly. You want to apologize for being so self-absorbed, but you fear raising the question will just call attention to you again and that will only make it worse. So you simply say goodnight and start cleaning up, explaining your worries away by telling yourself, "These were my friends. They probably didn't even notice, but if anyone did, they know how I get sometimes. They'll forgive me for being a bit of a bore."
Then you head into the spare room where people threw their coats and discover that they also opened up their purses and wallets and left a pile of cash on the dresser.
"Gosh. How did THAT happen?"
That's the Monday after Membership Week.
Many, many thanks would not be enough to describe how fine it is to have patient, generous friends who listen and understand. Your willingness to help pay the bills is both a compliment and a challenge which is not taken lightly.
And by the way, we also found three cell phones and a set of car keys.
We'll keep them safe here until we hear from you.
Comments (33)
and after the party i was just thinking of all the generous people who left cash for RH and wishing i could have given more. we get it, Dale - don't worry about us. thanks for the great thank you thoughts.
just a goat barn update: SOMEONE, whose name shall remain Dodger or Niblet, has learned to turn on the ceiling fan by flipping the switch (who knows how) that is outside of the pen by at least two feet. Cynthia from Mahtowa suggested i may have not left an offering to my barn nisse last Christmas. do you have a Hardanger fiddle (said to be the devil's fiddle) tune to assuage the nisse, please? thanks ever so
Great news that membership week went well. We are all grateful that the RH Tower of Song exists and continues to send out great vibrations. Why not celebrate this Monday with "Tower of Song" by Leonard Cohen?
Have a great week everyone!
this from Wikipedia about Hardanger fiddle tuning and why the devil reference. According to this definition there are many tunings for the fiddle, one being:
Another tuning is called "troll tuning" (A-E-A-C♯). Troll tuning is used for the fanitullen tunes, also called the devil's tunes; in the Valdres district of Norway, using this particular tuning is called "greylighting", a reminder that the fiddler tuned his fiddle like this when the morning was near, and he had played himself through a number of other tunings.
Legend had it[citation needed] that the fiddler learned fanitullen tunes from the devil. This tuning limits the melodic range of the tunes, and is therefore sparsely used.
Barb, if no one comes forth to fiddle for your nisse, I have some great cds with Hardangar fiddle tunes...actually, a whole cd of Devil Tunes...
And the party goes on, Dale...thanks! Do you have numbers for Radio Heartland supporters specifically?
Good morning RH,
It was a successful drive, then? Yay! I had a feeling.....
(If the cell phones aren't all claimed, could you save one for me?)
Perfect choice, Dale, for Barb's devilish goats!
You know, of course, that Bukkane Bruse is a name for Billy (Buck) Goats...absolutely perfect...as usual.
I knew I had left my cell phone somewhere but couldn't think where!
Barb's comments made me think of The Wrigley Sisters (fiddle and guitar/piano duo from Orkney), and I was wondering if you had any of their traditional folk music in your library. "Mrs Violet Eunson" from the Mither o' the sea recording is particularly lovely!
perfect! thanks, Dale - love that fiddle and think the nisse will agree.
Thanks everyone.
Hats off to Ingri Wahlstrom and Genette Sekse for translating Bukkene Bruse.
And Cynthia, I'll ask about the numbers!
Greetings Heartlanders!
It's always a feeling of triumph and relief when MPR accomplishes it's pledge week goals. In the past during pledge drives, even my kids would ask me how they're doing and did they make their goal, etc. Not that they're big classical music fans, but they feel the importance of it and want everything to turn out well.
Actually, I don't mind pledge drives. I still listen, enjoy hearing from the different announcers and hearing new members tell their stories. And the suspense toward the end ... will they pull off another nail-biter and make this outrageous goal? YES .... Victory! whew
I really like your analogy, Dale .... and yes, it was one hell of a party. Glad to be a part of it.
Your Friend, Joanne J
Not only was there a great party this weekend-there was a great musical funeral.
In the non-RH universe I went to a marvelous concert on Sunday night at St Joan of Arc under the direction of Dan Chouinard.
The first half of the night was devoted to a combination of magnificent singers presenting their favorite Beatles tunes interspersed with sing-a-long Fab Four songs.
Ann Reed was there and told about the music therapists who played for her father in hospice. Ann was very clear that we need a new song book for when we are in the home or we too will be limited to "You Are My Sunshine" (probably not the Peter Ostrouschko version).
I think we need a prequel for "Music to Die For." Maybe something along the lines of Music for your Dotage or Tunes for Old Goats.
How I love to hear Leonard Cohen's voice! And I'm very very excited to have tickets to his concert in May!!
I did get to his "The Future" concert in Chicago June 20, 1993 and it was one of the greatest experiences in my life. I went alone, and was about 10th in line and got to shake his hand when he came out (with his then girlfriend Rebecca DeMornay) to get a bite to eat. His backup singers then were Perla Batalla and Julie Christiansen. The concert was a dream come true - he was so gracious and stately and the concert seemed to go on and on. For an encore, everyone was calling out "Hallejujah" but I called out "Take This Waltz". They started the mirror ball rotating in the hall, and bless his heart, he sang "Take This Waltz".
After the concert, I stood outside by his bus for about an hour, and was able to get his autograph. I told him I had been in love with him for almost 25 years, in my dreams, and he said "I wish I could have been there". Then he signed my book ("Book of Mercy") "To Gail Sincerely L. Cohen". I never thought I would get to hear him again, but I will, with friends Kathy and Sara! Life is good.
Dear Dale, Mike and Jasper,
Leonard Cohen is coming to Minnesota? I can think of no better tribute, build-up and welcome to him than to play tunes from the cd "Cohen på Norsk (Cohen in Norwegian). If you don't have a copy, I am willing to share mine...
Could you play some thing recorded by Mary Ann O'Dougherty who died at the end of last week? She was hit by a bus. Any thing from her recording with her group, Mandala on the recording, Wartercolor of Brazi,l would be good. I believe you interviewed her on the Morning Show. She was one of my favorite Minnesota musicans and had a great band that played very good Brazilian music.
Thanks for the suggestion, Jim.
Mary Ann was a wonderful person and a fine musician who was generous with her gift. Not only did she share it with audiences, but she brought her love for music into the classroom. I'm sure she set off some sparks that are still burning bright. We'll put something from Mary Ann and Mandala in the next hour.
Good Morning!
I like this morning's blog post but would offer a slight variation that's more how I see it; you throw this great party all year long and just every once in a while you dominate the conversation with the costs of it all and we happily chip in to keep the party going. You and the rest of your housemates at MPR throw a great party that I just love attending. So a big thanks to you!
It would be great to hear the Claudia Schmidt song about two gentleman on horseback who come across a fair maiden who tricks one of them out of his horse. Or perhaps Simple Gifts...
Oh, the keys might be mine; I don't notice they are missing when I ride my bike...
Checking in late - good morning everyone!
Great, great news about the successful 'party'! Proof positive that RH'ers are not a figment of anybody's imagination, but that we have weight, substance, and generous habits to boot.
I want to thank you Dale, for remembering Bill Holm with your wonderful tribute even as you were in the final push of the fund drive. I think that shows that you far less self-absorbed than you may suppose. Thanks also for playing the piece by Bach at the end of the show in his honor - beautiful! That brought back memories of the LGMS when you and Jim Ed would play some classical music as the transition between your show and the classical music programming that followed.
I have just put a cherry filled sweet bread in the oven, and the coffee is brewing. Wish all of you at RH could come over and have some with us to mark the success of the fund drive. And Dale, the keys are yours : )
When I was a kid I was just certain that Sesame Street would be cancelled if my mom didn't contribute to PBS. I'm not kidding, it was the source of much anxiety. So even though I'm old enough to know that the contributions always manage to come through, I still get a little sense of that childhood panic every fund drive. That's probably a good thing. Dale, you did a wonderful job reassuring us all while at the same time instilling a manageable sense of urgency. If RH is my grown-up Sesame Street, I think that makes Dale Kermit :D
Cynthia,
The disc Cohen pa Norsk sounds like a profound musical experience. I'd love to hear it.
[edit]
Cynthia also asked about membership numbers. All our numbers right now are preliminary, so we’re not able to discuss it at the moment. Sorry.
Thanks, everyone!
After the concert, I stood outside by his bus for about an hour, and was able to get his autograph. I told him I had been in love with him for almost 25 years, in my dreams, and he said "I wish I could have been there". Then he signed my book ("Book of Mercy") "To Gail Sincerely L. Cohen".
OMG, Gail in Wisconsin! I'm so, so jealous.
Help! JASPER is replaying Hour 1 from last Thursday Feb. 26. Can he be persuaded to change his mind and play this morning's show?
Did Jasper party too much? Heads up....right now, we are hearing a broadcast from last week.
YAY to Beth-Ann, I think Tunes for Old Goats is a great idea. (Probably because I'm starting a new year in my goat-age on Saturday the 7th) If I was going to choose any music for us I would say more Ann Reed please. (Funny, I think I say that every time I post here. . what do you suppose that means??) And Mike is right, JASPER seems to have lost track of the date, can anyone help him?
I think Jasper is punch-happy from last week's membership drive--or he's playing a cruel joke on all of us. I mean, we don't mind listening to plugs for money, but enough's enough.
Jasper; get back to work!
Can Jasper be trusted?
It’s a cruel joke trying to make us think a storm is coming……not to mention it’s MONDAY, not Thursday!
OK, I'm getting a kick out of hearing Patti Larkin, Me again this morning. Funny song......
I'm sorry, Jasper, for accusing you of goofing off. I guess even you deserve some time off, after all your hard work last week. Go ahead, take a snooze; we can listen to last Thursday's show again. I mean, it's all great music, and we know it's not going to snow tonight.
But after you're rested, it's back to work. OK?
I'm sorry about the problems with Jasper this morning. I may have done something wrong in pulling the levers behind the scene, but experts are now on the job trying to figure things out.
With luck, today's hour 3 will launch at noon, as planned.
Thanks for your patience, everyone!
Oh GEEEEES..... and I thought it was just me!!!!!!!!
I kept hearing the appeals for the fund drive.... and a snow warning.....
Maybe Jasper needs a tuneup?
It's kind of funny that of all the repeats Jasper could have run, he picked one with snow warnings and a pledge drive.
Sad news about Mary Ann O'Dougherty. It was good to hear a song from her this morning.
Barb in Blackhoof, your story about your mischievous goats reminded me of this story from last week: Curious Octopus Floods Aquarium.
cool story about the octopus, Kris! i am not sharing it with the goats.
Good evening! Always quite late with the blog thing. I didn't know anyone knew L Cohen anymore...what a relief!! And also what a relief to know that my renewal made on the Morning Show's last day was important and "counted!" Thanks Dale and everyone for spirit, funeral music, goats, and more!!
No, Barb, I can understand why you don't want to give them any new ideas!
Hey Dale - thanks for playing Leonard Cohen today. I was one of the lucky few that scammed a ticket to his show at the Orpheum in May before it so quickly sold out. Once in a lifetime opportunity - I can't wait. I streamed his concert on npr over the weekend. I'm counting the minutes until I see him in person.
Feel free to play him often - and pass along the request to JASPER too! Any and all songs, but I could easily listen to The Anthem...perhaps between 6:30 and 7:00am?
Love your show and I'm glad we all pitched in for the membership drive. "There's a crack, and crack, in everything, that's how the light gets in"-LC
dmt
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