HAPPY NEW YEAR ....... DIV

May the best parts of the old year be the worst parts of the new year for you and yours.

Enjoy  - -  Bear

Another Bluegrass Loss div

When I was adding the addendum of 2012 losses to Saturday's Bluegrass post, I  didn't know that Mike Auldridge was passing away at his home in Silver Spring.
I've enjoyed his gentle style and superb musicianship for many years. He'll be missed.
This morning's obit from the Post really says it all.



RIP Mike.

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass .... div

Rawhide by Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys circa 1971 -



Addendum - -  Was a sad year for Bluegrass with the loss of the banjos of Earl Scruggs, Doug Dillard and Joe "Snuffy" Smith. Also passing were guitarist Doc Watson, mandolinist Everett Lilly and radio personality Tom "Cat" Reeder.
The music will live on, RIP.

St. Stephen's Day div

My favorite carol of the Christmas season (maybe because it's not religious). A fun version by the Irish Rovers.
Heed especially the final quatrain:

Therefore Christian men be sure,
Wealth or rank possessing.
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing.

Merry Christmas div

I first heard John Henry Faulk's "Christmas Story" four years ago while sitting at the airport waiting for passengers. When it finished, I needed a kleenex.
I listen to this every year to remind me what the Christmas Spirit is all about.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass ..... Div

Conceived about a traffic jam here in the vicinity of the GWTP; would that they were so short ........ or as much fun !!



Mike Andes - Mandolin; Mitchell Davis - Banjo; Gary Farris - Guitar; Chris Sexton - Fiddle; Tont Shorter  - Bass

HOW MUCH ??? ....... div

Yesterday, "Ricochet" Wayne LaPierre of the NRA advocated placing a "policeman" in every school in America. Since there are about 135,000 schools this would be a wonderful jobs program and drastically reduce unemployment.
Screw fixing our roads, bridges and other crumbling infrastructure with a "public works" program. Hell no. We want safety !!!! Our children come first !!!  - -  Er ....... except for healthcare or nutrition, then you are on your own.
Great idea Wayne. How we gonna pay for it ???????
Here again the math is the real killer.
Figure 135K schools @ one armed cop per school X a reasonable salary (say $30K per year) and you come up with a figure just over $4 BILLION. Now, figure in reasonable benefits (health, modest pension or 401k match) and mandatory requirements (proficiency training - to include ammunition and range time, psychological screening and liability insurance) and we're probably talking something closer to $6 Billion. And remember, this is every year.
Jesus H. Christ with a grenade launcher Wayne. We're arguing about budget cuts and effing asusterity in order to preserve tax cuts for the richest among us and the corporations that fund our Congress.
Last week, Melissa Henneberger of the Washington Post asked: "If guns alone — or even guns plus lousy treatment options — were the entire problem, why were no little red schoolhouses fired on in the Wild West, where everyone was armed and mental illness completely untreated?"

Gosh, Golly Wayne: don't you think there are a few places that maybe $6 Billion bucks could be better put to use ???

Another's Experience .... Div ( place in hell subsection)

My heart goes out to this lady who has her own portion of hell to deal with. May she and her son find peace.
There but for fortune ............

(h/t Crooks and Liars )

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass ... div

Wonderful old fiddle tune: "Angelina Baker"
Enjoy



Blaine Sprouse - Fiddle; Mississippi Chris Sharp - Banjo; Bryan Hayes - Guitar; Clint Jordan - Resonator Guitar; Augie Joachim - Bass;

A Special Place in Hell ..... Div

Here we go again  - - -

  Another person with a gun (or two or three - not much known as yet) takes out his anger, frustration, vengeance or whatever with a firearm. It's becoming an almost daily occurrence here in our country. This time so many of the victims are, tragically,  children

I posted about this subject after the Aurora shooting incident back in July as did Jim Wright at Stonekettle Station. (Jim has gotten a lot more hate mail than I have   - -  and we're both gun owners !)

I don't know where our nation is going, but I do know there is a special place in hell for this guy - and anyone else that harms children.

Solutions .... div

This morning's "Pearls Before Swine" kinda sez it all, eh ???
Think of it, using just our Congress we could power the entire country.
......and FOX News would do everything else (including going to the moon and beyond).

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass div

Shenandoah Breakdown



Tony Trischka - Banjo, Mike Marshall - Mandolin, Bryan Sutton - Guitar, Darol Anger - Fiddle and Missy Raines - Bass

Shipwreck Div ........ (Canadian subsection)

Today in 1917, at about this time, two ships collided in the Narrows section of the Halifax, Nova Scotia harbor. The resulting explosion killed and estimated 2000 people and leveled much of the city. At the time, it was the largest man-made explosion ever recorded.
When we were in Halifax this year, I was surprised at how many people had never heard of it.

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass ..... div

Bryan Sutton - Guitar, Tim O'Brien - Mandolin, Pete Wernick - Banjo and Nick Forster - Bass