End o' Week Musings

It was a busy week, but not crazy-busy. Still, I am ready for the weekend and a nice break from things...

Last Saturday I played percussion and danced with Ad Hoc Consort at the Rancho de Philo winery in Alta Loma. It was rainy and cold, so the crowd was definitely down, although there was a steady stream of people trickling in to purchase the venue's famous triple cream sherry.

We were there four hours and played through all of our sets twice. The crowd was good because they applauded, took photos and asked questions. We especially like people asking about our instruments because they're traditional and some of them you rarely see today, such as the serpent horn and the dulcien. (Look those up and learn something new!).

In the evening I went with Carin and Tom to catch the Killer Komedy show at the Norwalk Moose Lodge in Whittier. The acts were pretty funny and it was definitely worth the $10 admission-- we got more entertainment than you get with a movie ticket! We're already planning to go back in January and Carin is even going to take the stage. She hasn't done her standup in quite a while and I've been encouraging her to get back into it. I know it will be fun for her and the audience too.

Aside from band rehearsal, my life has been on the quiet side this week. Next week, however, I hope will be a different story because I'm going to be off work and out of the office. I'm also planning to stay "off the grid" as much as possible, so I may or may not blog and tweet. I've just been keeping up such a horrendously busy pace for the past few months that my wonderful editor decided that I deserved a break... and who am I to say no?!

In rotation this week: Five Finger Death Punch, The Randies, The Sounds, Marc Black and Joe Walla.

Photos we got 'em: A couple animal photos and one yummy shot from the web.

Thought o' the Week: Do the right thing. I know that all the information regarding the Penn State scandal still has to surface, but the story so far got me thinking and made me mad. It's just another tale of people who are more concerned with how they might look or how something may affect their careers than about doing the right thing.

I'm going to use a weird example to make my point. When I was in high school I was often there until dinnertime logging in some mileage at the track. One evening, when my friends and I started our walk home, we discovered a white Samoyed dog in the road whining and covered with blood. He had obviously been hit by a car that didn't bother to stop. Despite his pain, he was friendly and seemed to understand that we wanted to help him, so he let us get him to a patch of lawn.

I went back to the school and called my father, explaining the situation. I knew he loved dogs and would probably help. My dad showed up and covered the back seat of his car with towels and lifted the dog in. This was kind of funny too because god forbid me or my brother - or even my mum! - dare take a drink in a sealed cup with a straw in dad's car, yet here was a strange dog bleeding and icky looking across the entire backseat.

In the end, the dog was fixed up good as new and - after trying to locate his owners - he ended up living at my friend's house, as their similar dog had recently passed away. Sammy, as they named him, had a happy and long life.

OK, my point here is that when we see something wrong or someone (or something) who needs help, we need to leave our fears behind and spring into action. Sure my dad could have told me to leave the dog for someone else to deal with or to call the humane society, but he risked dirtying his car and forking out money at the vet's office to aid a creature in need. What happened to those days? It makes me sick how people are so self-involved that they can't give of themselves no matter how small and especially when it can make a significant difference in the world.

When you have the opportunity to do the right thing, stop fretting about what might happen later and do it. You'll sleep better at night.

Have a wonderful thanksgiving and

Keep on rockin'

Mickie