Thursday, March 8, 2007 @9:05:47 PM
Looking back on my childhood, the fondest memories are those of plodding around my grandparents' farms. Throwing rocks, shooting slingshots, fishing in farm ponds. I remember Grandma's vivid ghost stories (The Old Rockhouse Ghost in Stokes County). She would gather all of us kids together on the front porch after dark and weave her ghostly stories while rocking in her old cane-bottomed rocker.
I remember corn shuckings, hog killings and quilting bees. All forms of maintaining the sense of community and family. I remember watching the Martha White show and the Jim Walter Homes show on Sunday afternoon. I remember "first primings" in the tobacco fields and winding water from the old well in the yard. And I remember my uncles picking out bluegrass on their tattered old instruments. Ahhhh sweet memories.
During the '70's I grew my hair long and loved my rock & roll. Muscle cars, mag wheels and loud mufflers - Oh how I miss those days. Next came career building and child rearing. The years flew by in a blur.
I have learned to slow down once more. Enjoy the sights and the smells of this wonderful life. The tug of bluegrass has endured through all these ages and after losing my job of almost 25 years, the banjo stepped in to soothe my tattered nerves and occupy my fevered mind. Thank-you to my wonderful family and My Banjo for helping me maintain my sanity.
Things have a way of working out. My old employer hired me back into my old job (sort of), My love for my family is ever deeper. I have a new hobby in my banjo and I have wonderful new friends in my BanjoHangout friends. Thanks for leaving the light on for me.....
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