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The World’s Longest Art Gallery

Published by DJB

Rock art at Nine Mile Canyon

Utah’s Nine Mile Canyon is one of the unique cultural landscapes in the world. Earlier this week I was fortunate to tour portions of the canyon with some of the smart, passionate people who have helped save it through the years.

As Jerry and Donna Spangler note in their guide Horned Snakes and Axle Grease, Nine Mile Canyon is…well, not nine miles in length.

By its very name, Nine Mile Canyon is an enigma. From its upper reaches on the west, the canyon twists and turns more than 50 miles to its confluence with the Green River on the east. And how the canyon got its incongruous name remains clouded with the passage of time.

Despite the misleading name, Nine Mile Canyon is an amazing landscape filled with rock art – or as some prefer rock writing – from Native Americans about whom we know very little. The miles of rock art has led many to call Nine Mile Canyon “The World’s Longest Art Gallery.” As the Spanglers note, “There is something undeniably magical about Nine Mile Canyon….”

So rather than write about it, I’m simply going to post six additional photos out of the 150+ I took on the trip, ending with the world famous “Great Hunt.” Enjoy the mystery and beauty. If the pictures tweak your interest, the Spanglers’ roadside guide is a good place to start.

More to come…

DJB

Begin the New Year

Published by DJB

Candice and David at High Brewster on Cape Cod

For many Americans, the Labor Day weekend — not January 1st — is really the beginning of the new year.

School years begin in late August and early September. Some parents — like us — have just dropped off one or more children at college this weekend. (In Claire’s case, she flew off to California on her own, but we did physically deposit Andrew in his dorm room for his sophomore year.) The somewhat slower rhythms of July and August at work, coupled with vacations, seem to be a bigger break in anticipation of starting over than the December break provides before January 1st. And this year, many Americans are just beginning to focus on the presidential race and the choice facing our country.

So while Candice, the twins and I took a two-week family trip in mid-August to visit with our parents and siblings, we took the advice of those who said family trips don’t equal vacations and decided to tack on four days around the college drop-off to make sure our batteries were sufficiently recharged.

We are ready for a new year.

Three hundred and sixty-five days ago, we were nearing the end of an 8-day, unscheduled stay in the Intensive Neurological Care Unit at Rhode Island Hospital, after Candice fell and suffered a severe concussion and seizures as we dropped Andrew off for his freshman year at college. The Fall – as it came to be called – affected everything over the past year, in good ways and bad. On the down side, we had to grapple with the onerous US health care system (count us among the fans of universal health coverage and the Affordable Health Care Act); unintended side effects of the concussion (such as the inability to exercise and swim for several months, which led to a faster-than-expected hip replacement for Candice); and strains on care-givers and children. I have put on about 20 unwanted pounds, which I’m attributing to my focus being elsewhere. (That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!)

But Candice likes to say that the past year has been a blessing…and as much as I hate to admit it, she is right as she usually is in so many instances. Our doctors, nurses, and physical therapists have been amazing. Candice has had time to think and reflect while resting first from the concussion and then the hip replacement. Out of that time, she’s focused on how she wants to reshape her life as we begin time in the empty-nest without the burden of personal health issues staring us in the face. We realized that we could simplify much of what we did and still get by. Our children have been wonderful – and so supportive – during this period of recovery. The greatest blessing of all was the love of friends and family, who fed us, drove us to appointments, and watched over us during the most trying times of the year. We were just reminded of that last evening when we visited with our friends John and Sara, who helped us in so many ways throughout the year. John is the photographer who took the photos of the two of us I included in this blog post.

Candice likes to talk about all of this as we’re sitting out on the porch of the Cranberry Inn here in Chatham, on Cape Cod. I’m more of a listener when it comes to these discussions, but I’ve been thinking about how this year can – and should – be different. What can I take from this experience as I begin a new year?

Claire’s interest in psychology has me reading all sorts of books that I wouldn’t have considered just 18 months ago. Case in point: I recently read Charles Duhigg’s book The Power of Habit, which explores some of the recent scientific study of the brain. I have begun to think about ways to change some regularly recurring actions that I want to lose, and how to strengthen a couple of new habits that can be keystones to reprogramming other routines in life as well. In the past two months, I’ve been much more faithful at the gym, in part because I trigger that habit by laying out my gym clothes at night before I go to bed. Simple, but effective. Yet that unwanted 20 pounds won’t go away on exercise alone. Our children have become much more focused on exercise and eating well, and I want to build on their good routines.

Music fills my soul. More music comes when I practice guitar every morning before heading off to work, and then scheduling regular play times with my guitar buddies. (Sounds like 4-year-olds, I know). I’ve seen the former, because I’ve played every day since early July.

We have been so touched by the kindness of friends this year, and thus have looked for ways to build on that kindness. Candice and I love entertaining small groups of friends, and we’re working on making that intentional all the time – not just when we happen to think it has been too long since the last dinner.

For me, work becomes more effective and rewarding when I delegate and support, rather than attempting to do it all. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

Duhigg writes that,

“Habits aren’t destiny….(They) can be ignored, changed, or replaced. But…when a habit emerges, the brain stops fully participating in decision-making. It stops working so hard or diverts focus to other tasks. So unless you deliberately fight a habit – unless you find new routines – the pattern will unfold automatically.”

Part of my new routine is to name the change. I’ve done that before (as when I announced, on my Facebook page last January, that I was giving up all sodas) and it has worked. I’ve named a few more changes needed here. I have others where I want to make the change but I’m not ready to announce them to the world.

September 2011 – August 2012 was a blessing…most especially in that a potentially fatal accident led instead to time for introspection, learning, and more reliance on friends than we’re use to. September 2012 begins a new year where we can claim all that we’ve learned.

More to come…

DJB

Baseball Pilgrimages (Continued)

Published by DJB

It was a night when you wondered if Noah was nearby, putting the finishing touches on his ark.

Lightening and thunder in rapid succession. Rain that lashed at the body if you were unfortunate enough to be outside. Howling winds. Waves lapping at the shore.

And I was in Tampa, not to help rewrite the Republican national platform, but for something much more consequential: to catch a baseball game.

In most cities it would have been a wasted opportunity. But the Tampa Bay Rays play in St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field, one of the few remaining domes still hosting major league baseball on a daily basis. And for this night, I was glad to have a roof over my head when Ray’s ace David Price threw that first pitch right on schedule.

Tampa Bay was #14 on my journey to visit all 30 major league ballparks. It promised to be a special night. The Rays were on a hot streak, winning five games to close the gap with the first-place Yankees to four games. Their ace – and Murfreesboro, Tennessee native – David Price was on the mound throwing serious heat and going for a MLB-leading 17th win. The hapless Kansas City Royals were the opponent and although they had the first pick in the 2006 draft (Luke Hochevar) to go against the first pick in the 2007 draft (Price), it still looked like a mismatch.

Price held up his end of the bargain, pitching eight scoreless innings and throwing fastballs at 95-97 mph that couldn’t be touched. The Royals managed three lonely hits against Price.

But he was matched – or perhaps bettered – by Hochevar. Throwing a steady diet of 77 mph curveballs that had the Rays flailing all night, he also threw 8 scoreless innings and gave up only one hustle double that did no harm. Rays star Evan Longoria looked so helpless that on a grounder to short, he trotted down to first, eliciting a few “run it out” calls from fans (including yours truly). Yes, he is recovering from a partially torn hamstring, but I would rather not see players on the field if they can’t go all out.

The game flew by (for an American League game) and shortly past the two-hour mark the game headed into extra innings. The 100 mph heat from the Royals’ Kevin Herrera looked – no doubt – much more formidable following Hochevar’s junk than the 100 mph pitches from Fernando Rodney, who was only besting Price by 2-3 mph on his best stuff. A Rays error in the top of the tenth allowed the Royals to score the winning run, and it was all over.

It was your classic pitchers duel, and ESPN told just how impressive a feat it was for both pitchers:

Tuesday, there was a pitcher’s duel between David Price of the Rays and Luke Hochevar of the Royals. Price allowed no runs and three hits, with 8 strikeouts in 8 innings Hochevar allowed no runs and one hit with 10 strikeouts in eight innings. This is the 2nd game in the Live Ball Era (since 1920) in which each starting pitcher went at least 8 innings, allowed no runs, 3 hits or fewer, and struck out at least 8. The other came in The Year of the Pitcher– August 26, 1968 between the Twins and Senators. The pitchers that day were Jim Perry for the Twins (who won 215 MLB games over his career) and Frank Bertaina (who finished with 19 career wins) for the Senators

The disappointment of the evening – besides the general dated feeling of Tropicana Field (hey, the 70s ended a long time ago) – was with the crowd. With two aces on the mound and the Rays hot on the heels of the Yankees in a pennant race, the stadium looked and felt two-thirds empty. The morning stat sheets tells me the announced attendance was 10,877 – or 30.2% of capacity. There wasn’t a lot of energy in the stadium, and it sure didn’t feel like other parks I’ve been in (Boston, Philly, Washington) where the homestanding team is right in the thick of the race. Hell, I was wearing my customary Washington Nationals cap (in honor of Stephen Strasburg’s big win over Atlanta last evening – Go Nats!) and Andrew and I were actually shown on the big screen TV – totally destroying his thesis that you had to wear Rays gear to make the show.

But baseball is still baseball, no matter the crowd, and we had a great time knocking off stadium #14 on my bucket list. Here’s what remains, and a final photo of David Price from Tropicana Field.

Arizona Diamondbacks – Chase Field
Cincinnati Reds – Great American Ball Park
Chicago White Sox – US Cellular Field
Cleveland Indians – Jacobs Field
Detroit Tigers – Comerica Park
Houston Astros- Minute Maid Park
Los Angeles Angels – Angel Stadium
Los Angeles Dodgers – Dodger Stadium
Miami Marlins – Marlins Park
Minnesota Twins – Target Field
New York Mets – Citi Field
New York Yankees – Yankee Stadium (I know – how can I not have made it to Yankee stadium yet?! Just goes to show I’ve never been a big Yankees fan)
Pittsburgh Pirates – PNC Park
San Diego Padres – Petco Par
Texas Rangers – Texas Stadium
Toronto Blue Jays – Rogers Centre

More to come…

DJB

Introducing Rugby (TN) to the next generation

Published by DJB

Rugby, Tennessee, is a unique community on the Cumberland Plateau, with an incredible story of perseverance.

It is also a place that means a great deal to me, as it was where my preservation career began. Today I took the opportunity to introduce Claire, Andrew, and Candice to Rugby and to show them the places that inspired me.

Here’s the official story from my last post:

“Rugby was established in the 1880s by the successful Victorian-era author Thomas Hughes as a Utopian community for the second sons of English gentry. Due to the system of primogeniture, these men would inherit little or no property and had very limited career opportunities. Hughes established this colony in the beautiful but hard-scrabble Cumberland Plateau area of Tennessee. After some initial success, the colony fell on hard times, ultimately failed and was largely forgotten. In the mid-1960s, residents of the area began to restore the remaining historic buildings and over the course of five decades have saved this wonderful place and turned it into a thriving community and a favorite spot for tourists.“

Candice has heard me talk about Rugby, my introduction to this utopian community, and the work of the Stagg family for years. (Brian Stagg was the charismatic founding director of Historic Rugby. His sister Barbara took up the organization’s leadership after Brian’s untimely death and deserves a huge amount of credit for the current state of the village’s preservation. Brian’s brother Alan Stagg was the scoutmaster who took us to Rugby year-after-year in the 1960s.) I suggested a drive up to Rugby during a family vacation, and everyone readily agreed.

Despite an off-and-on rain, it was great to introduce this unique place to the family today. Everyone loved the intimate and beautiful Christ Church (Episcopal). We had a tasty lunch at the Harrow Road Cafe, reconstructed from the rather sparse building I remember from my youth. Claire was especially taken with the Thomas Hughes Public Lending Library — one of the most remarkable collections to survive under any circumstances. Because of the rain we weren’t able to hike down to the Gentlemen’s Swimming Hole, but we did tour all the public buildings, see the new homes on land that had been originally plotted for homes (but never built), and relive memories of great summers past.

Rugby is in a period of transition as Historic Rugby searches for a new director, but just as the next generation will see to the village’s preservation, I wanted the next generation in my family to know of my connection to this place of dreams.

Mission accomplished.

More to come…

DJB

Christ Church at Rugby — Christ Church (Episcopal), Rugby, TN

Claire in the Hughes Library at Rugby — Claire surveying the amazing collection of historic volumes in the Hughes Library

The Thomas Hughes Library at Rugby — Thomas Hughes Public Lending Library, Rugby, TN

Baseball Pilgrimages

Published by DJB

Say Hey! Check another ballpark off the list!!

About five years ago I made it a life goal to take in a game at all the Major League Baseball stadiums across America. I wanted to achieve this goal by 2015 – when I reach the big 6-0. It may be tough to meet that timetable, but what are goals for and I have hit a bit of a jackpot in the past six weeks. It is time for an update.

I do have some rules for this quest. First of all, I have to actually see a game. I can’t just drive by, or I could put the Ballpark in Arlington, among others, in my checked off category. I use to buy a hat of the local team to prove I’d been there, but Candice thinks I have enough caps – and she’s probably right. So that’s no longer necessary. Finally, demolitions have wrecked havoc with these plans. I decided – in a totally arbitrary way, since I am the umpire – that if I’ve seen a MLB team in their home ballpark that has since been demolished, then it counts against my list. (My best example is Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, where I used to catch a Braves game about once a home stand in the early 1980s. Ah, those wonderful $5 tickets not far behind the first base dugout!) I am going to try to visit the new stadiums in those cities when I can, but for the purposes of this goal, getting to one stadium in my lifetime counts…even if it no longer exists.

Now, with that bit of background, on to my recent games. In late June, I was in Chicago for a retreat when a colleague suggested an outing to Wrigley Field to catch a Cubs game. Now I have been to Wrigley before – in fact it was the site of my first major league game. In 1964 our family took a vacation to Chicago and I went to a game at Wrigley Field with my parents, brothers and sisters, and my aunt and uncle. I can still remember a great deal about that day. We sat in the upper deck along the third base line, and the Cubs played the Cardinals – who won the World Series that year. I do remember that Ken Boyer had a hand in the Cardinals victory over the Cubs. Later that year, Ken and Clete Boyer became the only brothers to hit home runs in the same game of a World Series – in this case the decisive Game 7 won by Ken and the Cards over Clete and the Yankees (one of my earliest World Series memories). A former colleague and I also saw a great day game at Wrigley in 2007 from terrific seats beside the third base dugout courtesy of a mutual friend.

This year, I had the good fortune to experience Wrigley as a bleacher bum. We sat out in center field and took in all the sights and sounds that go along with being “out with the people.” It was great fun – as you can see in the picture above. I didn’t get too much ribbing for showing up in full Nats gear and I was able to cheer for a Cubbies win since they were playing the Mets who are in the same division as the Nationals. We also got to see the Cubs debut of Anthony Rizzo, who since went on to win Rookie of the Month for July in the National League. Wrigley is, of course, one of the icons in baseball and well deserving of the honor. It also needs some updating, along the lines of the award-winning renovation at Fenway Park. But as I’ve written before, calls to demolish Wrigley showcase all that is wrong with the modern sports-industrial complex. Save Wrigley indeed!

While this visit didn’t actually move my number forward, it got me off to a great start for the summer of 2012.

Exactly one month later I was in St. Louis for a speech and meeting, but had the good fortune to take in a St. Louis Cardinals day game in the new Busch Stadium. I went as the guest of a good friend and his wife, and the tickets were – how shall I say this – directly across the diamond from the center field bleachers. Great view! The home-standing Cards were playing the Los Angeles Dodgers and their new man Hanley Ramirez, and the Cardinals won 7-4, punctuated with a strikeout to end the game.

Technically, this didn’t advance my number either, because I saw a Cardinals game in old Busch Stadium in 1993. However, I’ll take this wonderful venue anytime. The stadium sits right on the street in downtown St. Louis (I walked about a block from my hotel), it has a cozy feel, Stan “The Man” Musial is appropriately recognized with his own statue (see photo above), the sightlines out to the arch and city are awe-inspiring, and it appears that all the seats provide a great view of the field. Now, if they could just do something about that heat and humidity…

Earlier this week, I finally added another to my “ballparks visited” list when I went to San Francisco’s AT&T Park with colleagues and friends. This was an especially meaningful visit, as I grew up as a Willie Mays and Giants fan. So the first stop – as seen at the top of the post – was by the Willie Mays statue in front of Willie Mays gate. The Giants have done a great job of recognizing their players from the past, not just Mays, as important as he is to the history of baseball. Orlando Cepeda was in the house and looking dapper as he handed out an award to Melky Cabrera before the game. Every left-handed batter who steps into the box tries to hit a “splash hit” into McCovey Cove – named after Willie “Stretch” McCovey, one of the most feared left-handed hitters of his day.

As could only happen in San Francisco, the Giants were handing out Jerry Garcia bobbleheads (for a hefty price) in honor of Jerry Garcia day on what would have been the 70th birthday of the Grateful Dead’s guitarist. Band mate Bob Weir sang a beautiful national anthem with the Giants third base coach Tim Flannery. (A singing coach was a first for me!) At the seventh inning stretch, Dead drummer Mickey Hart and Deadhead Bill Walton led the crowd in Take Me Out to the Ballgame (see photo of them waving to the crowd above). All in all you knew you had left St. Louis and could only be in San Francisco.

The weather was cool, but perfect, and a full moon came out to shine on McCovey Cove. Unless it is the view of the Rocky Mountains from Coors Field, I’m hard pressed to think of a better ballpark view than AT&T Park. The game was close, with the visiting Mets leaving 13 men on base, yet eking out a 2-1 victory over Matt Cain.

To keep my streak going, I’m looking at Tampa Bay Rays games for when I’m in Florida later this month. I think it will work!

I want to thank some of the folks who have either encouraged me in the quest, have provided tickets (some pretty wonderful tickets I must say – such as the Citizens Bank box in Citizens Bank Park in Philly), or have cheerfully volunteered to attend a game with me. I wouldn’t be at this point without their encouragement and help, so many thanks to Alicia, Amelia, Anthea, Barb, Candice, Claire, Dolores, Donald, Genell, Kevin, Jonathan, Mark, Marty, Nancy, and Tom.

For those keeping score, here’s the ballparks visited list:

Atlanta Braves – Fulton County Stadium (multiple visits in 1980s; still need to visit Turner Field)
Baltimore Orioles – Camden Yards (multiple visits in 1990s and 2000s)
Boston Red Sox – Fenway Park (1988)
Chicago Cubs – Wrigley Field (1964, 2007, 2012)
Colorado Rockies – Coors Field (2008)
Kansas City Royals – Kauffman Stadium (2009)
Milwaukee Brewers – Miller Park (2005)
Oakland A’s – Oakland Coliseum (2008)
Philadelphia Phillies – Citizens Bank Park (2008)
San Francisco Giants – AT&T Park (2012)
Seattle Mariners – Safeco Field (2009)
St. Louis Cardinals – Busch Stadium (old – 1993; new – 2012)
Washington Nationals – RFK (multiple times) and Nationals Park (multiple times + part of a season ticket group 2012)

And here are the ballparks remaining to visit list:

Arizona Diamondbacks – Chase Field
Cincinnati Reds – Great American Ball Park
Chicago White Sox – US Cellular Field (I’ve seen it from the outside, but haven’t made a game)
Cleveland Indians – Jacobs Field (I drove by this on a game day last year, but had to give a speech while the opening pitch was taking place. I’ll work on my priorities in the future.)
Detroit Tigers – Comerica Park (Another park I’ve seen but haven’t made a game.)
Houston Astros- Minute Maid Park
Los Angeles Angels – Angel Stadium
Los Angeles Dodgers – Dodger Stadium
Miami Marlins – Marlins Park
Minnesota Twins – Target Field
New York Mets – Citi Field (I thought I was going to catch this one earlier this year on a New York trip, but it didn’t work out. This is an easy one, as often as I’m in NYC.)
New York Yankees – Yankee Stadium (I know – how can I not have made it to Yankee stadium yet?! Just goes to show I’ve never been a big Yankees fan)
Pittsburgh Pirates – PNC Park
San Diego Padres – Petco Park
Tampa Bay Rays – Tropicana Field (If all goes as planned, this will move to the “visited” list the week of August 20th)
Texas Rangers – Texas Stadium
Toronto Blue Jays – Rogers Centre

If I’m able to make it to Tampa this month, I’ll have 14 out of 30 ballparks…with a month to go in this season plus three additional years to meet that 2015 deadline. Yikes! I need to pick up the pace. So let me know if you believe in the Church of Baseball and want to join me at any of the 16 still on the list. Time for a road trip!

More to come…

DJB

Eating Local

Published by DJB

With a great deal of travel on my schedule for June – November, I’m trying to focus on what’s wonderful about leaving home.

So this will not be a post about the state of the airline industry in the U.S.

Instead, I am thinking about food. Local food to be exact.

Regular readers will know that I like to avoid chains and hotel restaurants when I travel, seeking instead the local landmark. I’m only two days into this week’s trip to the west coast and I’ve already hit my “go local” stride.

Lunch on Tuesday came from a wonderful cheese and sandwich shop named Cheese Plus which features tasty sandwiches with locally themed names such as the Willie Brown Duck (named for former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown), Crissy Field, and Castro’s Cubano. I had the Happy Thanksgiving, which – along with the brisk city breeze and temperatures in the 60s – made me wish for the fall.

After a drive to Sonoma County to view a site where we’re working, and especially after a temperature rise of what seemed like 30 degrees, thoughts of fall were gone and we were looking for something cool. My colleague Anthony directed us to a California institution – Foster’s Freeze – in Sebastopol, and we satisfied our cravings for soft serve ice cream in a historic setting (for those of us who think of old fast food places as historic).

My luck continued for dinner. Based on Anthony’s recommendation (as he had done such a great job in finding Foster’s), a colleague and I tried a small neighborhood eatery, the Mission Beach Cafe, and had a wonderful meal featuring fresh local and organic ingredients. A restaurant with great food PLUS an acoustic music track in the background that included Alison Krauss and the Soggy Bottom Boys is A+ in my book!

I do bring some local food traditions to my travels as well, and when I’m in San Francisco I always stop by Roxanne Cafe for breakfast when I’m around Nob Hill. This trip was no different. Wednesday morning found me ensconced in this small neighborhood cafe having my eggs and reading the newspaper on my tablet. The walk down the hill to breakfast is easy. Life is good. Heading back up the hill after enjoying a simple breakfast? Not so easy.

Wednesday lunch was a real treat as my colleagues and I were at Fort Baker, the old army post turned hotel and institute. Lunch at the Murray Circle Restaurant not only featured fine food, but it isn’t every day you get to gaze out the window and see the Golden Gate Bridge peeking in and out of the fog.

We have seen some remarkable preservation work – and challenges – this week. In the process, we’ve learned from some very smart people. Finding new local eateries along the way helps ground us in this place and this moment…and that’s a very good way to work when you’re all about saving the authentic and the original.

I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

More to come…

DJB

G.A.S. continued: Or how I ended up with another guitar

Published by DJB

I hadn’t planned to buy another guitar. Seriously.

But sometimes good things happen when you least expect it.

I HAD planned to try to meet the maker of my Running Dog guitar on my next trip to Seattle. Since I bought it used from a guitar shop in Amherst, Massachusetts, I didn’t know Rick Davis, the builder who made my parlor style instrument back in 2001. But after playing it for a couple of years, I wanted to meet the guy who built such wonderful small guitars with the beautiful tone.

A recent trip to the west coast gave me the opportunity to stop by Rick’s shop in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle (aka, The Center of the Universe). Rick shares his shop with his partner, Cat Fox, and they couldn’t have been more welcoming. Rick told me the provenance of my 2001 Parlor guitar. I learned he was the subject of Tim Brooke’s 2005 book Guitar: An American Life. And I played a beautiful 2011 Ought-3 model. (I also noodled on a baritone guitar, although I really didn’t know what to do with it – I’m not that good a musician.)

But the Ought-3 – which is sized between my dreadnought and parlor guitars – stayed with me. The neck, as I’ve come to expect from Rick’s guitars, fit my hand like a glove. A 1 3/4″ width at the nut made it perfect for fingerpicking. The warm tone comes up to the player through the soundport, in a way that I had never experienced. The beautiful Camatillo rosewood back and sides along with the quirky Hippocamus head stock turned it into a work of art.

I went back to my hotel, but couldn’t get the guitar out of my mind. I posted a note to Facebook, and my guitar-playing cousin weighed in urging that I go for it. Candice and I talked — first by email and then later by phone. She knows how much I have loved playing the parlor guitar, and she was incredibly supportive. In the end, we decided to take Hershey’s advice and go for it.

When I called Rick to tell him I wanted the Ought-3, he said, “Come over and play it some more before you decide.” Most of Rick’s guitars are custom-designed and built, so he wanted to make sure this was the guitar for me. He graciously agreed to meet me the next night after I finished an early dinner, and I sat in his shop and played for an hour or so. Now it can be nerve-wracking to play for a builder (who is also a guitarist), but Rick encouraged me to relax, commented on a Doc Watson tune I played, and told me more about this guitar. Before the night was over I had bought a new guitar and got a ride back to the hotel from its builder.

My new Ought-3 arrived last Friday, and I’ve played it constantly since then. Here’s how Rick’s website describes the model:

“Running Dog’s Ought-3 is based on the 000 of the 1930s. The longer scale length gives the Ought-3 more power and projection while retaining the resonance of the 12-fret neck. The Ought-3 name comes from both the Martin 000 and from the first year I built one, 2003.“

And for you gear heads, here are the specs:

Soundboard: Bearclaw Sitka spruce
Back & Sides: Camatillo rosewood
Neck: Mahogany
Binding: Maple
Purfling: Poplar (dyed)
Bridge and fingerboard: Ebony

Width: 15″
Scale length: 25.4″
Width at nut: 1 3/4″

Options: Venetian cutaway, Soundport, Redwood burl rosette, and the “Hippocampus” seahorse inlay.

As I played it this weekend, Candice and I both marveled at the tone. It has been great to get to know this guitar – and I’m looking forward to having it teach me more music for a long, long time.

If you are wondering what G.A.S. stands for, it is shorthand for “Guitar Acquisition Syndrome.” I love each of my guitars for different reasons and to play different types of music. But I will admit that I had to put new strings on my other guitars knowing that I’d never pick them up anytime soon if I the strings were old. Not to worry…I’ve played all three this weekend

But that Ought-3…perhaps it should be the Ahhhh-3. What a wonderful guitar. Thank you Rick!

More to come…

DJB

(Photos from Running Dog Guitar)

Shark attack in downtown Silver Spring!

Published by DJB

As I walked to the gym this morning I saw cranes around the Discovery Building. My hopes were confirmed on the way home: SHARK WEEK!

Three times since Discovery Communications moved around the corner from us in downtown Silver Spring, a giant, inflatable shark has shown up swimming through their landmark building to celebrate Shark Week. A friend who works for Discovery told me that they call him “Chompie.”

Throughout the day I wandered over to Discovery to check on the progress of Chompie’s arrival in our fair city and I’ve posted photos below of everything but the dorsal fin. (I don’t have access to the top floor of the NOAA building, which is about the only place short of an airplane where one can appreciate the entire ensemble.) A job foremen told me today that each element has two tubes that continuously pump in cold air to keep it inflated. They didn’t bite on my suggestion that they put a Nats cap on Chompie this year to recognize the good season that Roger “The Shark” Bernadina is having for the hometown Nationals.

In any event, enjoy watching Chompie come to life.

More to come…

DJB

The Steel Wheels: Rolling Through The Hamilton

Published by DJB

Washington, DC can be a tough place.

But from the opening chords of Shady Grove to the final notes of Working on a Building, The Steel Wheels had the enthusiastic crowd at The Hamilton in the palm of their hands on Thursday evening in downtown Washington.

I first heard this band live at Merlefest 25 in April, and was blown away by their musicianship, tight vocals, and energy.

All of that and more was on display last evening in the intimate and beautiful music venue The Hamilton.

Singer Trent Wagler has a very distinctive voice and a writing style that continues to grow and mature as you listen to the band’s offerings on CD. He also fires up the energy that is a hallmark of this group. Jay Lapp on mandolin and guitar along with Eric Brubaker on fiddle played off Wagler and each other perfectly throughout the show. Their rhythmic dancing and bobbing reminded me more than once of the Soggy Bottom Boys performance on stage in O Brother, Where Art Thou? – and that’s a compliment since it is one of my two favorite movies of all time. Bassist Brian Dickel holds down the low end and adds the occasional harmony when the group moves into quartet mode.

There are so many things that work well for this group, but the great singing makes it all come together. This is one tight quartet, and their voices – each with a unique twist – work to make a sound that is greater than the sum of its parts. The musicianship is terrific and the arrangements are inventive. The energy never flags and I was exhausted for them at the end of the show. Finally, the songwriting is really first-rate.

A word about the venue as well. Open for less than a year, this was our first time to visit The Hamilton and it is a real treasure for DC. In one visit it became my new favorite place to listen to music. I wish I could go back tonight to catch Tony Trischka, but we’re definitely booking a Gospel Brunch there soon, and on August 5th I hope to see another favorite steel-themed band: The SteelDrivers. The room is intimate in feeling, the sound system is superb, and the wait staff is very friendly. Well done!

Last night’s show included a lot of music from recent albums, including the new release Lay Down, Lay Low which is a terrific CD. I’ll end with two videos from the Live at Goose Creek CD: the tunes Spike Driver and Nothing You Can’t Lose.

Enjoy!

More to come…

DJB

Everyone Loves a Parade

Published by DJB

Few things top a small town parade on July 4th.

Especially when the small town is Takoma Park, MD – home to one of the quirkiest and liveliest parades around.

Takoma Park has – to put it mildly – a progressive bent. I’ve written about these sensibilities, and their wonderful July 4th parade, before in More to Come.

So besides the obligatory Uncle Sam, the antique cars, and the politicians, this July 4th parade has a few things you’re unlikely to see in your average small town salute to liberty and independence.

Like the precision grill team.

Some of the entries are just silly. (This is a parade that gives out a “Wacky Tacky Takoma Award!) In the past, the Takoma Park parade has featured a precision drill team of environmentally friendly reel mowers. Those good folks were missing this year, but in their place was the precision grill team.

Outfitted with their aprons, beaters, and spatulas, they marched along with the local organic food market, holding signs that asked, “You want a piece of this?” Candice, Claire, and I – who took the short Metro ride to Takoma Park and claimed our traditional shady spot on Maple Street – all laughed at the silliness.

Takoma Park also has an abundance of steel drum units and brightly dressed dancers. Claire swore she knew the popular songs the drum units were playing. To my ear they all sounded alike, but set your feet to dancing nonetheless.

But the real fun begins with the political theatre that’s always in evidence in Takoma Park. This year there was a satire on the Tea Party, and many references to Mitt Romney’s poor dog Seamus and his ride to Canada on the roof of the car.