Sunday, November 29, 2009

Good news

Two good things happened this weekend. One, I went to the peace vigil that takes place at a major shopping intersection every Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. Sometimes Pete Seeger is there, sometimes he isn't. I go when I can, whether he's going to be there or not (I almost never know anyway). Well, this time he was there, and there was an entourage of about 10 folks with him (one wag refers to them as "Pete-ophiles -- they only show up if he's going to be there). One of my friends had recorded "Peace Pilgrim" and "Stories" just for Pete to listen to. She played "Peace Pilgrim," and by the second chorus, Pete was singing along!

At 2 p.m. our custom is to gather around a tree and sing a few peace songs before parting ways for the week. This same friend asked me to sing "Peace Pilgrim." Pete played along on the banjo, and once again sang on the chorus, and praised the song as "beautiful." I gave him the CD; he was amused that there was a quote from him on the back. At someone's request, he played "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy," which, alas, is still relevant.

Oh, and three people bought my CD, on the strength of the one song I played!

Then I got an email today. A friend had been at the Unitarian Universalist congregation in Bennington, VT and had heard Cindy Mangsen cover "Stories"! This is quite an honor to me because I think very highly of Cindy Mangsen and her husband, Steve Gillette (www.compassrosemusic.com).

So it's been a great weekend. I know there are ups and downs in this business; I'm just glad for every up.

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