D-Squared

My dad has outlived his terminal prognosis by 3 ½ years. He has spent a fair amount of time with one foot on this side of the veil and one on the other, and has made some pretty interesting observations. My sister (his caretaker) kept me abreast of all the wonderful things he was saying and seeing. These are basically his words, I just rearranged them in a more or less poetic way. For Dad………

HOME

Three great bears come to me
Building shelter from the storm
White as snow and tall as trees
They have come to keep me warm

Then four white horses with manes ablaze
Carry my body along
To seven lovely women
Who’ll take my hands
And lead me
And lead me
Home

Standing on the road at night
I am not afraid
Four watchers beside me
With maps to show the way
And at the end of the road there lay
A track I must step o’er
With stars to reckon along the way
I’ll find my way
Find my way
Home

And I will be kissed upon the forehead
And I’ll have all I could ever possibly need
And I will lay down this tired, old body
And I follow
Yes, I will follow
Love home

(Deb’s note: Dad passed away March 3, 2010)

It’s time to sing in the change of season … or change the season by singing. We cordially invite you to join D-Squared at our annual Winter’s Eve Concert – an evening of music and fun at the Big Bug Station in downtown Mayer at 7 PM on Saturday, December 5th.

Once again Mike Connors and his family are graciously opening our favorite venue for all to enjoy. We have some exciting new songs to share as well as some old favorites to snuggle up with for winter.

Back by popular demand this year is the Christmas Cookie Contest. So dig out your grandma’s favorite cookie recipe and bring a plate to share with everyone. There will be tasting and voting and some liquid refreshment to wash down those delicious cookies.

In light of the current economic situation, we are only asking a $10 donation per person. Time to hunker down with your friends and neighbors and be thankful for the true joy of the season – the chance to share good feelings with good folks in a good space.

Big Bug Station is located in historic downtown Mayer, Arizona at the corner of Central and Main, catty-corner from the post office (at the only stop sign on Central). Call 928.925.5172 for further information.

For those of you coming from out of town or wanting to extend your stay in the “Comfort Corridor”, we have two commercial lodging options nearby. The Creekside Preserve Lodge, one mile east of Mayer on Highway 69, offers individual cabins with hot tubs along Big Bug Creek in the $100 range (928.632.0777). The Charcoal Pit Motel right in town is a refurbished motor hotel in the $40 range (928.632.9696). Both are dog-friendly.

We hope you can find time in your busy holiday schedule to join us

OK, it’s officially summer and time to head for the mountains. If you find yourself in the Flagstaff area this weekend, check out the Flagstaff Folk Festival on Saturday and Sunday, June 27 & 28, 10 AM to 6 PM at the Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 North Fort Valley Road in Flagstaff, Arizona.

One hundred folk acts on four stages in two days, workshops on all manner of folky things and lots of friends to hook up and play music with. There is also a contradance on Saturday night at the Sechrist school right next to the festival grounds.

D-Squared plays a 40-minute set at the Amphitheater stage at 4:50 PM on Sunday. We thought we’d start out on accordion (just warnin’ ya). Come watch it rain in the mountains, the amphitheater is indoors. Admission for the festival is $3/person & $9/family per day and parking is free. You can check out the full schedule and get further details at www.flagfolkfest.org.

This week we heard from an old friend who is enjoying a sabbatical down in Costa Rica with her family. She was innocently reading science papers on “forests, glacial histories, climate change models and shifting landscapes” in the dim light when a fragment of this song suddenly popped into her head. The song was written many years ago on the back porch at the ranch and Karen knows that place. More importantly, Karen knows the place in the heart where that song comes from. She emailed asking me for the lyrics and made my day. I thought I’d put `em up here in case that happens to someone else – in case that ever happens to me. Cuz this one always puts me right back on the porch.

if I could move real slow
I could hear the rocks talkin
if I could move real slow
I could see the trees walkin
if I could move really slow
I’d listen to the dead talkin
talkin to the rocks
walkin with the trees
comparin family histories
talkin to the rocks
walkin with the trees
listen to the whistlin of the souls in the leaves

if I could move real slow
I could hear the rocks talkin