We had a fabulous time performing last Saturday for KOPN Community Radio's Lee Ruth Everybody's Got Love Tribute Concert.  See www.kopn.org -- CD's are still available!  Oh my -- 24 acts performed Lee's songs.  What a range of styles, what a body of work Lee has!  We are proud to know him!  Especially notable were performances by Chris Vallillo (http://www.ginridge.com) and by Pete Szkolka, (http://radioranger.org/LeeRuth/OhBeJoyful.htm) who also happens to be the ace recording engineer who we worked with on the Lewis and Clark CD, Most Perfect Harmony. 

        Paul and I did research on Mark Twain's favorite songs for underscoring the Mark Twain Birthplace video, and our interest in Twain was really piqued!  His writing, his life, his taste in music -- we are totally intrigued!  We have recorded 18 songs to underscore the video, with a few more still to go. 

        We look forward to performing at First Night in Springfield, Missouri this year.  For those of you who don't know about First Night:  these are alcohol-free community celebrations of the arts that take place around the world on New Year's Eve.  They almost always include a participatory procession, hands-on public art, fireworks, and entertainment of endless variety AND for all ages.  Families, singles, teens, and couples ALL will find something fun to do.  I am dedicated to this concept -- I spent four years as Festival Coordinator/Artistic Director of First Night Columbia (MO), but left the position to dedicate more time to playing music.  Look at this web site (http://www.firstnightintl.org) to find a First Night near you.  If you don't find one, think about getting one started! 

        Last, but not least, at the following link is an Open Letter from me written on November 8th in response to the election results.  Included after my letter is an excellent article by our friend Paul Stamler.    

Open Letter: http://www.gracefamilymusic.com/paul-win/post-election

        To all of you who are able to see the inter-connectedness of all of us on the planet: Thank you for all you do to take care of more than just yourself and to make the world a better place.  You may not believe that you have made any difference, but I see a change.  Keep honoring what you are called to do, and following that calling.  Even a small act of kindness makes the world a better place.  Thanks especially to all of you who worked so selflessly on the November election. 

        Last week I was able to hear Tibetan Lama Younge Khachab Rinpoche speak.  He spoke of the great desire for world peace, and said that was a worthy goal, but that a way to attain it was for each of us to find personal peace.  And so my wish for all of us in this season and for every season --
May we all find Peace, Win

Hello Friends --

        Whew!  What a beautiful day it is -- think of me in a little while walking along Cedar Creek in the bottom field basking in the crisp October sun, avoiding the cow pies (she said hopefully), saying hello to the curious calves, their protective Moms (who seem to understand me when I tell them, "I don't eat you.") and the deer who stare curiously at me for a minute and then leap across the field over fences, into the woods, in great bounds higher than I can believe, white tails flying. 

       Paul and I have just had a whiz-bang year -- actually, it's been our best year ever.  In the midst of it, we had a wonderful 5-day respite by the sandy shores of Lake Michigan, taking a guided canoe tour on an inland lake led by naturalist Alan Wernette, a great campsite jam with Max and Ruth Bloomquist (www.RuthBloomquist.com) that created quite a stir, gorgeous walks in the Michigan woods, long and longer walks along the beach, a 130-step climb to the top of the Lighthouse for an amazing view including the curvature of the earth (Okay, I admit it -- I only made it halfway.  The see-through steps got to me.  Paul just told me about the view.), and -- my favorite part -- great rides on the waves of Lake Michigan.  I can't get enough of that water!  It was freezing cold, but I just waded in gradually waiting until I was numb all over, and then I had a great time.  We played in Sioux City, IA (a fabulous arts community there!!) and at the National Museum of Music in Vermillion, SD.  What a great place -- we saw the biggest playable accordion (So big that only Shaq could play it, or maybe Ella Ewing.) and the smallest playable accordion (about 3 1/2").  

        We performed at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO for 3 weeks -- the longest job we've ever had as musicians.  We were honored to be part of a 30-minute presentation performed 3 times daily: A Musical Journey with Lewis and Clark.  We sang songs as part of the script to carry the story line along.  The show was conceived by producer Marty Schmitt and written by incredible actors Richard Young and Jim Waddell.  Sets, lights, costumes -- the whole thing!  What fun!  Since I have a degree and have worked in theatre, this was a joy to me. 

        It looks like a Mark Twain theme is developing in our lives:  We will be underscoring a film on the life of Mark Twain for the Missouri DNR and in late 2005 we'll be developing and performing original and traditional music for a children's theatre [Jill Womack and TRYPS (Theater Reaching Young People in the Schools)] production of Huckleberry Finn in Columbia. 

        The Lewis and Clark theme still lives on, though, as we just finished several extremely well-received concerts with the Discovery String Band, with another Grand Concert coming up in November. 

        Well, enough about us.  Now -- how about the rest of the world?  We DO live in interesting times.  Don't worry, I'm not going to tell you who you should vote for.  My only thought as you make your decisions, and it is something that I try to live by (not always successfully), is to BE NOT AFRAID.  Don't let fear be your guiding light.  Listen to your heart, be guided by love, trust your instincts -- don't let others tell you how to think or make you think that you don't have what it takes to make the right decision.  I would love to see neighbors and friends and politicians return to a time of being able to respectfully disagree.  I believe that true strength and a balanced course of action is found in listening to each other, in learning from each other.  

        We had a fabulous time at the California Traditional Music Festival that takes place at Soka University south of Los Angeles.  The whole concept of the festival is to encourage the audience to become part of the music, and there is ample opportunity to learn just about any acoustic instrument you can imagine.   Thanks to the amazing Clark and Elaine Weissman for conceiving and carrying out this grand design and to Entertainment Director Kathy Qualey for her vision and caring!

    As far as the flight to California goes, I cannot say that the airline industry cares a bit about musicians and the potential career-damaging disasters that they can (and have) inflicted on us.  Frontier Airlines was about as difficult as they could be, having oversold the flight and being faced with four Graces who had checked everything we had except for two instruments each.  I know that the Folk Alliance has made some attempt to negotiate an agreement with the airlines, but the 19-year-old at the Frontier Airlines desk said that this written agreement did not apply.  He also flatly refused to let us speak with his supervisor, said he didn't have one, they were in Denver, couldn't be reached on the phone even. 

    As folk musicians, we live on the edge financially and in many cases, we must fly to do our job.  Paul and I believe we have an idea of how we could do things differently next time we fly, but our fellow folk musicians who fly more often tell us that the rules are CONSTANTLY changing, and they have never figured it out.  It's simply dependent on the whim of whoever is at the counter.  We put our livelihood in their hands every time we fly.  Enough bellyaching -- sorry!!  

         We're looking forward to voting next week.  Missourians, if you've ever put your hand over your heart, faced the flag and said, "With liberty and justice for all,"  I hope that you find it in that same heart to vote NO on Amendment 2 which seeks to put discrimination and injustice into our state's constitution.  Here's hoping that here at the heart of the Heartland, we come through for liberty and justice on August 3rd!

    The best of the summer to all, Win