December, 2020

In 2010, I attended a 50th anniversary class reunion. I had not stayed in touch with anyone, but Kitty insisted I should go. Among those I reconnected with were Kathie and Marilyn, friends from French class, and also Ken Burns. Ken was a great raconteur, and also or maybe a "wise-acre." In the following decade, an intermittent correspondence with Kathie and Marilyn has inspired me to write “memoirs.”

This memoir is a reflection on discovery of a letter I drafted to Ken Burns, but never sent. Ken wrote longhand, with all capital letters, like a cartoon speech bubble. He had rejected my idea of corresponding by computer. in my letter I think I meant to share with him some "self-esteem" issues.

My issue was and is uncertainty as to whether I am just as good, or better, or not as good, as others. Did I regret some decisions and choices in my life, back in 2011, or now, a decade later? No, not exactly, they are who I am.

I was attempting to write a journal, by hand, and resolved to do so without revising. I am a good writer but not a particularly good storyteller or raconteur. I like to construct "sound bites," short messages like letters to the editor, announcements, flyers, pamphlets, for political or social groups or issues. I tend to be cryptic, which is not the way of a storyteller. "Just the facts, nothing but the facts."

I wanted then, and still want, to be a better storyteller, and also a better friend. This revision is a step in that journaling journey.

In August, 2011, Kitty's brother George and sister Susie visited, and after they left we visited Kitty's cousin Ann and her husband Steve, in North Carolina.They have a nice house on a lake, we enjoyed waterfront activities and also too much to eat. I gained 10 pounds. With us was my grandson Isaiah, 13. Steve was a very good father-figure. He took Isaiah on all sorts of water activities including jet-ski, kayak, snorkeling and also paddling standing up on a surfboard!!

I learned that Steve has been hosting "big brothers" groups that come to enjoy the waterfront every year. I am not quite as good about finding common interests with Isaiah or anyone else for that matter. For example I flat out do not follow sports. However, I enjoyed watching the biking Tour de France. I admire and identify with the challenges of individual athletics.

As I write, I do not have the narrative from Ken Burns that prompted this journal and reply. Ken had detailed his own life, in preparation for the reunion. He stuck out as a popular music enthusiast, a sort of deejay type.

My letter, reviewed here, mentions my horoscope for that day, which said "take a calculated risk that you've been considering." I still read the horoscope, as of December, 2020, which tells me today that I am entering a 6-month period of productive potential. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.

Kitty's reading of Ken's letter reaffirmed my impression of his wordsmithing and storytelling, with special emphasis on his devotion to popular music. I reflected then, and again now, on my own longstanding devotion to music, but of a different genre: Venezuelan harp music. By 2011 I had already made several trips to Venezuela.

Already in 2011 I was identifying an "existential" concern, even consulting a counselor. I was asking, "who am I?" and "what is the meaning of life?" I considered moving or living anywhere else on earth. Kitty was not so inclined, but we negotiated a sort of settlement. I traveled alone. Not knowing how much time I have left, I was wondering if I was getting all I want out of life. Still wondering a decade later. However,, Kitty and I kept permanent residence in West Virginia until our move to Nebraska this year (2020).

Though Kitty and I are very close, we differ in some very obvious ways. She plays golf, bridge and scrabble. She is not interested in moving, or living anywhere else on earth. I offered to move back to Portland, or to Seattle (where her sister lived), or to Wisconsin (where she was born and raised). No, she wanted to stay in West Virginia. I offered to live in Washington, PA, a town halfway between Morgantown (where two of our children were settled) and Pittsburgh (where the other two of my children were settled). No. I suggested we go to Mexico City where we could spend a year or so at a quaker guest-house. No. We were married in Mexico, in 1968, and stayed briefly in the quaker guest-house.

So, bottom line, it dawned on us that I might just go off for months or more, to Mexico, to Venezuela, or maybe to El Salvador, or elsewhere.

Kitty reads a lot more than I do. I started reading in Spanish. A novel that might not interest me in English I might interesting in Spanish. I even read Spanish translations of books written originally in English. I got a kick out of seeing how various expressions or cliches are rendered in another language. This is the sort of thing that is supposed to help keep our aging brains from deteriorating further. Other folks play bridge or do sudoku, I read Spanish.

I first went to Venezuela in 1991, and did not go back till 2005. After that I went almost every year for a time, to study with traditional harpists. In 2009 I hooked up with a terrific teacher, Jose Gregorio Lopez. "Goyo" not only plays the traditional harp and performs professionally, but ALSO prides himself in being a TEACHER.

(In subsequent years I returned to Venezuela and then to Bogota, Colombia where I studied with Hildo Ariel Aguirre Daza, as recently as 2019. Like Goyo, Hildo insisted on proper fingering and rhythm, and rigorous discipline.)

Then and now, I am CERTAIN that I will NEVER be as skilled as Goyo, Hildo, or many others of the great many competent harpists in Venezuela and Colombia. I do not aspire to play at their level, but just to be good enough to show some respect for the tradition.

I neglected to maintain many contacts and to nourish the relationships that could have been mine, across more than half a century. With the perspective of age, I can count scores of people that have been important to me and then lost.

Two rules suggested by a counselor, for writing a journal or diary, are 1) limit an entry to 10 minutes or 3 pages in length; and 2) use handwriting and do not revise. of Harping for Harmony Foundation, retirement in 2005

In 2014 I stayed several weeks in Colombia. Here’s a report:

ARPATUR Colombia - harp tourism opportunity

If you have been following my ARPATUR adventures in Colombia, might you be interested in coming here with me, another time? I'm plotting an affordable 8 -10 day "adventure" tour focused on traditional harp music but also incorporating features of culture, history and sustainable agriculture. Budget: $1000 plus your airfare to Bogota.

Today, on day 34 I'm back in Bogota after 10 days in Arauca, a historic river and town, the cradle of traditional arpa llanera. The sheer numbers of harpists and harp students, of all ages, is astonishing.

In Arauca, I enjoyed impromptu music-making every day on the wide porch at Hotel Las Mercedes, as the guest of owners Luis and Milena Rodriguez. At least a dozen local singers and instrumentalists came to the porch on one or more occasions. I also took observed two private music schools, and took instruction from two excellent harpists and teachers, Nelson Acevedo (in an informal setting) and Milkon Garcia (accompanying a singer here).

While in Arauca, my hosts took me overnight to their farm, where they keep a stable of riding horses as well as cattle. Luis, a veterinarian and former professor, is writing a book on the history of horses since their introduction from Spain almost 600 years ago.

More important, perhaps: Luis is a wonderful singer, as demonstrated on the hotel porch and at an evening bonfire sing-along at the farm.

Earlier, in Bogota I had spent three weeks at Academia Llano y Joropo. Master harpist Hildo Ariel Aguirre Daza established this private music school more than 25 years ago. Here I received an intense introduction into the traditional method, entirely by ear. As I have previously described, students at all skill levels are present, practicing their lessons simultaneously. The teacher moves from one to the next, with short and precise instructions. Cacophonous, but very effective.

My tour would have two parts: in Bogota, a stay with Academia Llano y Joropo; in Arauca, field visits and a stay at Hotel Las Mercedes. Accommodations: simple and inexpensive. Music: a mix of regular folks who happen to make music, as well as professionals - harpists, singers, cuatristas, maraqueros. Shopping and various sight-seeing are optional.

I am planning a trip for sure in September, 2015, when Academia Llano y Joropo will sponsor the second "International Gathering of Harp Masters" (Encuentro Internacional "Maestros del Arpa"), at  Academia Llano y Joropo. However, I can customize a tour whenever you like, with at least 4 participants. (The first such gathering at Academia Llano y Joropo will be September 10-13, 2014, just weeks from now. If you want to go that soon, get in touch with me ASAP.)

I first discovered the harp, as a folk instrument, in Venezuela in 1991, on a field trip with West Virginia University's College of Agriculture. I started Harping for Harmony Foundation in 1995. The first ARPATUR was in 2005. By 2011, I had made five ARPATUR trips, alone or sometimes with a friend or relative as a companion. I tried to promote ARPATUR in Venezuela, but tourism there poses various difficulties. On the other hand, Colombia offers the same musical culture but with better circumstances for travelers. Tourism is a priority, conversion of currency is easy, credit and debit cards work, cell phones work, there is good transportation and security.

This is my first Colombian ARPATUR, and I hope not the last. If you are interested in making the trip, sooner or later, please let me know.