November 27, 2016 - We do have local "culture" here in the County.

        There is a concert pianist performing today at the First United Methodist Church in Rutherfordton, North Carolina, at 4:00 p.m.

        There was a splendid article in the paper about Harriette Line Thompson, a world class concert pianist.

        I often call myself ‘musically illiterate’ because I can’t name the artist or the song title of what is playing on the radio.  I also am not really sure how to “read” music.  I try my best to follow the black or not so black notes in my church hymnal when I attempt to sing at church. [I believe God is humored by my off-key attempts.]

        I can usually recognize the 1812 Overture – as it is usually on the news clip of some 4^th of July celebration that a TV station is covering.

        And, as a young teenager in high school, I was one of the few students who actually appreciated the music in the “required” class entitled “Music Appreciation.”

        So, when the news article mentioned Debussy and Gershwin, I was excited.  The piano recital is this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. and I still haven’t been able to connect with any of my friends to accompany me.

        They are working, getting those rare, lucrative “overtime” hours they need to survive.

        They can’t easily walk any distance – it would be a hardship for them on a cold day.   And, once I have gotten up from a long sit – I like to stretch my legs.  So, I usually go out of my way to park further from the activity than closer so that I get the blood circulating in my legs before I go home.

        One or two no longer have very good hearing.  It is a waste on them.

        They don’t like that type of music.

        Their family is in from out of town this holiday weekend.

        Then there is the quandary person – Should I pick you up and drop you off or should we drive separately and meet?  Inevitably, our signals get crossed and I am standing inside the door out of the cold or rain, and the other party can’t find me because they don't see my car parked so they don’t come in.   

        Then there is the “What are YOU going to wear?” question that stops me in my tracks.  I hate that question; can’t a woman decide by herself what she is going to wear to a piano recital at a church on a Sunday, without my counsel. Just common sense would dictate what she should wear in public. I honestly hate the “matched outfits” date with a girlfriend.  I like my individuality, I don't like to acquiesce to similar outfits.

        Or the known person who is never on time and I am always prompt and early.  By the time they get there – all the good seats are gone.

        Or I remember the person who refuses to sit up front and center.  I cross them off the “asking list.”  I like up front and center.  That is what the front row is for – to sit and sink into a state of total rapture at the performance. [What is the theory of sitting in the back?  Someone needs to explain that reasoning to me.]

        The more I ponder on who I might invite to go with me, the more I am coming to realistic a plan of action.  

It is easier sometimes to just go solo!