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My most recent single release - "My True North" - is now available on Bandcamp. Open my profile and click on "audio clip".

Monday, November 25, 2019

Gobsmacked

Being an inveterate word collector can pay off. I captured gobsmacked into my word treasure chest the first time I saw it in print some time ago. But until last Saturday at 6:30, I hadn't found a good use for it.

Saying I was surprised walking through that door? Too mild and common place. Astonished? Closer but still too predictable. Dumbfounded? Almost, but not quite fresh enough. Only gobsmacked  conveys the blissful shock I felt seeing sixty or so people gathered -  thanks to my wife and daughter - to celebrate the start of my eighth decade. In that room were folks from Saranac Lake, NY to Conway, SC to Lafayette, Colorado. I'm still not sure how my wife and daughter kept me in the dark and equally unsure how I managed to stay coherent making my way around that room greeting almost all my immediate family with their spouses and children and so many friends -  new, old, lifelong, friends of my daughter who are now my friends.  

And the music. For a few hours, the warmth that has infused my life filled that room. My brother did Harold Arlen's If I Only Had A Brain; two guitarists I've been honored to perform alongside wailed as I warbled Dylan's All Along the Watchtower; three talented singers - including my daughter - each caressed a tune from the Great American Songbook. Aside from my two sisters and my brother, there were five other people there who have been a part of my life for longer than the forty one + years my wife and I have been together. 

If you were there, thank you for being part of an event I'll never forget. If you were invited but couldn't make it or slipped through the invite cracks, I missed you. To everyone - including any readers I don't know personally - What happened to you the last time you felt gobsmacked? I hope whatever it was brought you as much joy as those hours last Saturday brought me. 

6 comments:

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    1. Thanks Ed; wish I could have made it to Indiana for your 70th but at least the Beverly Hillbillies mad an appearance!

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  2. Such a fun night! I am so amazed by your ability to maintain friendships over the years. It is hard work and something I have always struggled with. It was evident on Saturday that even after POTCs stopped (annual parties make it easier to maintain those friendships) you have continued to do the work necessary to keep up those relationships. Kudos to you!

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    1. Kelly; Two comments on my blog in the same year - I'm moving up in the world! I'm glad you had fun and thanks for the nice comment about those long lasting friendships. You know who is a lot better at that than I? My wife. And you're right it is hard work but so worth the effort. So happy you were with me.

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  3. Wished we could have attended! I knew you were going to enjoy that evening.

    Phil & Barb

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    1. Phil & Barb; When Kim told me (after the party, of course) she'd invited you two but you weren't going to be able to make it, I was bummed. I had you in mind writing the last paragraph. Anyway, thanks for reading the blog post and your (first ever!) comment. Congratulations on joining the blogsphere or, at least, my miniscule part of it.

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