Jam out

A couple weeks ago I was back home in Wisco for a while and the last night in town my folks and I walked up to our friend Jim Gillespe's beach house on quant little Lilly Lake. What transpired was a evening of classic stories and music. The crew that had assembled included Doug Pearson and Michelle, Jim Gillespie and his sister Carol, Jeff Halco and his wife Colleen, an old friend Jeff, Mulldoon, and my folks and I. Most of these folks are very talented musicians and the jam session that ensued brought back memories of similar such evenings of my childhood that filled the room as thick as fog. With an ensemble of instruments from guitars to harmonicas, a squeeze box(ha, ha can't remember the correct name for it), and even a train whistle for an Ozarks classic. At one point Jim's sister asked me, "Does this scene bore you?" I quickly replied, "No way! I love this. I choose these situations for my life." The tunes were all classics that have made up the soundtrack of my life and the love and laughs went down as smooth as the Budweiser (and some strange strawberry concoction that Jeff had rolling). I really miss all these folks and I am very thankful that I was around for this rare gathering of real genuine people. I hope I get the chance to do it again, and I just want to thank all of them for letting me be a part of an evening I won't soon forget.


The group photo in Jim's beach house. (NP Carol) photo: Michelle




Colleen squeezes to get down behind Jeff's lead. photo:Michelle




Doug and Jimmy bringing it on down back home style. photo:Michelle




Colleen switches to a flutey type of whistle. photo:Michelle

Cheers to this crew who has influenced my life more then they may realize, but like my parents these kind of folks are the backbone of this skier's mind set and work ethic rooted in back home values. These are the kind of good times that you can't buy and can only be found in golden moments like these that just seem to happen when you least expect it.