White Springs 2003

            Three frustrated singers left later than expected, as Marte & Cindi suffered domestic woes (laundry crises, etc) and Ruth got stuck doing workish things, though she technically had the day off. (So much for the perks of being in management!) As road trip adventures go, it must be admitted, this beginning was an absolute comedy of errors! But grudging expostulations (Grrr! Arrrrgh!) soon gave way to cries of "White Springs!!" and we were finally on our way by two o'clockish in the afternoon, merely five or so hours later than our original estimated time of departure.

            Having finally gotten on the road, and driven as far as Tampa, we came to the sudden realization that none of us had remembered to bring jackets with us! Packing for White Springs (Memorial day weekend in Florida!) generally consists of finding the lightest, coolest, “breathingest” clothing available, as the heat during the day can be incredible. By night, however, cool breezes drift off the river, and the temperature drops somewhat, making jackets a good idea, especially for people intending to sing the next day! Besides the night time breezes, rain was threatening already, so jackets were deemed an absolute necessity for the weekend. That having been decided, there were only two choices… go back for them, (or) shop for new ones. You can guess Ruth's vote! (You mean there was another option besides shopping?) Budgetary concerns got the upper hand however ( One less jacket purchase, times three, minus one slightly later start, plus the saving of expenditures in stores en route, equals buying more CDs @ White Springs... And to think we never liked Math in high school!)

            We returned to Clearwater for the missing jackets (Ruth had one in her car, eliminating the need for a further side trip to St. Petersburg!) then finally got on the road for real, and set boldly out on our journey.

            An hour later we stopped at Cracker barrel. (Well by then it was dinner time for Pete’s sake!) As we were leaving Cracker Barrel, the rain hit, hard. We persevered (Marte now being nominated for the folk singer/stunt driving hall of fame) and finally arrived at the hotel at about nine o'clock, and were crashed out by eleven.

            We actually got up at a reasonable hour (no one was more surprised than we were!) and got dressed (always an event, what with fourteen pounds of accessories per suitcase!) , then went to eat at the lovely (read: giant, huge and reasonably priced) buffet which is the reason we always choose this hotel (That and the fact that the Georgia Sea Island Singers always seem to stay there too, and we keep hoping they will burst into spontaneous song in the courtyard, because they are terrific!!) We arrived at the Festival at about 10:15, feeling much more joyful at the sight of that colorful Florida Folk Festival banner stretched across the grass in the sunlight.

            Though our last FFF trip was dubbed the "folksloth" trip, this one became indelibly stamped the "turtle tour" due to a joke Ruth told in the car on the way up, and retold to anyone who would listen over the weekend. It is recorded here for posterity...

……A turtle walks into a hardware store and says to the proprieter, “Excuse me Sir, do you have any Gwapes?” The owner of the hardware store shakes his head and says “Of course we don’t have any grapes, we’re a hardware store! Try the grocery store down the block!” The next day the turtle  comes into the hardware store again and says “Excuse me Sir, do you have any Gwapes?” The owner gets irritated and says “I told you yesterday, we don’t have any grapes!!! Try the grocery store!” and he slammed the door behind him.  The next day the turtle comes back and says  “Excuse me Sir, do you have any Gwapes?” The owner gets very angry and says “Listen, if you ask me for grapes one more time, I’m going to staple you to the floor!!”.  The next day the turtle goes back to the hardware store and says

 “Excuse me Sir, do you have any staples?” The owner stares at the turtle. “No, I don’t have any staples!” he says. “Good,” says the turtle. “Do you have any Gwapes?”

            Of course every time we saw a turtle after that, in a craft or piece of jewelry we started giggling uncontrollably and asking strangers if they "had any gwapes".  Little things amuse us, mostly. (grin grin)

             We went first to the Old Marble Stage to see the Georgia Sea Island Singers, Grant (Livingston) and Amy (Carol Webb). We relaxed under the tent enjoying the morning coolness and just absorbed the fact that we had actually escaped town and were here on the Suwanee for three whole days.

            Finally heard Sam Pacetti (about whom we had heard so much) He plays great fingerpicking guitar. Performing "Red Molly" as his first song, which had Marte hooked immediately , and we were all amazed when he followed it up by playing both parts of "Deliverance". Very  Impressive.

            It will come as no shock to those who know us to hear that after that, we started shopping, and we were delighted to run into Susan Boyer Haley. Susan is a delightful lady we had the privilege of meeting through Lee Paulet, when singing as part of a promotional concert for the Pinellas Folk Festival,  at the Royalty Theatre in downtown Clearwater. ( the same night we met the inimitable Bobby Hicks!) Susan sings traditional tunes with a voice like an angel, and plays  dulcimer among other things. She is also one of the sweetest people we have met in our travels. We look forward to seeing her at this years (upcoming) Pinellas Folk Festival, at Heritage Village in Largo. (January 2004)

            During that morning we also ran into friend Eli Perras (always an inspiration) and had a lovely visit (love you Eli!)

            After that, we went to get the guitars and see if - allergy season, colds and flu notwithstanding- we could even sing! We were looking for a spot to test drive our harmonies, when we found Ally Smith, for whom we had been searching. (Late of Myriad and then the Ally Smith band, Ally is our earliest mentor, our angel and our friend. She has relocated from our area, and we wish to send her the following message from 'The Girls' - "LoveyoumissyouAleeeeeeeeeeeeee!") We were hooking up with Ally in order to share the hotel room, and enjoy her lovely company.

It has been our experience at White Springs past that standing still in the middle of the Park and calling "Ally Ally Oooops!" seems to make her magically appear. This happened twice, we swear it! It was like sunshine and roses to see her again, but then, it always is. (Okay, so we are our own Ally Smith fan club, we admit it!!)

            Ally had come in a little later in the day, having just performed (back home in Tampa) on the live music showcase on WMNF (88.5) with Bill Dudley.  Ally informed us that she had plugged us on the air, which was gratifying and also hastened our urgency to find a place to rehearse. (Recommended on radio by Ally Smith - no pressure there!)

            Making arrangements to meet up later, we found a quiet place to practice, and ran through "Okeechobee Wildfire", "Olga's Waltz", and "The Ballad Of Johnnie May", before scurrying off to the auditorium (blissfully air conditioned!) to see Lee and Betsy Paulet. (Ruth swearing to herself for the third White Springs in a row that she will prepare something for the Storytellers open circle ONE of these years!)  It was great to see Lee and Betsy as always, and we were thrilled to finally hear Lee's song "Freedom isn't Free" about which we had heard so much. It was very moving, and hearing Lee and Betsy is always a treat. Part of the joy of folk festivals is the singing and the playing, the inspiration and the fellowship of good friends, but it's nice to actually sit down and just soak up the stories and music of these amazing people.

            Speaking of amazing, we finally got to meet the Exxums! We had heard a great deal about them from Lee of course, and had heard their music (recorded) at Lee and Betsy's house back home, but had never actually made their acquaintance .

     Much to Ruth's excitement (pardon while she squeaks a little!) one of the lovely Exxum sisters (sorry, we don't know everyone's names yet!) approached us and said to Lee Paulet "Which one of them did it? Which one wrote 'that song'?”  She had heard "Olga's Waltz" at Lee's house (where we had recorded it) and said "I told myself  'I'm gonna kill that girl, I can't get that song out of my head!!' " 

            Ruth accepts such threats as the highest of compliments!! (It was gratifying to receive positive feedback regarding the music and the original songs especially, since Ruth is a beginner and in a constant state of  "was that okay do you think?” She received, however, the wisest of all advice from Grant Livingston, who sagely remarked "You need to stop worrying so much about...well, everything!")

            The Exxums, along with Betsy and Lee, were about to conduct a song circle, and asked us to join them. It was supposed to be a bluegrass circle, but not too many people were there, so they asked us to do a couple of songs also. (We did "Great Storm", "Olga's Waltz" and  "Okeechobee Wildfire"). We enjoyed some delicious harmonies with the Exxums, especially on "Tom Dooley", and were glad to see Ally appear near the end of the circle. We talked for a little while with Lee and Betsy, then we and Ally decided to go to Cracker Barrel for dinner. (Yummy roast beef, actually, delicious everything... and Ruth will still drive fifty miles for their hash brown casserole. Besides, country store! Built in shopping! That's like dinner AND a show! We are SO multi tasking!) We had a wonderful time catching up with Ally (did we mention we miss her???) and it was a wonderful evening.

            Cindi was feeling under the weather (far under!) so we returned to the  hotel for fortifications (medicines, jackets, slippery elm tablets) and drove Ally back to get her truck.  We made our way to Amy and Brooke's campsite (funny, we usually run into them at the bathrooms!!)  Amy, Grant and Brooke were tired...they had had to spend all day Thursday in the rain. We did a few songs for them ('Okeechobee' and 'Johnnie May') and Marte's 'Cadzan' (fresh off the presses....or at least fresh out of rehearsal!) and Ruth played her September Eleventh song.

            Amy liked 'Johnnie May' , The true story of a young woman who was murdered in 1964, in the wake of the Jacksonville race riots. Her murder was swept under the historical and legal carpet, though she left behind a family of ten children. (More information on this sad and compelling story can be found elsewhere on this web site) Johnnie May's youngest surviving child, Shelton Chappell, has lobbied tirelessly to have his Mother recognized as a martyr to the cause of Civil Rights, and  Amy suggested Ruth send him the song, to let him know that his Mother's story has not been forgotten. Ruth plans to do this.

            It was wonderful as always to spend time in the company of Amy, Brooke and Grant, but the hour was late and everyone tired (and several more wonderful days stretched ahead of us!) so we left them to their well earned rest and went to look for Ally.  And look for Ally. And look for Ally. (We even  tried "Ally Ally Ooops', but no luck this time!)  At one point we were hopelessly lost in the darkness of the campgrounds, and had to be helped to the entrance by a couple of friendly banjo players, who pointed out that the trick to finding the road out (versus the paved campsite street) was that the road had  a double yellow line painted down the middle. We were astounded. (Duh! Hey, we may not always be rocket scientists, but we are always fashionable! )

            We did, of course, take the opportunity to tell them the turtle joke.

            We took Cindi back to the car to rest, then did one more  sweep of the campgrounds looking for Ally (following the double yellow this time!!) before giving up at about one am. We made it to the hotel before we crashed asleep, but just barely. Ally did turn up in the wee hours, admitting sheepishly that she’d missed the exit and mistakenly gone to Georgia. Ruth decided there is a folk song in that, and intends to write it. ("Driving down in White Springs, you gotta take it slow/ Ally went to Georgia, she didn't mean to go...!)

            The next night we found ourselves at the Mainstage, listening to a performance billed "Florida's Troubadours", which included our pal Bobby Hicks. The mosquitos were wicked but the moon was gorgeous, and the music was divine. There's something about being there at White Springs, on the hill with a couple thousand other kindred souls, in communion with each other and bound together by the music. The strength we take from that takes us all through the year to come. It's amazing how the remembrance of these gatherings brings strength, courage and quiet joy through the storms of life. We are not the only ones to feel this way, and we are humbled and grateful to have been welcomed so warmly into the Florida Folk Family.

            Cindi had asked Grant if he'd like to hear the stuff we'd been working on - Ron and Bari (of Ron & Bari's roadside review)  said they wanted hear it too, so we met them behind the mainstage at the tent and played "Okeechobee Wildfire" for them in the dark.  We thanked Ron and Bari again (and again and again) for inviting us to sing at the Gazebo last year. It was so wonderful to be there. Bari said she'd ask Frank Thomas if he'd give us a listen in the morning and we got very excited and nervous at the same time. We discovered (of course) that Frank is a completely lovely person.  

            First thing in the morning, we practiced  in our favorite spot under the oaks (sweet memories there of other years singing) before meeting down at the Gazebo, where Ron and Bari had arranged for us to meet Frank Thomas.  He came out to the parking lot to hear us between set at the Gazebo, and Bari turned up on her bicycle also.  We asked Frank if we could do "Five Hundred Miles" to show him what we ‘really’ sound like, as "Okeechobee" was still ‘Under construction’. (We wound up playing both.) Five hundred Miles starts out with one vocal and no frills, and the smile that spread across his face when we hit the three part harmony halfway through the first verse was all the reward we could have hoped for.

          We were surprised and thrilled, therefore, when we heard him say "Ya'll have ten minutes, then I want you on that stage there".  (!!) We wound up doing "Sweet Suwanee" on the Florida song stage at the Gazebo instead of "Okeechobee", (as the latter was still wearing training wheels.) The crowd seemed to really like it, and we stayed most of the morning at the Gazebo, enjoying Frank Thomas, Del Suggs, Ron and Bari and several hours of other wonderful performers. We harmonized along with Grant on several songs (from the audience) and he asked us if we'd like to actually sing backup for him of a 'song or two' sometime. (We tried not to squeal out loud with excitement, we really really....tried!)  I guess we got points for being able to keep up on the chorus of the “Maleluca song…in harmony!”

            Thanking Frank Thomas afterward, for letting sing at the Gazebo, we were excited at being given an “assignment” to write five new Florida songs by the following year. He suggested we sing them on the Gazebo stage, and we were very thrilled at the prospect.

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The Florida Folk Festival - May 2002

We Left Clearwater about three, and arrived in White Springs at about six... to discover that Cindi and Marte had packed twice as many outfits as Ruth (the fashion bug.)  Who knew!! The hotel was LOVELY, with a nicely decorated lobby and beautifully appointed rooms. (Matching bedspreads and border, coffee maker, blow dryer, iron and ironing board....no complaints here!) We set up housekeeping and filled a nightstand, large table, two huge dressers, two shelves and a closet. What can we say.... we were stylin’! After settling into our temporary home, we had dinner at Applebee’s, and watched a little TV (of all things) before we all went to sleep.

Friday

The first day at the festival, things were not looking good for us - Ruth and Cindi were coughing, hoarse and miserable, and we feared that our pilgrimage to White Springs might prove songless... but we kept our hopes alive, praying on the chance that our voices would return, and match the strength of our hearts. The first that we saw was Grant Livingston, and we introduced ourselves in daylight, so he could at last see our faces, as the last time we met it was by the light of the citronella candles at Amy Carol Webb's camp site last year....he didn't know our faces, but he remembered our voices... (!!)

We told him how much his kind words meant to us following white springs last year, and he asked d if we had quoted him in our press kit. "Er no..." we said, and he grinned. "Well you should!" (Amy assured us he meant it, so we will.

Grant's quote; "Songs woven together watertight...

beautiful, unusual, creative harmonies..."

Grant did a wonderful set, including a song that we all loved but that was just tailor made for Marte, about a French cat in a graveyard in Acadia. (Le Chat Gris). We bought the CD at once. It is called "Let me off the Leash", and if you don't have it, rush out in a buying frenzy, it is WONDERFUL. (Try http://www.grantlivingston.com/ ) He graciously signed the CD for Cindi, and asked her before he threw away the plastic wrap. When we looked at him oddly, he said "You won’t believe this, but I threw that wrapper away once and the person looked at me and said ‘Hey that was mine!' " (again, who knew?)

After Grant came the first set of Amy Carol Webb (the folk goddess!) It was wonderful to see both her and Brooke again! This year both of Amy's sons were with her, so we got to meet them. When Cindi first went to speak with Amy, Amy gave her a big hug and said "I thought about you all the way up here.... how ARE you?" Cindi assured her that her last set of blood tests were routinely dull and boring, and we all cheered the fact of Cindi's boring, cancer-free blood. (Boring blood is good! ) Amy has such a spiritual way about her - just being near her is healing, she has so much love. How lucky we are to have met both Amy and Brooke, they are truly wonderful people.

We shopped enthusiastically, buying hats and purses from the Guatemalan booth near the tower, and promised the proprietress that we would come by the day following, to show her the outfits for which said accessories were purchased. Ruth also spent the weekend in search of Kokopelli items, and was eventually greeted by the African Aztec booth lady with the cry "KOKOPELLI LIVES!” (they do love repeat customers!)

Having missed out on the experience last year, we went to visit the River and gazebo area, where Ruth made a new friend (Ashley, age four) with whom she conversed deeply regarding mud castles, sand writing, and leaping across the Suwannee in two jumps. (Two??) Cindi voiced her concern regarding snakes, which Ruth assured her had all been eaten by the Alligators (Snacks!) Her words of wisdom, however, did nothing to deter Ashley and Ruth from throwing themselves into the Suwannee River. Ashley's mother did not object.... but Ruth got in trouble.

Friday, the first day, was a time for hugs and hello's, and soaking up the music. It was wonderful to see people we had not seen in some time and just BEING there had a healing effect on all of us. ("There’s a place far from the world, beneath the live oak trees.....")

For some inexplicable Ruth-inspired reason, our battle cry for the weekend was "FOLKSLOTHS!!!!!!!!!!" It started as we were taking it easy on the first day (2 out of 3 of us still recuperating from illnesses) when "Sloth" best described our rapidity of movement.

At least we think that’s how started.

SATURDAY

We began the morning determined that this would be the day that sore throats, stress and other miseries would be conquered in the name of music. We spoke little of our determination to perform SOMEWHERE that Saturday, but the care with which we chose and accessorized our outfits gave us away!!! Perhaps it was the accessories that did it (ha-ha!) but by five o'clock that night, we were signed up for Open Mic on the Azalea stage, beside the carillon bell tower. There were lots of other people signed up to perform there, but the group that stood out for us was a trio from Philadelphia called Maggi, Pierce and E.J.... (look for them at http://www.mpeband.com/ ) they did a sort of blues/jazz mix, with creative arrangements and percussion, ... they were quite amazing (Marte got their CD) We, as luck would have it, got to follow THEM onto the stage. (TIMING! Who wants to follow an act THAT good?) We set ourselves up with words and chords and things (pages which - to Ruth's consternation - blew over exactly five beats into the first song!) and performed "Sweet Suwannee" (aka "White Springs Song") and "Olga's Waltz," (written in memory of Ruth's aunt) , ending with "Five Hundred miles". (We were originally supposed to do only two songs, but when Marte said "Do we have time for one more?” the people in the audience actually started yelling "One more, one more!" so they let us do it.) The greatest reward for "Sweet Suwannee" was seeing the faces of the other singers, as the picture we had painted of that wonderful place, echoed in their hearts as well. When we saw the expressions on their faces, we knew that we had captured it just as we had hoped to.

We had many positive comments from people in the audience, but the most insightful thing that was said all weekend, came from one of the men from the aforementioned trio, who shook Ruth’s hand after "Olga's Waltz", and said "I enjoyed meeting your Aunt".

Saturday night (acting on invitations from Brooke, Amy Carol and Grant, as well as our own tenacity) we slipped into the campsite with guitars, and found Brooke at the bathhouse (deja vu! We met there last year too! ). She heartily invited us again, and told us how to find their campsite, which we did. There were warm greetings all around, and chairs were offered, and we all settled into our seats in companionable silence for exactly twelve seconds.

"So?" said Brooke, "Sing!"

And we did.

We sang "Olga's Waltz", "Step by Step". "Five Hundred Miles" and “Sweet Suwannee", followed up by Marte & Ruth's "Bayou". It all tumbles together in a blur of music and excellent company, but whatever order the songs were done in, there is no way to describe just being there, beneath an exquisite full moon, and drawing joy and power from those songs, surrounded by wonderful friends.

Amy and Brooke loved "Suwannee", and said that it captured the festival perfectly (Ruth had to be pulled down out of the sky after that!) and after each song, continued to ask for another. Sore throats were apologized for (and delicious hot tea proffered) and it was an amazing evening. After we had been there some time, a girl wandered into the campsite. The keys to her trailer had gone astray, and she needed to borrow a campsite for a few minutes... Amy said she was welcome, and that after that she HAD to hear "these three girls" sing, because they (we) were "wonderful". (we love you Amy!)The girl in question was Bari Litchaur (Of Ron and Bari's roadside revue) and after hearing "Step by Step" and "Sweet Suwannee" (at Amy's urging) she asked us then and there to come down to the gazebo stage on the river at ten the following morning, to sing the "Florida Song". She also asked for "Step by Step", because (she said) "They HAVE to hear it". Amy agreed and said "If they hear that, they will pat your backs, pinch your cheeks and eat you up!" (A prospect we certainly did not wish to avoid!!)

After sharing with her the trials and travails of our Demo tape saga... (Marte; “Demo tape? Let us TELL you about our DEMO tape!"
Ruth; "Grrrr! Argh!")

...... our Angel of mercy offered to take our tape into her studio, clean it up for us and put in on CD, then giving us her card for the purpose of contacting her. Have there ever in the world been kinder, lovelier people than Florida Folk??

After Bari left, the second serendipitous event of the evening occurred. Two lovely ladies wandered into the campsite. They, too, had keys which had gone astray, and they asked if they might join us and relax while waiting for them to reappear. Amy brought them in at once and made them comfortable, then launched immediately into introductions, assuring the ladies that they needed to hear us sing. When the ladies were introduced to us, they turned out to be Mem Semmes and Margaret Longhill , and Amy told them they simply HAD to hear our "White Springs" song. We launched into it quickly (before nerve could fail us!) and followed it up (at Brooke's request) with "Step by Step" yet again. (Ruth never knew she had it in her to sing that song four times in one evening.... "Buelah" lives!! )

As the last notes echoed over the treetops (and Amy and Brooke grinned to themselves) Margaret Longhill turned to us and said without preamble, "Where have you BEEN??" ("Mostly at Amy's campsite" we replied, laughing.)

Both ladies were full of encouragement and said they hoped to see us again soon, and had we considered the Will McLean festival? Did we have a business card? (..... was with GREAT depth of character that a certain three folkechicks from Clearwater managed to not squeal like teenagers at this turn of events.)

A scrap of paper was procured (will we NEVER have business cards at the right moments??) and our information jotted down for Margaret, and hugs passed all around the circle, as the missing keys were returned by a friend. Mem turned to Ruth and said, "You know, Fate has a way of making things happen - we were meant to come here and meet you tonight". Margaret agreed. Sorrows Away merely thanked their lucky stars. What a glorious night it had turned into!

Not long after that, who should arrive but Grant Livingston, who pulled out a guitar and sat down to join the festivities. After a perfectly innocent query ("What would you all like to hear?") Sorrows Away zoomed in like radars and cried "Are YOU the man who sings the Armadillo song????" (We had been searching for said singer since two years before at the Will McLean festival, when we had heard a hysterical song about the "Graveyard of the Armadillo". )

Grant looked wary. "I...might?" he answered, then laughed and began to play it. We contained ourselves with difficulty but hummed the song ceaselessly for at least the next two weeks. (Grant is "Da MAN!" )

Fearing that our "unofficial" vehicle might get officially towed, we left at midnight, knowing that if we were to sing at the gazebo in the morning, we HAD to return to the hotel and get some rest. (actually, we rather feared we might turn into pumpkins, should the parks department close the gates on us at midnight!) We bid farewell to our mentors, and floated to the car about ten feet off the surface of the earth. After collapsing in the hotel room (and heaping blessings upon the head of the person that invented the hot shower) we fell dead asleep, despite Ruth's repeated joyful outbursts of "We SANG! Did you HEAR us? We sang!"

SUNDAY

Having worn our best outfits for the open mic the evening before, the women of Sorrow's Away were faced with the agonizing dilemma of having only a half dozen or so outfits to choose from, to wear on the Gazebo stage at ten. In the long run, the application of sunscreen was deemed the most important of accessories, though Ruth (who had consumed a great deal of Zinc Oxide in an attempt to roust her throat infection) continuously set off visible sparks every time she touched the plastic sunscreen bottle. (Disconcerting for Ruth.....highly entertaining for the others.)

We arrived, breathless, at the Gazebo stage by nine thirty or so, and there met Lee Paulet (him of the Pinellas folk festival ) Before we could say hello, Lee swooped over and enveloped Cindi in a bear hug (which we rather hoped would realign her vertebrae, but no luck) He was happy to see us!

There were a lot of wonderful artists doing Florida Songs that morning (including old friend James Hawkins, with his "Talking Jeb Bush carpetbagger blues" - brilliant!) and we got to be on the stage following Tom Shedden.

( Sure , who wants to follow Tom Shedden?! He's AMAZING!)

We were the fourth or fifth people up (time to get nice and nervous. good thing exhaustion took the edge off! Ha-ha!) but the Suwannee was flowing past just behind us, the sunlight dancing like diamonds on its surface (hope the pictures come out!), and on a day that beautiful, it seemed that nothing could go wrong.

After Tom Shedden finished (much applause from everyone, us included!) Bari introduced us.

" I came upon these girls singing at Amy Carol Webb's campsite last night. They are going to sing a wonderful song that they wrote after leaving here last year, their first year, and after that I am going to break the "only Florida songs" rule, because they have an acapella song they do that you HAVE to hear in this place on a Sunday morning....."Sorrows Away"....remember their name, you will be seeing a lot of them!" (yes, we remember what she said word for word....you don't forget nice stuff like that! Bari, thank you!)

There are no words to describe the experience of singing "Sweet Suwannee" on the banks of the river on an exquisite and perfect summer morning with a huge group of kindred spirits. Right before we started to sing, we looked up and saw Amy and Brooke (who had doubtless been up all night playing music) - at ten in the morning they had gotten out of bed and come down to the river to support us. Are there two more wonderful people in the world? Cindi said "You have no idea what it means to us to have you come" and Brooke smiled and said "that's why we are here". Amy said "We wouldn't have missed it for the world")

When we did Step by step, the power in the music and the heart beat of the river swelled to such a crescendo that we felt as if we soared ten feet from the ground on the sheer strength of that many souls in communion.

How miraculous is that?

When we finished, Bari said "Watch for these girls - you'll be seeing a lot more of them, I guarantee!" At which Lee Paulet stood up and announced "They are committed to performing in the Pinellas Folk Festival in January of 2003!" To which someone laughingly called out "Did THEY know that, Lee?" Lee smiled smugly and said "Well, they do now". ("Thank s Lee" we chorused in perfect unison.) From that point on, Lee introduced us to everyone he knew.... musicians, singers, directors of festivals.... including Dale Webber, who said many nice things about our potential and our music. Lee Paulet has taken us under his wing, and we are humbly grateful (and wildly ecstatic). Later that day, Betsy Paulet approached us with one of her songbooks, along with the suggestion that we work up one of her songs - an acapella gospel piece she said she thought was perfect for us. We were honored that she placed such faith in us, and told her so. She proceeded to sing an amazing song she had written (about a little girl who died on the railroad tracks so she could be in heaven to meet her sick mother when she passed away. ) It was incredible. She sang it acapella under the shade of the live oaks and we all three cried.

It was a weekend of miracles. Nothing could have prepared us for the joy of these three days in White Springs! It never would have crossed our minds to hope that it could turn out as wonderfully as it did. Lee Paulet is our hero...more on him to come.

On Sunday afternoon, we staked out a spot on the hill in the shade, and listened to the music from the amphitheatre for hours. It was wonderful, as always, to hear friend Brendan Nolan, in an afternoon set on the mainstage. ( Hope to see ya soon at the pub!), and we enjoyed hearing lots of great performers we had not heard before. Leaving our little "homestead" in place, we took short excursions for food, drinks, visiting and other excitement, including a late night Cajun dance class that was SO much fun. The band was called "Gumbo Limbo", and they were amazing. We had seen them earlier at the jam tent, where a little girl was dancing for all she was worth to the sound of seven or eight fiddles. ) Ruth and Cindi were practicing the two step in a straight line down the side of the dance tent, when they encountered a friendly couple engaged in the same pursuit.

"You know" said Ruth, still counting steps, "they haven't covered cornering yet..."

"They haven't " agreed the stranger, "And in a minute we'll be in another county!!"

Three tired, ecstatic girls walked back to the hillside (well, actually, Ruth waltzed all the way back through the forest... "One two slide...one two ooops...one two owwww!...") where Marte and Cindi settled down to drinks and dinner, and Ruth promptly fell dead asleep on the blanket for about the fifth time that afternoon.

It's a talent.

Earlier in the day, Marte and Ruth participated in a Songwriter's workshop run by Mindy Simmons, Amy Carol Webb, Kate Carpenter and (in place of Marie Nofsinger) a new friend named "SusieCool! Susie was great - she did a WONDERFUL song called "MAMBO!", and was so much fun everyone adored her at once. ( http://www.geocities.com/susiecool2001/ ) She runs an open mic in Orlando, and we hope to someday attend. Amy did an incredible song called "Nobody's child", that blew everyone away. Kate had a hilarious song about Florida Everglades and Swamp birds called Anhingas, which we entered into with gusto, hand motions and all. Amy laughed so hard she could barely sing. The workshop was very interesting and helpful, discussing topics like Inspiration, form, writer's block, poetry vs. lyrics, and how Mindy would end Kate's song about the Anhinga's wings. (Answer : "Wing, wing.... Hewwo???") Check these folks out, they are amazing.

On Sunday night, we started out at Amy's (song circle with SusieCool and other friends) but eventually excused ourselves (basking in an invitation to come back, no matter how late) in order to find Mary Ann DiNella, our earth angel. When we slipped into her dark campsite and song circle, she recognized us and said "It's My Sweeties!!" We joined in harmonizing with all the wonderful singers there (Southwind, Jeannie DiNella, Jeannie Fitchen, and Joey - who, sadly- did NOT sing the "Supermodel" song! Ruth was hoping!) After some time, we did "Five Hundred Miles" for everyone, then thanked them all for their hospitality and told them we needed to go, it being three am. Mary Ann just shook her head at us. ("WUSSESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!") Then Dennis Devine, said "I think you’re holding out on us - you have one more song in you! And we want to hear it!"

Shy retiring quiet folks that we are (HA-HA!) It didn't take much to talk us into one more, and we sang "Sweet Suwannee" for the last time, amid a group of amazing singers and musicians that we had long admired from afar. It has seemed to us that the most magical thing about places like the Florida Folk Festival, is the way that strangers become friends.

They loved it.

Mary Ann and the girls from Southwind said "You have captured it - that's it exactly!" (Which was the highest praise it could have gotten) and there were hugs all around before we were finished. We drifted back to the car, through the music-filled campgrounds, Crickets singing with the fiddles, our hearts bursting with the joy of it all....how could one mere weekend have so exceeded every hope and expectation? Nothing could have prepared us for the outpouring of love and support from our friends and mentors (Brooke, Amy Carol, Mary Ann, Lee & Betsy, Thank you!) or the encouragement from much-admired artists (Kate, Grant, Bari, Shana and James, we love you!) we could not have possibly imagined it any better.

We returned to the hotel vowing not to sleep a wink, lest we wake and find it all a dream.

Of course, that didn't work.

But the weekend in White Springs was the stuff of which dreams are made...... ours, at least! (we wrote two songs on the way home in the car!) And we returned home uplifted, empowered and inspired, already looking forward to next year, when we will have new songs, new adventures, and Ruth will bring twice as many clothes.

We are already counting the days.

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POSTSCRIPTS

E-mail and clippings:

From Bill & Eli Perras (on the FOFF list)

...Now wandering over to the Gazebo to perform in Ron and Bari`s Florida song circle; we are pleasantly surprised to see Raven......[ a true man of his word] and without sleep.....I notice a very lovely Amy Carol Webb sitting on the stairway....Ron & Bari Litchauer; Dawn Dewitt and Stan Geberer; always have a fun time up. Love the "Florida Souvenirs" song .James Hawkins would have everyone cheering to his politically correct song about Jeb Bush. Carrie Hamby on accordion[ with band]; Lucinda would share her lovely vocals and songs..Lee and Betsy Paulet his Florida Waltz ....A wonderful new trio of women would have their moment to shine....[ Sorrows Away] Ruth, Marte and Cindi .....They`ll be back.-great harmonies..... Guarantee!....

Our response to FOFF list;

We had to write and thank everyone for a wonderful weekend at the FFF!

Never have we been so uplifted as we are when surrounded by amazing people, great music and beautiful surroundings - White Springs holds a place in our hearts like no other. How wonderful to see good friends also! Amy Carol and Brooke, we cannot thank you enough for your encouragement and support - you

are amazing! Will you ever know the impact you have made on our lives? Bless you both for your friendship and open hearts. Grant Livingston - great to meet you by daylight! (and to think, all this time YOU were the Armadillo man! There's a mystery solved!) We've been humming "Le Chat Gris" ever since we got home! Thank you for your kind words and friendly welcome (and permission to quote you!) Mrs. Kate, Amy Carol, Susie Cool and Mindy - the songwriting workshop was wonderful, thank you! ("Wing Wing...Hewwo??" !!)

James Hawkins, we love ya - hope we hear from you soon! I don't know who is all on the list here, so hello to those of you that know us! It was wonderful to see Mary Ann DiNella (always!) and we had a

glorious time singing with all of you till we left at three a.m. (you are right, we were such wusses!!) Dennis, thanks for talking us into that "one more song". Look forward to seeing you guys again soon in "our" neck of the

woods. Ron and Bari, thank you for inviting us to sing at the river gazebo Sunday morning; what an experience to sing right on the banks of the Suwannee - these are memories to keep forever! Great to see Lee & Betsy

Paulet again - you will never know how much your support and encouragement and advice have meant to us! Betsy, your songs are beautiful, it is an honor to share them, thank you! (Great to meet Dale Webber too - see you all in January!) Shana, always great to see you too! Mem Semmes and Margaret Longhill - maybe you were right, perhaps fate led us all to Amy Carol's on Saturday night - we are thrilled to have met you both and look so forward to seeing you again soon. Thank you for listening... This is how dreams come true! Which leaves us with but one question.....how will we EVER wait until next time?

- Ruth, Marte and Cindi
  (aka "Sorrows Away")

(Response;Bill and Eli`)

Ya don`t wait! ya look for the next up and coming event in the FOFF booklet and like the rest of us....Your hooked..... South Florida Folk festival ; Will Mc Lean ; Gambles Rogers; open mics ;

special folk gatherings..... need I say more?

(Us : Yes we are hooked....but you won't hear us complaining!!!!! )