Tag Archives: Cross-Eyed Possum

The Road to Diamond, Day 205: Ponderosas and Bluegrass

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Hiking and Nature, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 21, 2025- The Howard brothers have come a long way in a year. Their quest to mix Bluegrass with jazz is an unusual path, and started off roughly. Tonight, though, as the first day of Prescott’s 44th Annual Bluegrass Festival entered its evening segment, Cross-Eyed Possum ruled the stage. Their performances did not sound like jazz invading the realm of Bluegrass, or Blues with Bluegrass undertones, but a perfect melding of genres. It would likely have been well-received in even the smallest Appalachian hollow or Piedmont barn dance.

I sat in on their outdoor set, this evening. It had been a full day-taking the preliminary steps to form a Red Cross team that would respond to a wildfire on the Navajo Nation, should it threaten residential areas; helping the Farmers Market crew to break down and put equipment away (as is usual on a Saturday afternoon in Prescott); attending an appreciation dinner for Farmers Market staff, Board Members, and volunteers. I have been a market site volunteer for seven years now, yet it was a revelation that there are 453 people who assist the Market, in various ways-from staffing the compost yard to filling or delivering food boxes to the less fortunate of western Yavapai County. There is so much that goes into any given relief effort.

As we adults enjoyed delicious shredded chicken or vegan tacos, three small boys reveled in the nearby Ponderosa forest, where they gathered fallen branches and twigs, fashioning a fort-bringing back memories of the tree fort that was built in my childhood neighbourhood. It was a great joy to see that children have not lost the thrill of building and discovery. Of course, their parents and grandparents could see them, the entire time they were in the woods. Basically, though, the boys were free to do what they wanted, in that small section of forest, in between nibbles of dinner.

It is always special to mingle with crew mates and get to know their spouses, parents and children. Some of the kids I have known since they were infants and toddlers. They are now in middle childhood, with all the bravado that comes with being 7, 8 and 9. Our intrepid generation was of course there in force. It seems Boomers just intend to make the best use of time- I am but one of thousands, nationwide, and our many hands make much lighter work.

The Howards sing alternately of country joy, favourite animals and heartache, all the stuff of just about any folk or heartland music-as well as of Blues. Here they are, with ” Whipping Post”.

Many Jobs, Few Tasks

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Entertainment, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

April 22, 2023- Earth Day called me to get up on a workday schedule, so by 5:30, I was groomed and dressed. There were four stops and a Zoom call waiting, so after reading the newspaper and saying a few prayers, it was off to Courthouse Square. There was not a whole lot to do at Stop # 1, an environmental group’s booth, between 8:15, when I finally found the booth, and 8:50, when it was time to race back for the Zoom call.

It seemed imperative that I join the call, since I had been absent for two weeks, due to my Red Cross deployment. The moderator of the call has had a hard time with my absence-service to the wider community is apparently not his thing, if it conflicts with his Zoom work. As it happened, he was absent today, but his trusted assistant was glad I was on the call-and has no issue with someone being away due to working with the Red Cross.

After the call ended, I stopped in, briefly, at an American Legion Auxiliary rummage sale-picking up an extra pair of sunglasses(to replace the pair that was lost during my sheltering activity) and a cake to bring to my substituting assignment on Monday. Then, it was off to Farmers’ Market, getting a week’s supply of microgreens and catching up with friend Melissa.

Job #3 was back at the Firewise section of Courthouse Square’s Earth Day, and I got to the Red Cross booth four minutes late, which led to a mild chastisement from the woman tending the booth and groans from the man who had been there since 7 a.m. Water off this duck’s back! I give a lot of myself and no longer fret about people who are overly sensitive at slight lapses of punctuality.

After an hour, in which I greeted seven visitors and explained a bit about our mission, it was back to Farmers’ Market-this time to help a group of college students break down the tents, and put away the folding tables and chairs. With an increased efficiency, on the part of the new team lead, we were finished in less than an hour.

Job #5 was back at the Red Cross booth. This time, I was early, and the tent was folded up and put away a bit after 2 p.m.

There were big crowds at both Courthouse Square and Farmers’ Market, as people are finally comfortable with being at our community’s traditional events. Chalk-It-Up is back, after a three-year hiatus! More on that delightful artistic festival, in tomorrow’s post.

It was a fine day, and not as strenuous as it might have been, had there not been full teams at each location. Topping the day were two relaxing musical events: The Bourbon Knights performed ’60s Golden Oldies and some original tunes, at Rafter Eleven, while friend Stephy Leigh, accompanied by Jonah Howard, of Cross-Eyed Possum, performed two sets of her original music, with a few covers thrown in, at Raven Cafe.

Being back at Home Base has its rewards, great music being chief among them.

Medleys of Hits

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Entertainment, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social

February 12, 2023- The past two nights have been spent at Raven Cafe, enjoying two very different musical groups, who were also surrounded by two very different, though equally enthusiastic, groups of followers. Cross-Eyed Possum, a rock and blues trio, played Friday night, surrounded mostly by a close-knit group of family and friends. Their fare ranged from The Grateful Dead’s “Sugaree” to “Back Where I Began”, an original song that wistfully describes the pull of home, even as one makes plans to move forward in life. Basically, I felt the energy of people who are most comfortable when in their own family circle-though this energy was less pronounced than in the first few times I have seen Possum perform here.

Last night, a much more effusive, and welcoming, air, complete with a packed house, greeted me, as Galactogogues were back. I have described this family band in an earlier post. Meg, the matriarch, again led her children and in-laws on a musical journey, ranging from Jimmy Rogers’ “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” to the somber bluegrass tune, “Pretty Polly”. Their original songs celebrate the natural world and underscore the challenges faced by women and girls, but not in a woeful manner. The huge audience actively participated in the festivities, tonight, with much more dancing and singing along than in last night’s group. There was just a more fanciful air, and less wariness of those outside the inner circle, if indeed the Bohrmann family even has such a thing.

I say this, not as a critique of my own reception, as I basically sit, listen and observe-taking the time to chat with a few friends who happen by my table. A more objective sense was derived by noting the response to each setting of another man, slightly older than me, who makes a point of introducing himself to several people in a group. His shy, but pleasant air usually leads to his sitting in the midst of the house and chatting up a few people around him. On Friday, he sat away from the crowd; on Saturday, he was in the thick of things. I personally felt a lot more relaxed with the Galactogogues crowd, as well.

Tonight, I took in the Super Bowl, with a small group of people, few of whom I know personally, at the American Legion Post. older We watched as the popular synthetic and R&B singer, Rihanna, made her first live musical appearance in five years, as part of the halftime show. It featured a medley of her most popular tunes, with her voice clear as ever. The dance routines were not my favourite style of dance, but judging from the television commentary, the show went over well with many people. The mostly older crowd here gave her a thumbs down, but that seems par for the course. People forget the way our parents’ generation disapproved of our tastes in music.