Thanks… Thanks a lot

Chris JonesEarlier in the week I was thinking I should weigh in on the recent IBMA board of directors controversy. You know, the one described by one noted bluegrass sage as “the worst crisis in the IBMA since the Galt House elevators failed to stop on the 10th floor.”

In fact, I was originally going to make this an “Open Letter to People Who Write Open Letters.”

I was even going to float my bold proposal for a way forward for the IBMA: that all current board members should step down immediately and be replaced by 16 cute, cuddly puppies of various breeds. If nothing else, they’d photograph well, even if they occasionally peed on the carpet during meetings (at least the current board members can say they haven’t done that, at least not that we’re aware of).

In the end, I decided that more than enough had been said on the subject, and anyway, when some of my proposal was leaked, it received some harsh criticism from current board members, most rank and file members, all the Bluegrass Today staff, and people who don’t like puppies. Instead, I thought I’d just stay positive and write something more in the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Here, then, is a list of things I’m thankful for, in no particular order. Feel free to add your own in the comments section. Any comments of a political or IBMA-related nature will be responded to with an exasperated “sigh” by me or someone else:

  • Instrument flight cases that weigh less than 100 pounds (that would be “7 stone” and change, where I’m currently writing this).
  • Flatt and Scruggs’ original recording of Somehow Tonight.
  • The “do not disturb” feature on a smart phone.
  • The “do not disturb” feature in a hotel room (even though in Raleigh, a hotel maid barged in, saying that “sometimes people hang the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door because they’ve checked out” (??!).
  • An honest booking agent, who doesn’t refer to me as “babe.”
  • Band members who don’t whine (much).
  • Larry Sparks’ hair (and matching pick guard–that’s for your benefit, Dick Bowden).
  • Turkey. Maybe it takes missing it, like I am this year, to really appreciate it.
  • Scrooge’s nephew’s speech in the first chapter of A Christmas Carol.
  • Though it’s a time that I, like many of us, feel the loss of loved ones no longer with us, I’m thankful for the time I did have with them, and for those that are still here.

Happy Thanksgiving!