R.I.P., George Jones: Music Legend, GrassRoots Performer

I've known Jeb Puryear, of Donna The Buffalo, a long time, living and working in the same circles, but we've had very few conversations. Maybe Jeb is a man of few words, or maybe I am (actually - obviously to you IBlog readers - I am not).

Anyhow, one of those few conversations was about having a Ferris wheel at GrassRoots Festival. It seemed an excellent idea, especially while Jeb and I drank cool drinks, there at the Trumansburg Fairgrounds, and thought about how good things could be, or how better.

Another idea that emerged was to have George Jones perform, someday, at GrassRoots. Somehow, in our middling conversation, Jeb and I discovered that we were both huge fans of the man.

The Ferris wheel never appeared, but George Jones did, a couple of years ago. He was past his prime, a little - in one's eighties, one will be - but he was still great. You know. He was George Jones.

For the generation after Hank Williams, at least, George Jones was the greatest country singer - the greatest American singer? - ever. What the hell: put George up against old Hank. It'd make a good bar argument; and they'd probably both like that. (I guess if we're talking American singers, and not just country, you'd have to throw ol' Frank in there too; but that's okay - he'd probably like that bar talk, too.)

Rest in peace, Trumansburg visitor, GrassRoots performer, legendary man of music - with our repsect and gratitude - George Jones.

Run For Boston At The DeMott Peace Trot, 16 June

Frida Berrigan is a prominent peace activist and an avid runner. Here we quote Frida's blog, Waging Nonviolence, about Ithaca's annual run for peace, dedicated to her friend (and ours), the late Peter DeMott. Frida will run the 5K race and intends to run in Boston next year.

"The DeMott Trot is a great way to start getting in shape for the Boston Marathon next year, so come out and run for peace, friendship, nonviolence, family, and community. Come out and run against fear and hatred and bombings and terror and tyranny and BBs and small nails and lost limbs and lost lives - in Boston, Baghdad, Mogadishu and anywhere else in the world."

Frida quotes a friend about the value of running (we especially like it in light of our last Ithaca Blog post, "Meetingspeak"):

"Long runs teach patience, and are good preparation for a long vigil, physically and mentally. They are also welcome relief from interminable meetings."

The DeMott Peace Trot is Father's Day each year. This year's date is Sunday 16 June. The race is at Cornell Plantations at 10 a.m. Find more info at peterdemottpeactrot.org, and on the race's Facebook page.

Meetingspeak: A Quick (No, Really) Guide

Like many good Ithacans, we suffer through our share of painful, ponderous committee meetings of various organizations. Comprehension lessens suffering,`perhaps, so we offer this brief guide to the type of talk you will hear at meetings, with specific examples, so you can see it's not you, it's them.

When someone says "I'd like to front-load the process with action points that might require closure," you should start day-dreaming as vividly as possible, because you are in for a mind-numbing time.

When someone says they want to say something "real quick," that means it is going to take real long.

When someone says they want to "share" something, it means they want to say something that just popped into their heads that is of no relevance or interest.

When someone says "I respect Brian and his opinions tremendously," they are telling the truth, if you replace the word "respect" with the word "loathe."

Okay, let's take a quick break now and be back in ten minutes sharp. I really mean that. We have a lot of back-loading to do from the parking lot.