A Day Of Guitar

Last Thursday I had a nice day pretty much devoted to the guitar. I did my usual morning pracrice and was supposed to play the lunch hour at Teaism in Clayton, NY. However, I had a car break down so the Better Half & I are sharing a car for a couple of weeks. So, I missed Teaism. But I had some guitar lessons in the afternoon. A 10 year old girl arrived for her first lesson with me. That was at 3:00. Then I had two more. My last one I canceled because I had to arrive in Clayton at 6:00PM to play for a private party.
The party was a small affair that began with cocktails on the second floor veranda of the Key Bank building overlooking the St. Lawrence River. At 7:30 a boat from The Clayton Antique Boat Museum arrived to take the party to Pic-Nic Point State Park for a dinner in the gazebo. The boat is called The Zipper. A fantastic wooden dream that runs like a Swiss watch, taking the waves and swells like a Cadiliac. We had a great meal of roast beef, turkey, potato salad with an oil & vinegar type dressing as opposed to mayo, some terrific horseradish sauce, wine, beer, and a whole lot more. The booze flowed, the guitar sang and the conversation caried on until quarter of eleven. At that time we all retreated to the boat to head back to the mainland. A few minutes into the cruise and the boat stopped. The party decided to go for a late night swim in the St. Lawrence. The evening was rather and still. No wind to speak of. The wtaer was like glass. When the boat shut off it's engine there was dead silence save for the sound of couple of loons in the distance. I sat with a new found friend in the bow of the boat and watched the stars. The sky was perfectly clear with many shooting stars. All in all it was a most magical evening. I was also paid well for my role as musician. Not just monetarily, but with food, wine, and comraderie as well.