For the first installment of the PorchLight series, I wanted to choose a topic that reflected my intention going forward. Exploration at ground level, coursing its way through the local and the time that’s preceded us. Wider and deeper as we go along. Teeming with diverse resources along its measured length with a new vista around every bend.
So music would have to be a big part of this journey. How musical the very names of rivers are: Wabash, Sewanee, Mississippi. They each produce a sound of their own. At night, far from the noises humans create, you can hear them whisper and sing.
I love the guitar pattern Nick Drake plays on our opening song here: steady, meditative, with some unexpected turns. Then the vocal riffing of Louis Armstrong on our last tune – rushing headlong, the compass safely in his pocket.
Other visits: Brendan Kearns and his encouraging message about the ability of nature to heal if we river dwellers give her that chance. And then, Guy Kibbee. Like Louis, reveling, delighting in his time before us. This scene from the movie: “Mary Jane’s Pa.” Just shy of spontaneous.
Yes, that’s what we’ll be searching for here: Just shy of spontaneous.
