Loose Leaf Notes

In my small town, old-time bluegrass is the traditional music, and we have many talented fiddle players and such. We also have talented hip hop reggae musicians and others who produce their own CDs. We’re famous for the Friday Night Jamboree that happens at the Country Store each weekend and, more recently, for our annual world music festival, known as Floyd Fest. Where else but in Floyd can you learn from an old-timer how to forage ginseng one day, and then meet Wavy Gravy, the Floyd Fest MC and clown from Woodstock fame, the next? Native American Medicine Men, Wallace Black Elk and Sun Bear visited Floyd. So did renowned herbalist Susun Weed and authors Barbara Marciniak and Jose Arguelles. Excerpt: “Homegrown” from “Muses Like Moonlight” by Colleen

Ani Defranco, singer, songwriter, and poetess extraordinaire is coming to Floyd Fest this year. The last weekend in July will mark the 5th year of the annual world music festival that happens to take place 6 miles up the road from my house. Since its beginning, my son has had a pottery booth on the Floyd Fest site, which I use for my book selling base of operation. Good food and crafts, a beer garden, a healing arts tent, children’s activities, and a poetry scene compliment the fine music and the dancing each year.

But the advice booth was my Floyd Fest favorite last year. It was set up across the way from my son’s pottery booth. I watched the customers come and go all day, until finally; I took a break from hoola hooping and signing “The Jim and Dan Stories” and went to check it out. I convinced my son’s friend Ted to go with me. What the heck, it was only 25 cents.

This is what Ted asked the two 8 year old entrepreneurs (and the answer was probably what made him smile. See photo): “I’m thinking about going back to school…but I’m not sure I should…what do you think I should do?”
One boy answered. He looked confused for a split second, and then he said in his most incredulous voice, “How old are you?!” Followed by a ‘why would you want to do that’ look and then … “Are you crazy?”
Apparently, the kids at the advice booth had never seen anyone Ted’s age in their school and they all agreed that he was way too old to go to school. Their answer to his question was “no.”

I can’t remember my own question, but I recall that it didn’t get the reaction that Ted’s did. “Better than a lemonade stand, huh Ted?” I said on the way back to the pottery booth. We were both laughing.