"A blog is to a writer what a canvas is to an artist." ~ Colleen Redman

That Was Then This is Now

While everyone in Floyd was jubileeing to the town’s second annual Jubilee celebration, reading poetry at the third Saturday Spoken Word Open Mic, celebrating The Floyd Country Store’s 100 year anniversary or the Dogtgown Pizza Roadhouse’s Grand Opening, I was crashing a party for the class of 1967 (the class above mine with all the cutest boys in it) at Jo’s Nautical Bar in my hometown of Hull.  There were pirate (our school mascot) hats and eye patches to wear, cake to eat, beer to drink, and time to reminisce with old friends, like my friend Jackie (to my left) who I went to my first prom with and marched in the CYO drill team and drum choir with.

While everyone in Floyd was flat footing at the Jamboree, taking in Irish music at Oddfella’s Cantina, eating Italian at Mickey G’s, or something Asian at Natasha’s, I was sipping the creamy head off my brother-in-law’s Guinness, sampling my first Nantuket blueberry beer,  filling up on shepherd’s pie, and stomping to the jamming jigs of some New England playing fiddles and flutes at The Snug Irish Pub in Hingham.

Watch the video HERE.

12 Responses | Add your Own

  • 1 Tabor:

    There is no keeping you quiet, is there?

  • 2 susan:

    Even tho you sound like you are having fun, I can read ‘homesick’ between the lines.

  • 3 colleen:

    Did you see the blueberries floating in the beer?!

  • 4 hari:

    I am enjoying your blog. Very inspiring. Will be joining the Floyd community very soon. Nice to read such beautiful words about it. Nice to meet you!

  • 5 colleen:

    Hi hari, Niceto “meet” you too. Make sure to introduc yourself to me when you get to Floyd.

  • 6 joeyk:

    i miss you here and i miss being with you , Nelson and Sherry for the irish jam.
    thanx for the video.
    post one soon with herself it it will ye?

  • 7 Lezlie:

    I really enjoyed reading the Blog — Nantucket, the beer, the friends – it’s all so wonderful! Life is grand and life needs celebration! I am in Louisa, VA on our farm Ravenwood … here are my celebratory musings__

    Summertime at Ravenwood

    Morning sleeps in green and golden
    As light rides ribbons of sparkle
    Over my face
    I awaken to a new day while
    Green-blue fields and midnight ravens
    Paint pictures of summertime ease
    Upon the landscape
    Yet, somewhere there is another world
    And children dance and eat their bread
    And drink their butter-rum
    The music is substantial in these ancestral taverns
    But here __ at Ravenwood
    One must hold on to dreams and hope
    In the midst of a stormy sea
    For this ship is tracking into the wind
    And this Captain deals the deck
    With a strong hand __ Aces high
    And Kings and Queens
    And the Jack of Hearts navigating
    With Precision and a true aim
    Never missing the mark
    Always tracking forward
    Into the blue horizon heralding
    A Victory Flag
    Racing into destiny and life
    And the Gusto and all!

  • 8 colleen:

    Lezlie, You need a blog!

  • 9 OldOldLady Of The Hills:

    WOW! Blueberry Beer. I had no idea you could do that….! It looks and sounds like everyone was having a good old time, Colleen….And you look about 15 years younger than all those other people….lol….That is a very Good Looking man standing next to you! I bet he was pretty cute ‘back-in-the-day’.

  • 10 Loose Leaf Notes » Blog Archive » Double Brew:

    […] from a spinal fracture, my sister Sherry and her husband took me out to an Irish pub called The Snug.   We listened to traditional jams, and I tasted some memorable beer on tap that went well with my […]

  • 11 Loose Leaf Notes » Blog Archive » In Lieu of Danny:

    […] line-up that began the crashing of the class of 1970’s reunion began with the crashing of a party for the class of 1967, where I met for the first time a close friend of my brother Jimmy’s (Jimmy also died in 2001) and […]

  • 12 Loose Leaf Notes » Blog Archive » 13: Message in a Bottle:

    […] Good tea and good beer are like twins that I love equally for completely different […]

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