I use this thing called facebook, which is kind of like a myspace thing for college students. It's a quick and easy way to connect with your classmates. You can even upload picture albums so that other people on facebook can look at your photos. Fecebook emails you when someone posts a photo of you. Today I received a message that said my sister posted a photo of me. So I looked to see which picture it was. It was a picture from her wedding day. One picture was of the bride's maids. The other picture was of me trying to catch the bouqet.

You know what it feels like when you realize how you look doing certain things? I had one of those moments, and my first thought was this: "Oh my gosh! That's what I looked like??? And in a dress at that!". I already knew that I am somewhat uncooth, but geez! I have come to the conclusion that I should just never dress up so that I can avoid looking like that in a dress. Here's the picture...I may as well have dove to get it. I look like I should be on the softball field or something!

A few years ago I started playing bluegrass with some friends of mine from college. We would jam for hours upon hours, without notice of time or consequences...sometimes playing until 4 or 5 in the morning! We like to mention those times to each other every now and again, since the memories are so fond and it seems crazy to have played so late into the morning like that. Sometimes when we would finish, my fingernail would be shaven down and my finger would start bleeding. But I didn't care. I would have played further into the night still, without any concerns.

A jam session usually starts with this: "So, what do you want to play?". Then it takes us a minimum of 5 minutes of deciding and making jokes to determine the first song. Once the first song is played, the rest just rolls...song after song. Josh plays the guitar, and pretty much leads most of the songs. He sings lead the majority of the time. Kirk is a genius on the mandolin. He would of course never admit this, being one of the most humble people I have ever met. He has only been playing a couple of years, and he's no Ricky Skaggs (yet anyway), but he is really good still. Kirk also sings lead sometimes (maybe just as much as Josh, but who's counting). Jon also plays guitar, but since I play the guitar too, he usually plays the banjo for us. He thinks he sucks at the banjo because the banjo he uses always throws itself out of tune. But he is actually quite talented. He sings lead on some songs. Actually, each of us have at least a couple songs we sing lead on--the same ones every time. Erin plays the fiddle, and doesn't make it to every jam session. But are thankful when she can come. The fiddle is a sweet sound to a bluegrass lover's ear. Sometimes when we schedule a get together, Josh's dad (Allen) and brother (Ben) come and play too. Allen plays banjo and harmonica and Ben plays the upright bass. Its always fun when they come because it makes it feel more like a "bluegrass band".

No jam session is complete without two of our friends, Leigh and Marian. They always think of songs to play when we can't remember any more. They are usually pretty quiet, and sometimes even sit off to the side or in a corner somewhere. Nevertheless, if they aren't there it doesn't feel right to me. That's probably why last night's jam session at the pig roast did not feel complete to me. They are essential for sure.

I have to admit that playing bluegrass with those guys is probably one of my favorite things to do. I look up to them a lot as fellow musicians. I'm not nearly as good as they are, and most of the time I struggle to keep up or remember the words. But they have accepted me as part of the group, and that means a lot to me. I love bluegrass--I love the harmonies, the instrumentals in the middle of songs, the clever lyrics, and the accented upbeats in nearly all the songs. And there is just something about sharing all that with other musicians and/or friends. It gives you a connection with them that goes deeper than just words. Harmony. I love it...