Big Mamma

Sonic cruised by Saturday to accompany his Mom and I for sushi and drop some books off (the rest of the Ender's series. Something ger-beans and I are working our way through.) He'd spent the night before out with his gf and her family at a musical on Wicked (yet another book in my reading queue.) It's the Wizard of Oz story as told by the "Wicked" witch of the west. Seems like she had some bad press with the whole Dorothy do-gooder contingent. Not to mention she was constantly picked on at school because her skin was green.

And it turned out to be a musical weekend after all. Bright-eyes and I headed up into the mountains Sunday for an intimate concert with Ash Dargan, an aborigine musician. It was a lot more fun than I anticipated. After navigating some steep mountain roads and hairpin turns we parked above a lodge with a breath-taking view. The sun was setting and the wind had already started its own concert through the pine trees. The smells and sounds of the forest brought back a deep sense of homecoming. The concert this evening was dedicated to a mother that we generally ignore, abuse and discount: mother earth. Ash is a virtuoso didgeridoo and flute player. His performance wove in stories, digital samples of soundscapes from the Australian outback: birds, oceans, trees and wind, frogs and insects. The textures and emotions invoked were spectacular and injected a much needed brush with the awe inspiring, that I sometimes forget I'm missing, for months at a time. This morning I immersed myself back into the realms of city and tech with renewed spirit. I suspect I won't let this essential nourishment slide for so long in the future.