Skipping Stones

I don't recall how old I was, or where we were, but I can see the big, still water, and my father, bent at the waist, nearly horizontal to the ground, teaching me how to skip a stone. Dressed in his gray/brown fedora hat, and gray/brown car coat with the belt tied around his waist, my father always dressed. He never owned a pair of jeans that I recall and a walk in the woods was done with dignity and proper clothes. He would even wear a tie on those Sunday trips back home to visit his parents. He was a good looking man that never flaunted it, but he had a sense of decorum that he believed in.

This was one of those first hopeful days of Spring when the air was beginning to warm up and the ground was still cold. The first flowers were breaking through and the perennial growths along the water were beginning to green up. I believe it was just the two of us, away from the others. I was 4 or 5 years old. My father helped me pick out some flat stones that fit my hand and then he picked out some for himself. Step by step, stone by stone, we moved together through every motion and movement. Never frustrated, he kept showing me the way, helping me bend over, cock my arm, hold my hand parallel to the ground until, finally the first skip, and then a couple more with some clinkers in between sinking at a downward angle to the bottom of the water.
            As a child of that era, my father was a man of that era. He worked, it seemed like he worked all the time and was seldom home. Sundays are the only days I remember having with him as I think he had a week day off as his 2nd day. And that’s what makes these images memorable. I don’t know what my children recall. But I can tell you that I do remember standing on the banks of the Slippery Rock, gathering stones to teach Logan how to skip them. I recall his frustration and his sense of accomplishment as he mastered the talent. These are the stories of our lives and our hearts that connect us and, if you’ve heard my music, it is the material I often go back to for the crafting of my songs.

We are proud to have Kim Richey back for a second show this year. She too digs into the rich tapestry of materials of her life, the road, and the human heart to craft elegant songs we can all relate to and grow with.

Come join us for this special Tuesday night show to hear her and, from the Netherlands, Stevie Ann perform for us at Harmony in the House

Special Night, Tuesday, April 8th, 2014  Show 7:00pm.

Bottlebrush: A Gallery for the Arts

539 Main Street “On the Square”

Harmony, PA 16037

$20.00

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Limited Seating- RSVP Required
HITH@zoominternet.net
or
724.452.0539