My nephew "Twistin’" Tristan Wood is not quite two years old and he has already discovered the joys of climbing trees. It occurred to me that maybe it wasn’t too many rungs down the evolutionary ladder since we were all swinging in the branches. But then again, it could just be that I watched “Planet Of The Apes” this week and my imagination is getting away from me again. Either way, it is fair to say that Tristan is not the only one in our family who enjoyed “going out on a limb.” It’s ironic that my concert series is called Close To The Ground as there was a time when I was young that my poor parents couldn’t convince me and my buddies to quit scaling the heights. We did have a few falls, but luckily I don’t recall any of us being seriously hurt. I do, however, remember one incident that resulted in a few minutes of terror for my old buddy Shep and a lifetime of laughs for the rest of us.
During the summer months, my childhood friends and I roamed the countryside around Cardross as free as wild animals. Lucky for our folks, we came stocked with an automatic homing device - our appetites! “Get outside and quit your rough housing!” was a familiar order to the lot of us and one that I am sure we would have heard on the day in question. Shep, Derwood and I were probably five or six years old and playing in my parents barnyard. We took to the grove of trees around our house and horseplay ensued. We were near the top of a poplar tree that split in two like a letter “V" when my old buddy Shep slipped and fell. He dropped about eight feet until his little body got lodged where the tree split. He was caught right by his middle with his legs stuck out one way and his head the other. Derwood grabbed his legs and I grabbed his shoulders in an attempt to dislodge him but he was stuck. Shep’s parents had arrived right at this time to pick him up so we called to his dad, Joe, for help. Joe is a big powerful man but when he tried to lift Shep from between the “V” of the tree Shep cried out in pain. Joe couldn’t force him out for fear of hurting the small boy. Shep was in there tight and pulling too hard on him would risk breaking his ribs. We had ourselves in quite a pickle.
Right about then, my father got home from working in the woods. Dad shook his head in disbelief as he assessed the situation. He decided to use his chainsaw to notch one limb of the tree below where Shep was stuck. That way the “V” would open enough to take the pressure off Shep’s abdomen and make it easy to lift him out. This was a perfectly safe solution as my father was an expert with a chainsaw and had a lifetime of experience falling trees. Everybody was happy with the plan except poor Shep. Just before my father started his saw, Derwood (the little geezler), told poor Shep that dad was going to cut him in half to get him out! Old Shep started kicking and screaming bloody murder as the engine of the saw roared and the teeth of the saw bit into the tree below him. Joe lifted his traumatized son to safety.
Shep was still crying his eyes out when my dad shut off the saw. He smiled and asked Shep “What did you think I was going to do, cut you in half?"
“Yes!” Shep exclaimed between sobs.
“What gave you that idea?” laughed Dad.
But before Shep could answer, Derwood was long gone. Seems he had no interest in having to answer for his mischief. The story of the whole ordeal has been a great source of entertainment for us over the years. To this day, I don’t think old Shep finds it near as funny as the rest of us.
Our guests at Close To The Ground this week have music careers on a steep incline. This Thursday August 18 8pm at Kaylee Hall Pooles Corner, Fiddlers’ Sons and Courtney Hogan welcome special guests Kelley Mooney and Cynthia MacLeod.
The first time Kelley Mooney wowed me with her amazing voice, she was singing hymns in church. She blew me away for a second time when I heard her perform as part of the popular local band “ Watertown.” Although Kelley has been playing music all of her life, she has just released her debut recording called “Tomorrow” The CD includes her revised version of the Leonard Cohen song “Hallelujah” that has become a viral sensation on You Tube. I have heard many people rave about her new album and her live performances. I am sure that after she sings Thursday night at Kaylee Hall, many will agree that she deserves all the praise and much more.
When my good friend Cynthia MacLeod tunes up her fiddle and takes to the stage, things are bound to get a whole lot lively in a hurry. The dynamic young fiddle star has been bringing crowds to their feet since she started performing at age fourteen. Her many recordings have won her multiple PEI Music Awards and ECMA nominations. She has carved out a loyal following at home and on tour across Canada and the United States. Cynthia is no stranger to the Close To The Ground crowd as she performed as a member of Fiddlers’ Sons for a few years. If you are yet to catch her live, come on down Thursday night and see first hand the style that earned her the nickname “Crackerjack.” Granted I may be a little biased, but it is no stretch when I say that Cynthia is an awesome talent and so much fun to watch.
This Thursday night’s show is one that you won’t want to miss and we are sure to have a full house. I hope to see you all there. Maybe a night of good music will get my mind out of the trees and Close to The Ground again.