David Hendley on tue 18 jan 05
Wow, what an interesting few days. Five years after the death of
Doug Sahm, I finally made it to Mendocino.
Here's your pop music history lesson for today:
Doug Sahm was a San Antonio, Texas boy, who was in his early
20's in the '60s. Since the pop music scene was caught up in the
wave of the British invasion, he named his funky electronic-organ
driven, Tex-Mex flavored, band The Sir Douglas Quintet.
Bingo, their song "Mendocino" became a hit, and all the teeny
boppers wondered what part of England they were from.
("The Playboys of Edinburgh" pulled the same trick. They were
from Edinburg, Texas, way down in the Rio Grande valley).
Even with jet travel, it took me a full day to get there - a three hour
drive from Maydelle to the DFW airport, an hour and a half to Denver,
two more hours to Sacramento, and then a marathon 4 hour drive.
Add in waiting and stop-over time, and that is a long day.
In California, we left the airport and passed over vast flat and flooded
rice fields. This morphed into huge tree farms - pear, almond,
olive, and I don't know what else, for miles and miles. Then, through
gently rolling pastoral hills dotted with groups of cows, on to the
shoreline of a beautiful lake, following it for 10 miles. Then, we hit
the real mountains, for more than an hour of hair-pin turns, 70 degree
slopes, and views of the gorgeous redwood forests. Finally, the Pacific
Ocean came into view, with its rugged rocky coastline.
Thanks to Laurie for driving me there, Marta for driving me back,
and Mel for arranging it.
The Mendocino Hotel was a real treat for this Holiday Inn-weary
traveler. It still had that 19th century feel of its early days, even
though it has been updated through the years. The tiny room was
testament that sometimes less is more. I brought my swimming
suit so I could try out soaking in a California hot tub, and Micki and
Kathleen took me to the tub behind their little cottage. Of course
everyone knew we were tourists, since we were wearing swimming
suits.
Even though I am from Maydelle, Texas, I have been around
the culinary block a few times, but in Mendocino, scoping out
places to eat, I read many restaurant menus filled with unfamiliar
items. There was no barbeque to be found.
My first meal, on returning home and getting a good night's sleep,
was a big plate of steaming cheese enchiladas, with chili gravy,
refried beans and rice.
The pottery conference itself was the perfect combination
of fun and serious learning. I enjoyed sitting in on several sessions,
and I thank everyone for being such attentive participants in my
classes. I know it is hard to sit quietly for 2 solid hours with no
break. Not once was a session interrupted by a cell phone!
I also appreciate so much your undivided attention at the Saturday
evening concert. Believe me, as a musician who has played, and
been ignored and talked over, in many venues, having a quiet
audience, listening to quiet songs, is as good as it gets.
Of course, I need to send hearty thanks for Gregg for having
the vision of staging the throwing conference, and, more importantly,
for following through, by putting in the hard work it takes to pull
it off without a hitch.
I hope, and think, some people at the conference were inspired
to take the initiative to plan another Potters Council workshop
in their neighborhoods.
At 10 p.m. Sunday night, about 50 miles form home, the headlights
on my truck, as well as all the other lights, started blinking
off and on. On a narrow two-lane road with no shoulder, that is
pretty harrowing. Luckily, it was a clear night and the moon was
half-full, so I could see the center line good enough to navigate.
I found a lighted church sign in a parking lot, so I pulled in, to
ponder my options. I didn't even have to get out of the truck.
My first idea was to try switching the headlights from bright
to dim - it worked, and I made it home fine, although a little
later, since I slowed down to compensate for my reduced
vision distance.
My mind has been in a different place since I've been home -
California dreaming. It was a pleasure to meet many of you for
the first time, and I hope we will have the chance to visit again.
There is nothing like travel to make you realize that your day-to-
day concerns are often not so important after all, and there is
nothing better than hanging out with like-minded potters.
David Hendley
Working hard to make sure there is no mug left behind
david@farmpots.com
http://www.farmpots.com
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