AH... THE CONCERT

At last- the reason for the trip - FOUR VOICES concert.  Four voices being Joan Baez, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Indigo Girls.  Oh my- just seeing those names written together...

Disrupted by weather and air travel, given an anything-can-happen day-- here we were in Raleigh, NC, outdoors at the Art Museum of North Carolina for this night of the Four Voices Tour.

Thinking about all it took to get to this night and how eager I was for this moment of music by these amazing women singer-songwriters....  it feels like nothing could stop this experience from happening.  

And so nothing did stop it. The concert happened!

Lining up hours before the doors opened and the concert began, fans carried lawn chairs, coolers, blankets, and sometimes each other.

There was obvious intention and eagerness as we watched all these souls from our parked car.  

You see, we didn't need to race ahead to stand in line, because we had reserved seats.  I've left my years of concert lawn-seating behind.  However, we did realize at the last minute that we might want something to sit on in our reserved seats, so ever the resourceful women we are, we borrowed bath towels from the hotel. Worked like a charm.

As we entered the museum grounds and made our way to our seats, it was immediately clear that we had some amazing seats!  No more than 50' between us and the stage.  And the rows were elevated so there was no chance the person in the row in front of us could block our view.  Wow!

And so, the much anticipated and longed-for concert began.  And for the next two hours, these four women sang - together, separate, together again.  And some of the time we sang along.  

All the voices rose up as one, to celebrate the joy of making music together, and through song, to question injustice and inequality. We stood, sat, sang, clapped, rejoiced together as one glorious body.

It was the best concert ever!

An Anything-can-happen Day.

Today I had just this kind of day. 

No plans, because this day came about because of a disruption. Disruption of carefully planned travel.  Flight cancelled.  Terrible storms.  Concert cancelled. An alternate flight and a rescheduled concert brought about a day with no plans.

Thus I received the gift of an anything-can-happen day. Certainly I've had these in the past, but never where I recognized it as such. A real gift.

I was greeted by this new day with an awesome sunrise, followed by leisurely awakening and preparations to enjoy this new day. This new day with no plans.

First off, of course - cappuccinos and fresh pastries, enjoyed outside Joe Van Gogh, a local coffee roastery. They were more delicious than usual.  Maybe because there was time to sit outside and enjoy without a need to be anywhere.

Driving off we detoured to a yarn shop, where we discovered all manner of items made through the process of upcycling - using scraps and discarded materials, to make something new. A dragonfly made from window screen and beads. Earrings from old dental chair fabric.

After supporting the local economy, it was time to support a local restaurateur - Toast - where we enjoyed sandwich abundance, once again seated outside.

A walk around downtown Durham showed the possibility and result of restoring downtown cities back to life.  Of course, all that walking around necessitated refreshment- found at Monuts- another local eatery.

Then it was time to walk intentionally.  Seeking out local areal labyrinths, we began at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, where a quiet walk into the woods led to the labyrinth.

Then off to a decidedly less quiet space- the University of North Carolina Health Center, in particular the UNC Cancer Center.  Leaving the hustle and bustle of the conglomerate of streets and facilities, we stepped outside the cancer center to a peaceful and peace-filled labyrinth.  Walking and remembering all personally known, both lost and healed, was powerfully healing for me in my journey of restored health.

A movie - "A Quiet Passion", the story of Emily Dickinson amazingly portrayed by Cynthia Nixon, ended the unexpected gift of an anything-can-happen day. 

"The Lord Almighty grant us a peaceful night and a perfect end."

Now on Durham Time

It's different than Tybee Time. Yet, similar in the fact of stopping. This travel lark was to be too filled and too short for stopping. Yet, here I am stopped, sitting outside Joe Van Gogh Coffee Roasters in Durham, NC.

Travel to this place was long and somewhat arduous. For myself and my friend. Yet, still accomplished. Just in time for the concert, which was the purpose of the journey. 

Then we learned the concert was cancelled due to dangerous weather. 

Then all things necessary to attend the now-rescheduled concert, fell into place. Just like that. 

So we are gifted with a glorious day of doing nothing, yet doing whatever we want to do. 

Beginning with a glorious sunrise. 

And now cuppas. 

Stay tuned for the rest of the day.