Morning Open Thread is a daily, copyrighted post, from a host of editors and guest writers. We support our community, invite and share ideas, and encourage thoughtful, respectful dialogue in an open forum.
This series was conceived as a haven where folks can drop in to share conversation, ideas, weather reports, and music. Feel free to leave a note, comment, picture, or tune. As always the diarist gets to sleep in, and may show up long after the post is published. Or not. So you know, it's a feature, not a bug.
Pull up a chair, get your cup of tea, coffee, or other favorite morning beverage and join us for a neighborly start to the day ahead.
Almost forgot to write something for MOT this morning. Reflective mood today.
Socks and I watched the movie Bat 21 this evening. It was paused many times as she wanted the events explained, especially the flying scenes featuring the Cessna O-2 forward air control airplane. You see, the O-2 “Duck” is exactly the same airplane as the Cessna that warmed my backside for about six hundred hours.
Shots of Danny Glover, playing the role of FAC pilot Capt. Bartholomew Clark inside the airplane showed what it was like to sit in that left seat, right hand on the throttles. She was fascinated, and at the end of the movie she was quiet for a long time. Finally, she said that she finally understood me a bit better.
This somewhat abbreviated version of MOT is a sort of public thank you to the blue-eyed girl with the riveting million-watt smile, who has haunted my dreams for four decades.
Some great music to get the blood flowing early in the morning:
Penned by organist/vocalist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and band lyricist Robert Hunter, the Grateful Dead debuted “Mr. Charlie” on July 31, 1971 at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut.
Anders Osborne and Luther Dickinson performing “Black Muddy River” from the In The Dark album. Anders and Luther stopped by our SF office before their show with N.M.O. at The Fillmore a couple of months ago. They hadn’t fully decided on their song selection and were toying with the idea of either “Bertha” or “Black Muddy River.” After hearing just a couple bars of “Black Muddy River,” the JamBase team strongly encouraged the pair to cover it. Right before we pressed record, we mentioned to Anders that “Black Muddy River” was the last song Jerry Garcia sang with the Grateful Dead at Soldier Field in 1995. After a heavy pause, he simply replied, “Wow, I wish you hadn’t told me that before we recorded this.” What followed was one-take and an absolutely heartfelt rendition of the song.
Strangefolk first played “Althea” at the Gathering of the Vibes Festival in June 1997.