I’m back in Ken Burns mode with his Country Music documentary on PBS. I’ve watched most of his work as one of my initial retirement goals (See Post #430). I felt that I wanted to fill my leisure time with educational shows, concerned that I would waste my retirement watching silly TV shows all day. As I near the end of my third year, I’m afraid that it has somewhat evolved into that, but I’ve enjoyed the variety of series that often occupy my mornings and afternoons. In most cases, it just serves as background noise while I write, fold laundry, organize my collections, pay bills, or do on-line research. I’ll now have sixteen or more hours of educational country music history to absorb. This should make me feel better about my mind going to waste without work.

In the very first episode of Country Music they discuss the popularity of the fiddle, guitar, and mandolin, As John McEuen of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band fame aptly points out in the film, “you could carry it with you…you could put it over your back…you could tie it to your horse…you could bring it along and you could take it anywhere….a piano, not so much!” It made me think of the piano that I’m trying to get rid of in our efforts to downsize. We have no room for it anymore, plus it’s too expensive, too heavy, and too cumbersome to move or store. I’m having trouble even giving it away. I can easily move my ukulele, even though it gets less use than the piano. It’s a reminder that I always felt sorry for the kid who had to lug a tuba along to band practice. Maybe it’s why I joined the choir!

As I watch and learn, the 1000 Places to See Before You Die calendar stares me in the face. We did just book two full weeks in Florida over the holidays, the longest domestic trip we’ve ever taken together, but it’s a far stretch from the travel glamour spots highlighted on each page of the calendar. It’s a long way from St. Petersburg, Florida to St. Petersburg, Russia, today’s destination. In the process of getting up to date, I turned over pages from Masada, Israel; Nazca, Peru; The Taj Mahal; Etosha National Park, Namibia; Pecs, Hungary; Lake Atitlan, Guatemala; Lesser Antilles, Virgin Island baths; Greenland, Denmark; Galicia, Spain; the Panama Canal; and Nizwa, Oman. The sole  page of these past few weeks that we had actually visited was right in our backyard – the Willamette (rhymes with Dammit) Valley here in Oregon. As I’ve written many times, I hope I don’t die soon because there are so many places yet to see! 

Once I get rid of the piano, finish this move, and watch 16-hours of Country Music, we’ll be free to see the rest of the world. First, it’s visiting family in Florida and perhaps finding a permanent retirement home along the Gulf, then it’s off to Egypt, Spain, Norway, and other more exotic destinations that are worthy of pages on the calendar. As my attention now returns to Ken Burns, he features Jimmie Rogers as one of the pioneers in country music. As musician and historian Bill C. Malone then commented,”I think Jimmie Rogers represented the rambling side of country music…the desire to hit the road, leave responsibilities behind, and to out and experience the world.” Amen to that!