Re: [Harp-L] Off the cuff

[Cara Cooke <cyberharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

Just because I live in Austin doesn't mean I only play or teach here. 
However, there was a harmonica player who works for a commercial boating 
company here (the kind that takes people up and down the river and out onto 
the lakes) who found his best time to practice the harmonica was while they 
were on the water, when he did not have a whole lot to do. We have several 
of those companies here, one with amphibious vehicles that runs tours on the 
water and dry land without the passengers ever disembarking. San Antonio 
also has tourism boating companies that run on the San Antonio in town, 
along the river walk. (I have played on a San Antonio boat.) We have a lot 
of water here in central Texas. In west Texas, where El Paso is located, 
water is more scarce, but nice rivers and lakes can still be found.
 However, the ferry mention was not from central Texas, though I did keep 
the worker on the tourist boat in mind when I wrote it. I am actually from 
the Houston area and we have several ferries down there, including the 
Lynchburg Ferry near the site of the Battle of San Jacinto (in the area 
where I grew up) and the ferry to Boliver Island (which, as I recall, is 
about an hour ride). I played my harmonica on both ferries as a kid with 
nothing to do but enjoy the ride and still do when I cross on the Lynchburg, 
as do several of the other folks I have since met in the area who were 
looking for the time to practice. (The Lynchburg Ferry is ideal for a short 
practice because it loads and off-loads slowly and has to await a passage 
moment between the barges and ships to cross the channel (Buffalo Bayou), so 
your trip across the channel on the ferry can take up to 30 minutes on a 
busy day or only 10-15 minutes on a slow day.)
 Where I have chosen to play my harmonica when I was bored or had a free 
moment probably would put a smile on many a stolid face, but the practice 
and time have served me well. I picked up the habit as a school kid who 
hated idle moments and would do my school work whenever and wherever I found 
a free moment. As a result, I seldom had a lot of homework to do by the time 
I got home. We, as kids, have a lot of extra time on our hands, even when we 
think we don't. As adults, we manage to fill a lot of that extra time in 
with things that need to be done. So we have to look at our time like we did 
when we were kids, sitting, bored, wondering when something exciting was 
going to happen and use those few extra moments we find in our day to 
practice harmonica, prepare for a meeting, practice a speech, rehearse the 
words to a song, plan an approach to a problem, etc. There is no sense in 
wasting them getting upset about whatever is causing the delay and waste of 
time (child out of school late, wife overshopping, long traffic light, 
etc.). It is a lot more fun and easier on the blood pressure to play the 
harmonica while you are waiting.
 I actually knew someone who had a terrible singing voice. They could hurry 
the situation up by singing as loudly as possible. Once they heard the sour 
notes, the person they were waiting for would hurry up so that they could 
get to the car and shut the singer up. Ahhh, the weapons we have at our 
disposal.
 I am glad I brought you a laugh and a smile for a few moments. I hope this 
message brought you a few more.
 Cara