[Harp-L] Re: was SPAH in Sacto?, now snakes, etc.

[Bob Loomis <miltloomis@xxxxxxxxx>]

     We never caught snakes in Bell, CA, but lots of horny toads, as we used to call them. Never saw one snake in all my childhood of roaming and rambling around Bell, Maywood and Huntington Park. Yes, we could roam and ramble (usually on our bikes) because things weren't anything like they are now as far as the potential for violence or other weirdness ... then again, there weren't nearly as many people then as now and we hadn't been taught yet by TV to demand nothing but more and more and more expensive stuff. We did hear and see many a rattler at a place our church youth groups went on weekends, Dawson Canyon. One of the parents shot one 6 feet long and as big around as a big softball.
     As to first harps, mine was a Marine Band, bought in around 1951 or 52 at a little gas-and-food store on the a long drive to Yosemite with my mother. What a thrill! Later, around 1987, when I got "serious" about harp, I bought a set of Blues Harps that I really liked. Then it was Golden Melodies for quite a while, and then I tried Suzuki valved harps (beautiful playing but I constantly blew out reeds) and Special 20s. Special 20s were my faves till I got my current set of Suzuki Bluesmasters. Love 'em. But my favorite harps of all these days are the Hohner Echo Celestes ... great, great harps if you like the double-reed sound.
    Oh, and I still have a full set of Huang Silvertones in its own cheap plastic case that I bought for under $100 in Hanford CA sometime around 1990 and I actually love those, they are great for carrying in the car, and they seem to fit my mouth and embouchure just right..
Tried a Star Performer and didn't care for it. 
   And, yes, I can hardly wait for SPAH in Sacramento! At last, it'll be in a neighborhood near my home ... within an  hour and a half, anyway. I can even take the train up if I want to!

Bob Loomis
Concord CA
"So Many Tunes, So Little Time!"