Rock  Creek    One of the great surprises of the end of a fantastic meal of flank steak, kale, salad, and couscous, was the singing around the campfire as the bigger logs started to burn.

            Dan Russell, my old friend from high school and Springfield College professor for the last 30 plus years, turns out to have a singing voice (who knew, he played trombone in high school!), and goes up there on the circuit by the nom e guerre Dr. Dan, and Nick Taylor, a band-ster and film guy from Toronto, were drafted into playing guitars and in Dr. Dan’s case the mouth harp as well, and boy could they play!   It also turned out that my family contains singers and songwriters, too.

            Russell started out the entertainment with a great, witty song he had composed called “When I’m Gone.”   The chorus ran:

                  No muss, no fuss.  

                  Take me to the curb,

                  When I’m gone!

            My favorite verse included a line that he was going “dressed in black, styling a Hefty sack.” You get the message.   Nick had some beautiful tunes that he had also written but, as one of the choir noted, they were more of the somber, arty, melancholy nature, so less easily quotable here.

            My family surprised me with a song written largely by Dine’ Butler and Emily Atterbury as they drove up to Montana.   They had practiced and all joined in.   What a surprise!  I’m still waiting for all of the words but the first stanza went like so:

45-65 Rock Creek, Montana

Loved ones from the East Coast, West Coast and Canada

Sure we aren’t locals, but they’ll know we’re all here

Our vocals are fired up and we’ve made a pool for bee

            Best and worth remembering was the chorus:

When the cell phone rings and the email dings, or I’m feeling MAD

I think of Rock Creek twenty-thirteen and then I don’t feel so bad!

            Can’t say it any better than that!