Good Sports and Strange Bedfellows

What a week, my dears! Hurricanes, wacky veep nominations, tennis, song contests, and mixing mixing mixing. My head-- it spins.

Monday, I took BART to the airport to catch my flight to LA for the Mountain Stage /Folk Alliance NEW SONG CONTEST
While I was sitting in a cafe near my departure gate at SFO waiting for my flight to board, the US open match between Rafa Nadal & Sam Querry came on the big screen telly... and DAMMMMIT, of course they start to board the flight. I was flying Virgin America (ooooh Virgin America with the see-through purple pretty bulkheads in first-class and the purply/ lavender lights in coach & ambient EZ listening style techno boarding music and seatbacks that look like iPods. OOOOOOh indeed) They also have those adorable mini tv sets above the tray tables, but alas the US Open wasn't on. Luckily when I got to LAX Sarah was already there ( we had different flights--it's along story) and we watched the match right there in the airport at a sports bar while I had lunch. It was an AWESOME match--maybe you saw it? One set had 6 deuces! Anyway. Sometime during the third set we realized my bag was probably in a cage somewhere in the bowels of LAX. We sheepishly rushed over to the baggage claim. Luckily my suitcase wasn't yet incarcerated. I showed my boarding pass to the attendant but she was engaged with a phone call. I pantomimed me taking the bag & leaving and she waved a dismissive fingernail in my general direction which I interpreted as assent. No harm no foul. ( ps The secret to fun flying? Slip-on shoes! No tying laces to tie you up at security!!)

That night we had dinner with my sis, Mim & her hubby, Victor & my nephew, Eli (and their dog, Josie, lest we forget). We enjoyed some delicious Indian food and some amusing dishing about McCain's proverbial strange bedfellow, Palin. That dinner alone was worth the trip!!! But we also got to hang with the infamous Uncle P ( aka Phil Shapiro) who is my brother Dan's best friend and virtually a sibling to us ( Uncle-ship notwithstanding).

And if that weren't enough, I also got to play at THE MINT for the contest/ event. Thanks so much to all you folks who wrote me emails of support! That really bolstered up my spirits. I had an excellent time. I won't be going on to the next round, but it was a super positive experience meeting all the songwriters and connecting with the people from the NEWSONG, and Folk Alliance organizations. I liked the way NEW SONG founder, Gar Ragland emphasized that the competition aspect was just part of the event & community building was the point. But somehow I did get extra nervous-- something about the judges writing notes while you're playing, getting voted off the island, only going home with bronze... you know.

But seriously, I could easily see losing your cool playing sports! Especially tennis where it's just two players pitted in fiercest battle, weirdly intimate & contentious bedfellows. Like that tennis player Andreev who played Roger Federer on Tuesday ( I caught that match right before my gig!). Federer did one of his levitating superhuman shots and the Flushing Meadows crowd went wild. So, Andreev shushed them and then for good measure launched a not so passive-aggressive ball into the crowd ( ouch).

I love watching tennis, but I'll stick to music--it's a really good sport.