And We Actually Survived!

Budd and I took our belated honeymoon last week, heading beachward to Duplin County, Wilmington, and ultimately to Oak Island. It was a most relaxing trip. I particularly enjoyed the wineries we visited in the Duplin County area, famous of course for Duplin Winery.  Their variety of sweet muscadine and scuppernong wines is astounding, and every one we tasted was delicious.  Oddly enough, one of my favorites was a wine called "Ten", produced for the tenth anniversary of the Carolina Hurricanes. It has a Hurricanes logo emblazoned on the bottle, and has a slightly sweet start, but a dry finish.  We arrived a bit too late to do the tour of the winery, but the tasting and the shop were very nice and well-appointed.  The owner stopped by to chat for a bit, which is always a nice touch.

For dinner that evening, we discovered the Country Squire Inn, which Budd already reviewed on his blog.  It's between Warsaw and Kenansville, North Carolina, and definitely worth a visit.  We hope to return and stay on the premises in their lovely little inn.

Wilmington was simply beautiful.  I hadn't been there in many years, so was pleasantly surprised to see how clean things were.  We went to the downtown area and took a horse-drawn carriage tour through the historical section of the town.  There are many unusual and spectacular Victorian homes in this area, a good number of them being renovated, and a good number of them being for sale.  The azaleas and dogwoods were just beginning to peek their colorful heads out, the day was sunny and warm and just perfect.  We secured a wonderful hotel room through Priceline for a steal and enjoyed room service that evening.

The next day, we were off to Oak Island, where we had rented a small oceanfront cottage through Margaret Rudd Realty.  I've dealt with Rudd in the past, and I must say, their level of service has stayed consistently top-notch through the years.  We decided that rather than drive from Wilmington to Oak Island that we would take the Fort Fisher-to-Southport Ferry.  It was a beautiful, if blustery, day on the water, and Budd took some incredible pictures of boats going by and seagulls in flight.  By the time we arrived at our cottage and hauled all our gear upstairs, we were, of course, completely spent.  But, as it always does, the sight of the sea invigorated and rejuvinated us, and our expansive deck offered many lovely vistas, particularly at sunset.  

Much to my surprise, I spent nine days without access to the Internet.  I walked on the deck.  I bought some bubbles and let the wind blow them, much to the delight of the children staying the cottage next door.  I thoguht of those bubbles as my cares floating away in the seabreeze.  I read two books, which I will review in later posts.  The first was an earlier work by Don DeLilo entitled White Noise.  Winner of the National Book Award in 1985, it made me very interested in reading more National Book Award winners.  The second is a newer book entitled The Colorful Apocalypse: Journeys in Outsider Art by Greg Bottoms.  I actually bought this for Budd because of his keen interest in outsider art, and also because I thought the book would have graphic representations of outsider art.  There wasn't a picture in the book, but it was utterly fascinating.  And, while there, I also read the March issue of Our State featuring our own Billy Jones. We were proud of our Blogsboro founder, although we both, Budd and I, wished that they had featured a complete picture of his innovative Street Plane, and a better shot of Billy, where you could actually see his face. However, the article was well-written, which made up for those tiny inequities in our minds.

We came back in the rain, through the Green Swamp of North Carolina on Highway 211, and talked about how people lived in those remote areas and The Colorful Apocalypse.   It was so nice to arrive home with our case of Duplin wine and see Budd's parents and our dear little cat, Scamper, who immediately ran away when she saw us.  I guess Budd's parents spoiled her just a bit.  It's good to be home, rested and rejuvinated by the ocean breezes.

Hanging Out with Jazz Giants

Budd and I had the incredible good fortune of going to see Dr. Lonnie Smith and his trio last night as part of Duke University's Soul Power program.  Having been a longtime fan and friend of Dr. Lonnie, we were able to get backstage and hang out in the Green Room. 
Budd Wilkins and Dr. Lonnie Smith

Lou Donaldson and me!

Dr. Lonnie Smith, is, of course, my musical idol, as I've indicated in an earlier post.   But along with him, he has played for many, many years with alto sax legend and Badin, NC native Lou Donaldson, and Budd and I had the chance to meet and talk with Mr. Donaldson, as well as tenor sax great David "Fathead" Newman and jazz virtuoso guitarist Peter Bernstein.  We were simply in awe and starstruck the whole time (at least I was).  It's so rare to have access to your favorite musicians, but jazz musicians are so accesible and so kind to their fans. 
Jazz Giant Lou Donaldson warming up before the show

To say the show was magnificent is such an understatement.  The performers had young people dancing in front of the stage, and I nearly gave myself whiplash, I was so excited.  I have to give proper respect to drummer Herlin Riley, who could stand up to the best drummers in jazz, living or dead, and to Peter Bernstein, a quintessential guitarist.  The nearly 3 hour set was soulful, tight and a musical ambrosia for the ears.  

After the show, we were blessed enough by the kind folks at Duke University to go back to the Green Room and hang again with our idols.  I'm posting some photos below.  
Dr. Lonnie Smith and me

Nearly all the way home, I cried tears of joy.  Just to be there, listening to the band banter back and forth, tell old stories, to be able to ask Lou Donaldson, "What made you write Alligator Boogaloo?" while he ate his dinner - it was nothing short of magical.  Mr. Donaldson is a jazz legend who played with everyone from Ellington to Charlie Parker.  He's been around the world and back and he knows where it's at.  He personifies the great things about jazz, especially when he told the audience, "This is your music; American music".  It was a privilege and an honor to meet Mr. Donaldson.

And every time I am lucky enough to be in the presence of Dr. Lonnie Smith ranks with the greatest moments of my life.  Not only is he THE consummate Hammond B3 performer, he is one hell of a nice guy.  And I love him dearly.  His music changed my life in dramatic ways, and for that, I will always be grateful, be a fan and be an evangelist for his music.   All these gentlemen, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Lou Donaldson, David Fathead Newman, Houston Person, Peter Bernstein and Herlin Riley, are jazz giants, and last night's performance was clearly the best jazz concert I've ever witnessed.  I'm still star-struck today.   I know Budd's going to post about this and will probably write a lot more eloquently than me.  But I'm still star-struck today.

Jazz Guitar Great Peter Bernstein and me 

Jazz Giant David "Fathead" Newman and me 

Budd & Tina Wilkins with Dr. Lonnie Smith 

Dr. Lonnie Smith, David Fathead Newman and Houston Preston 

One of the hundreds of things I love about Budd is his wicked, lightning-fast wit and sense of humor.  He has the ability to make me (and lots of others) laugh harder than ever before.  And he can trigger those laughing spells in me that I can't control or stop at will. 

Over the holidays, we are housesitting for his parents, and I'm just like Goldilocks - I can't find a comfortable place to sleep.  I'm also like the Princess and the Pea in that regard.  So, last night, after deciding which bed to sleep in, I'm lying there trying to go to sleep, and he caught me at just the right moment and said something funny.  I began to laugh, and I could feel one of those laughing fits coming on.  My immediate reaction to this is to continue laughing while begging Budd, "Stop making me laugh!" because it hurts my stomach, I can't catch my breath, and the laughing is just uncontrollable.  Here's how it went:

Tina: "Hahahahaha, stop making me laugh hahahahah!"

Budd:  "Ingmar BERGMAN! Ingmar BERGMAN! Existentialist DOOM!  Oh, the AGONY of EXISTENCE!" (in his best acting voice)

Tina:  "HAHAHAHAHA (uncontrollable laughter) STOP, it HURTS to laugh!"

Budd: "A-HA!  Now you KNOW what Bergman was trying to tell us!  Laughter is really PAIN!  You might think it's joy, but it's actually TORTURE!"

A few minutes later, I said something about the bed covers not being on me right (Princess and the Pea syndrome, I call it), and he said, "Well, they were all right a few minutes ago before you went into...(pause) paroxysms of mirth," which of course, made me laugh even more.

I'm sure when anyone reads this, it might not sound nearly as funny as it struck me.  But I giggled on and off throughout the night when I thought of our exchange.  And I thought of how blessed I am to have someone who can make me laugh until it hurts.  You should see him when he walks down the hall carrying my cane and does his Nicholson/The Shining impression at the cat...."I'm NOT gonna hurtcha, Kitty....wait, you didn't let me finish my SENTENCE...."