This past Friday, I had the wonderful privilege of hosting a guitar concert in my town. Many hours of preparation consumed my time last week making and sending fliers, getting press coverage, making arrangements with the artists, lining up the venue with the owner, fetching the artists from the airport and driving them to and from the venue and everywhere in between. Though exhausting, it was a lot of fun for me.
Though I consider myself semi-retired, I have a part-time job and I don’t make much as the executive director of a non-profit whose sole mission is to create jobs and hopefully improve the overall quality of life in our town. My main focus is in landing larger scale industrial and commercial companies. As you know, the economy is in a slump right now so there isn’t much in the way of marketing companies since few are expanding or relocating. Mostly in these times companies are hanging on for dear life.
In the “between” time I think there is work that can be done in the way of improving the overall image of a town by encouraging eco-tourism, so hopefully this concert is one such step in that direction. If not, as you know I love the guitar, classical music and being around the thrill of performing artists having once been a performing artist myself many, many years ago.
I did this guitar concert pro-bono (without compensation) but as I say, I’m willing to do almost anything “As Long as I’m Having Fun.” When I turned 50, like I did four years ago, my personal objective changed a little and making money – though critical to survival, was not the primary objective. I left the corporate world after 20 years in middle management and headed for the forest, to retire and essentially drop out. But, as I have heard it said, a good man can’t be kept down. I started getting involved in things that gave me fun and kept me busy.
I think if you study “active” seniors in the autumn years of their life, you will begin to find their art and private passions emerge as an important element of their daily life. For instance, I have several blog friends as of late who turn simple gardening into an art, photographing flowers and nature, writing wonderful stories, attending concerts and generally improving the overall quality of their lives and hopefully the people around them. I also correspond with a cadre of others who are actually professional artists who paint, compose and perform. They seem to ignore the notion that in the near future, they will become a senior, I fear it will make little impression on them. Like us non-performing artists, they will continue right into the groove of their art as though nothing occurred – but for a few hot flashes and one or two newly acquired arthritis pains along the way.
Then, there is my other group of friends who say, I’m not artistically inclined and that stuff isn’t my cup of tea. I say – bullshit. You will find if you look you are always being “creative.” You are always in “wonder.”
I will post a picture of the flier for the concert and a couple of pictures of the concert as not to draw Google hits on the names of artists. I want to avoid the superfluous attention in that regard.
**Liebe deutsche Freunde: Bitte achten Sie darauf, dies auf dem “put to-do”-Liste, wenn Tierra Negra zurückgibt. Sag ihnen, ich Ihnen geschickt habe.**
BTW ladies, Raughi and Leo made the lady’s hearts go “pitter-patter.” I’m just say’in.
(Click on picture to enlarge)
Flyer
Tour of New Orleans French Quarter
Concert
