Visit with Dr. Eddy in Oregon

Last Monday Bonnie and I flew out to Oregon for Sarah's public presentation of her thesis research and associated festivities on Tuesday. Sarah planned her hour-long presentation to be accessible to anyone (including her unscientific parents), and it was a model of clarity that was delivered very professionally (see picture below). After the presentation she spent about two hours "defending" her thesis with her committee; apparently that went very well too. Then there was a reception with her professors, her lab mates, and friends. Late in the afternoon Sarah, Bonnie and I took off for Newport, a port town about an hour west of Corvallis. We spent a cozy night in a yurt (see picture below), a wood-framed tent, that kept us warm and dry through a windy, rainy night. The next morning we got up early and walked the beach, ate breakfast in Newport, and set off for Portland airport. It was a very quick trip, but it was a pleasure to see Sarah in her professional role as a Doctor of Zoology! She'll be moving up to Seattle for a post-doc at the University of Washington in just a few weeks.

Paul in Production of Spoon River

Paul is in a new production of of Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology (yes, you did read it in high school). I think Maridee Slater's photo above is from the production. Here's what Broadway World.com says about the production:

In Jimmy Maize’s sweeping re-imagining of Edgar Lee Masters' seminal 1915 book of poetry, a cast of one-hundred brings to life the collection of epitaphs that vividly depict life in the fictional Midwestern town of Spoon River, as told from the perspective of its deceased residents. Maize's epic adaptation incorporates live music, and dance, giving new life to the innovative spirit of Masters' work and updating it for contemporary audiences.

Read the rest of the article here.

Article about Sarah in OSU Alum Magazine

Here's an article about Sarah's award and her work with teaching. Nice stuff. You can see a readable version here. Press the "+" key to enlarge for reading.

507

The March 11 post on Michael in the All State Band was the 500th post on Talking Eds. This is Number 507. The milestone is duly noted.

Earl Scruggs

It seems appropriate to note the passing of Earl Scruggs in this past week since his music had such an impact on the music life of the Eddy family. I remember Mark getting the Scruggs book shortly after he got his first banjo and my amazement when those first rolling chords started coming out of that instrument as Mark got his bearing in the Scruggs style. I first heard Earle Scruggs, like everybody of my generation, on the theme song to the Beverly Hillbillies (I think he and Lester Flatt even appeared in an episode), and then he resurfaced when "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" was such a crucial element in the stunning 1967 film, Bonnie and Clyde. I also was impressed when, in the early 1970's he joined with two of his sons to form the Earl Scruggs Revue that featured drums, electric instruments, Bob Dylan covers, and Earl's banjo. About the same time he participated in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will the Circle Be Unbroken albums that brought traditional bluegrass artists and songs to people of my generation.

Here is a conversation from NPR with second-generation banjo players Tony Trischka, Bela Fleck, and Steve Martin. In it Trischka offers an elegantly simple explanation of what Scruggs' style consists of.

Also, here is a remembrance by Bela Fleck, who notes that it was not Scruggs' technique that so impressed him as his taste, creativity, and "a soulfulness . . . that makes you stop in your tracks." (I don't know why PBS only provides sound for this; it is is preceded by a very brief memorial to poet Adrienne Rich, who died on the same day.)

Steve's Radio Essay on the Beatles (and Mike's Foggy Memory of the First Beatles Performance)

Here is the link to Steve's radio essay on the Beatles stimulated by attending the performance of Rain, a Beatles recreation band, at Elliott Hall. The essay aired on WBAA on March 23.

Disclaimer: In this essay Steve recalls that I missed the Beatles first appearance on Ed Sullivan because of a babysitting job. I don't remember that, but my recollections of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan may be of later performances (there were several). In a subsequent conversation with Steve he recalls me calling the house and having him up the receiver so I could hear. He also thought he recalled that the babysitting was on Soldiers Home Road, which would have been the Bains, who were among my regular clientele. This has the ring of truth to it and it makes a better story than me simply gaping at our black-and-white tv along with the rest of America in slack-jawed amazement. (The only questionable element is that Ed Sullivan aired on Sunday night at 8 p.m.; Sunday was a "school night," so it would be a little unusual for me to be out plying my trade. But stranger things have happened.) What I do recollect about that fist appearance of the Beatles was that the next day at school many of the boys had converted to combing their hair straight down onto their foreheads. Sadly, I was not astute enough to anticipate this move and showed up at junior high untransformed--coiffed with a part on the right and varnished with Brylcreem. Or, did I miss the boat because I hadn't actually seen them perform but only heard tinny snippets through the the telephone receiver and had been entirely ignorant the dramatic impact of the swirling bangs had on teenaged girls?

Do any other family members remember this event? Rob, I think you are excluded by virtue of not having been born yet.

Below is the Beatles first performance on Ed Sullivan, courtesy of YouTube (where you can see several others). It looks pretty familiar, but it also looks a lot like all the other Ed Sullivan appearances. I also note that it was on February 9, 1964, three days after my fourteenth birthday.