There

Eugene was one of the first stops where we made arrangements to meet total strangers and had hoped that it would go well.  Zac found a club in Eugene called “Accordions Anonymous” and he contacted the head lady, Queen Accordiana, and she responded positively to our plea!  We offered to play for them, and they would host an informal potluck, and we would listen to them, and they to us, and all would go well.  They even offered us a place to stay, and a ride from the Amtrak station. They sure seemed like a jovial crowd of people, and watching some of their footage on Youtube, it seemed that they put fun over seriousness.  That was about all we knew, they seemed like a straightforward bunch of music lovers and I didn’t know what could possibly go wrong. I thought it would be a strange and creative entrapment for a serial killer.

Merry Pranksters meeting us at the station!!!!

When we arrived in Eugene we made our way into the station, not knowing what any of these people look like, I just decided to wait till they saw us. But then I heard the strains of the accordion, and turned to see two ladies outside in polka dots playing the accordion.  It was like a flash into my future. We grabbed the instruments and went outside to catch the end of “don’t mess with my tutu” and played another tune to the delight and amazement of the crowd. Or maybe they were just confused. Hard to tell sometimes.

We greeted each other and loaded our gear into two separate cars, and headed up into the hills to Tam and Jeff’s house. We were left to fend for ourselves for the afternoon, and the potluck would start around five. I took a nap, the kids went a little crazy to be in a big new house all by themselves, and Zac read some books and took a short nap. Sharon, who rents a room from Tam and Jeff, is a long distance runner, and plays several instruments, has two grown sons, and is a music teacher. It seemed everyone in this group had at least 5 full time hobbies going on.  Tam and Jeff have a boat, day jobs, and are puppeteers. These are Oregon Country Fair people. Turns out, we have lots of friends in common. People start showing up for the potluck, and this is one main difference; of our stations in life. These people don’t wanna cook. Just Sharon made a huge pot of leek soup, but everyone else just brought something quick. It is the indicator of grown children. After you spend the years that I am in, cooking and maintaining people, the last thing you want to do is spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so they don’t.  Tam came home from work, grabbed a bowl of salad, and then left to go work on her boat.  No worries.  She stays out till 10, comes home and goes to bed.  I love it!  This is what life after kids looks like. Streamlining your life. Doing what you want, knowing you put in a long shift raising the kids, and now knowing you can just take it easy.

This is what these dangerous people do in their spare time.

We ate dinner, and then the accordions came out. At one point there were 4 accordions going at once. We volleyed songs for a while, then accordion stories, then accordion tips, then accordion prices, then accordion contacts. I am trying to convince everyone to come out for the National Accordion Convention, but it seems hard to compete with the festivals of the west coast.  These people keep busy!  Maybe there just isn’t as much to do for an accordion player in Arkansas….

Me and the queen, having a polka dot contest

Everyone left around 9 except for Queen Accordiana and Levi and Heidi, Sharon’s son and son’s girlfriend. We made a pot of coffee, and kept the good times rolling. Queen Accordiana told some stories on herself, and played me some tunes, then Sharon started in with the bulgarian folk music. She played me a song in 25.  Is that even legal?  What is this all about?!?!

The party finally gave way to the needs and hopes of tomorrow, and we all went to bed. It was a job well done. The next morning we woke up to an empty house, and did our morning ritual. (coffee, breakfast, shower, yell at kids) Then Tara came and picked us up, gave us a ride to the Amtrak station, and bode us farewell. I think the accordions anonymous should have a big meeting in Arkansas next. I know we could have a good time.