I BID FAREWELL TO THE FREIGHT BOARD

At the end of December 2021, I retired from the Freight & Salvage's board of directors. It's been a fun, interesting, and sometimes challenging seven years and I am proud to have been part of it. Most recently, the Freight's staff and board have really worked hard at being as safe and open as possible during the pandemic. If you've never been, you'll want to explore their wonderfully diverse programming and workshops. Meanwhile, I'd like to tell you how it happened that I wound up on the board of directors.

First, I'll need to tell you the story about the guys: In my mid-30s, Kent overheard me singing lullabies to babies, wondered why he hadn't noticed my singing before, and encouraged me to start doing more. One result was my singing Kate & Anna McGarrigles' The Swimming Song at a Napa open mic; that's where I met Stan Dye and Vern Flock. They came up afterward and asked if I could sing bluegrass? I usually sing folk or Scottish songs, but I allowed I could learn pretty much anything. To my surprise, they invited me to their weekly jams. Stan played dobro and mandolin, Vern guitar, and with their pal and banjo-man Bill Downs, they occasionally played at open mics and retirement homes with a pick-up bass player. I armed myself with an autoharp so I had something to do during instrumentals, and became their primary vocalist performing bluegrass and old-time tunes and songs. Performing with them helped build my confidence interacting with audiences. They informed me that the vocalist always speaks for the band (I think they just made that up), so I did our introductions. We called ourselves Fretful Event, but Bill often interrupted my band introductions with his alternative name, "Three Old Farts and a Hippie". That never failed to get a laugh.

The guys were the ones who introduced me to what we fondly refer to as the "Middle Freight", then located on Addison Street at San Pablo. (The Freight has had three locations: the original Freight was located on San Pablo Avenue, and the building's previous tenant had literally been a freight and salvage business, so that's how the music venue got its name!) There were so many fabulous performers to be heard there! I attended the Freight's open mic as an audience member, and thought, "I can do that!", so one night, my daughter Calvaleigh and I got up and sang the same song as that earlier time, The Swimming Song. From that point on, I really wanted to perform at the Freight in my own show.

The years rolled on and the Freight moved to its third home on upper Addison—across the street from Berkeley Rep. I stopped hanging with the guys after moving made it too far to drive. I started writing my own songs. At that newer Freight, I sang harmony vocals for Dick Holdstock and Alan MacLeod and sang in a memorial celebration for Chris Caswell. Eventually, I released my second CD, I'll Just Lie About It on that very Freight stage. I achieved that dream; I had my own show. I've been on that stage many times since, mostly backing others like The Black Brothers and Flower & McLaren, but also leading a couple of sing-alongs, teaching a Contra dance workshop and a harmony workshop with Libby McLaren. August 14, 2019 – before the pandemic – I hosted a Celtic variety show called Celia Ramsay & Friends.

I had become a regular Freight donor and eventually that led to my being asked to join the board. It was such a natural progression, from learning about the Freight from the guys, to performing there, to supporting the backend. A year into my first term, I volunteered to work with the program director during a staff transition. That was indispensable experience for a board member because it meant spending a lot of time with the staff, and was how I learned about the intricacies of running a venue that hosts shows every night of the week. Those shows range from local musicians to big names, and include events like The Moth Story SLAM and the Freight's ever-familiar open mic.

There truly is no other venue like the Freight, and though I bid farewell as a board member, I'm sure I'll bump into you at a show there!

HARD DECISION FOR LARK CAMP IN 2022

The other board I volunteer for—Lark Traditional Arts—just had to make a very hard decision about Lark Camp. We were at the "point of no return" with finalizing contracts and paying deposits, yet couldn't know if it would be COVID-safe to hold camp in August, so we tearfully decided to postpone camp for a third year rather than risk a financial hit. One board member's comment was, "I hope we find canceling was the wrong thing to do. That would mean COVID has shifted into an endemic illness like flu." We'd laid all the groundwork for camp, including (my job) booking 85 instructors. It's hard not to feel grief, but it was the right thing to do based on what we could know at the time. My comforting thought: the reunion of longtime Lark Campers in 2023 will be the sweetest thing ever!

BEING A PATIENT PATIENT

I'm making progress! It's nine weeks since my fall and I've been permitted to start bearing weight. The orthopedist's comment was, "I think we got away with it!", referring to not requiring surgery to repair the fractures. The jury is out on whether I'll still need a hip replacement, but time will tell. You can see that the "touch-toe" gait is hard and slow. That's what I've had to do for two whole months, taking all my weight on my arms and hands while I touch the injured-side toe for balance and giddy-up the left leg into position to bear weight. Needless to say, it's SO WONDERFUL TO BE WALKING, albeit carefully and slowly. I can stand tall, and there's less strain on my poor hands and arms. This week I start physical therapy!