(February, 2008 update)
A lot has happened, some good, some not so good since I last accessed this web page in December. I should mention that some things have gotten better, with at least two grocery stores, a few restaurants, a hardware store, a couple of banks and a gas station being opened fairly close by. But the gas station charges too much, so I still drive to Metairie for gas (and lottery tickets.)
Earlier this month, my cousin Doug Henderson and his wife JoAnn invited Jean and me to visit them in Florida for a few days. We had a great time getting to know each other again after many years. A highlight of the trip was attending a Symphony Concert and meeting and hearing harpist Katie Ott.
I lost my sister Margaret (at age 89) early this year. She was the last of my eight siblings and we had been very close. Since my mother passed away in 1987, Margaret was the closest I had to a parent. Another loss was the wonderful friend and singing partner, Barbara Nester. My wife Jean and I had visited with her at home on Mobile Bay several weeks previously. It was a tremendous shock.
In June we attended a harp gathering in Chicago to receive
the Chapter of the Year award from the American Harp Society.
I have joined the local chapter of the American Harp Society, also. Not only
do I serve as M.C./Narrator at perfomances, but I am now the webmaster (www.harpnola.org)
and member of the board.
We have also been kept busy with the repairs and renovation of Jean's family home in Lakeview which received extensive damage in the storm.
(October 25, 2006 update below)
It's over a year since
Hurricane Katrina and not much has changed since the last update (below). We do
have a landline phone now, but we gave up on BellSouth after MONTHS of being
lied to. They set THREE different appointments which were never kept. We signed
up with Cox Cables Digital service, with our same phone number. A couple of our
neighbors are back and others are repairing their homes. However, several others
are for sale and a couple of houses around the corner have been razed. And many
others have been gutted and are just sitting there. We are keeping our sanity
with music activities, exercising regularly, and occasional lectures There is a grocery store, drug store, hardware store and gas station open
nearby, now. Jean is enjoying her new pedal harp and is still playing with the harp
ensemble. I have not served as narrator lately, but I am singing with 3
different chorale groups: Symphony Chorus, the Jefferson Chorale and the Opera
Chorus.
(I gave
two at the D-Day/WW2 Museum and one for an AARP meeting in August).
That is, they are closer than the 5 miles we have had to drive
to suburban Metairie until recently.
One day at a time.
(Feb. 19, 2006)I haven't
had much time to access this web page since Hurricane Katrina. Just want to let
everyone know that our home did not get any water damage. It is on a terrace
just a few feet above the water level that got into the homes of most of my
neighbors. We now have all the services (water, power, etc.) except a landline
phone or regular mail delivery and garbage pickup. We did lose many antiques and
several musical instruments at another property in Lakeview, not to mention our
ComPac 23 sailboat (The WindHarp) when SouthShore Harbor and the Yacht Club
were destroyed.
Jean has become active
again in the New Orleans chapter of the American Harp Society and is playing
with the Celtic Harp Ensemble. I have recently become the spokesman/MC for the
group. And I sing a couple of songs. There have been performances in Ocean
Springs and Vicksburg, MS and at a church and retirement home in the New Orleans
area. A concert was held at the Unitarian Church in Fairhope, AL on April 2nd.
Most of my life was spent in broadcasting and sales; I am
also a professional singer and actor. I was an Innkeeper for over 20 years, but
recently retired. My main hobby would have been sailing on my 23-foot Compac,
named "Wind Harp". but Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as well as vandals/looters
changed my plans.