Tonight I Danced With You

Fiddlin' Johnny and Frog Holler String Band

When I came home from the concert tonight I wrote the following:

Tonight I Danced

Tonight I danced with you, though I never left my seat

We polkaed and waltzed across a clouded floor

We soared with the music

And then you faded

Back into my memories. 

Tonight I danced with you, though I never left my seat

I heard your laughter and your sweet embrace

You twirled me around

Just like you use to do

Back in my memories.

Tonight I danced with you, though I never left my seat

I wanted it to last all night

But I opened my eyes

And you were gone

Back in my memories.

+++++++++++++++++++++

    Tonight I went to a free concert at the Heritage Center, Fiddlin' Johnny and the Frog Holler String Band played. If you've never heard Fiddlin' Johnny then you really have missed hearing a fine musician.  There was the Fiddle pieces, there was Polkas, Waltzes, and Blues and Jazz.  A couple of the pieces the Frog Holler String Band had Johnny play on the spot, he never had played them before, and I never heard a missed note, but I guess that's what happens when you have your masters in music.

    Somewhere in the middle of the polka number, I closed my eyes, and in my mind's eye I was dancing with Todd.  Occasionally we danced, like around the kitchen when a good song came on the radio, or on those wedding dance occasions we sometimes kicked up our heels and did a polka or a waltz together.  Neither one of us were very good, but we'd laugh and dance anyway. But tonight it was only in my memories, but I still saw him there.  He would have loved the concert tonight, cause he loved fiddle music as much as me.  

    When I first started playing fiddle after I turned 40, Todd wanted me to play the Orange Blossom Special so bad.  I don't think he understood I was struggling to play Twinkle Twinkle, and the Orange Blossom Special is not exactly an easy piece to play.  My Violin instructor found me a beginners version of the song, and I worked like crazy to learn it, and did manage to master it enough to play it at recital.  Believe me, I've never gotten to the level of playing that's enjoyable to the listener, just ask my dog, he howls when I play (no joking).  

    Todd was so proud of me for learning the piece and I wanted to play it mostly for him. He loved it.  

   Tonight I just sat and listened.  Life has been just a little bit stressful for me lately, like I'm sure it is for lots of other people.  I feel pressures coming in from all sides, and it's suffocating at times, so tonight, I just took a break from all the pressures and just sat and listened to a fine fiddler, and let the music wash over me, and chase the stress away, if but for a moment.  

    Music has a way of doing that.  I thank God so much, that music lives on the inside of me, and I have a little talent in that area.  I know there's a whole lot of people better than me, and that's ok, but I just enjoy doing what I can do, and hope it blesses those who hear.

     But tonight I'm thankful to just to be able to listen to another who's a master at what he does. Even in a fiddle tune or a polka, God can minister to your heart and bring back some joy, where pain has resided.