Hyatt Hotel, Marietta, Georgia
January 21, 2006
Dan the Tan Van Mileage: 255,274

I'm waking up this morning in a large and comfortable bed in a suite at the Hyatt Regency hotel, due to the kind hospitality of the folks I played for last night. This suite is about two-thirds the square footage of my house, and has three more TVs in it than my home (counting the little one in the bathroom), not to mention more closet space. Is this what traveling would be like if I had worked at a 'real job' instead of being a folk singer? It's good livin', admittedly, but I guess I'd still take the Motel 6 if it comes with a guitar.

After 1800 concerts around the world, I'm no longer alarmed to not know where I am when I'm first waking up. I've become accustomed to the feeling, and I know I'll remember at some point between now and getting out of the shower. This morning, though, I know exactly where I am. Last night would be hard to forget even if I wanted to, and I don't.

A few months ago MJ got a call asking if I would consider being the Grand Marshall for the Georgia Special Olympics Winter Games. I wrote a song last year for the Special Olympics, and two brothers in Atlanta, Jeff and Scott Ross, have made a video to it, volunteering their time and considerably talent. It's beautiful, moving art, and I can't wait to put it out in the world a little more widely (it will be a bonus feature on the new live concert DVD coming out this spring). Last night I played the song while the video showed on a large screen above my head. My part of the event was fun - playing a few songs, saying a few words, leading the reciting of the athletes' oath, leading the parade and shouting "Let the games begin!" The real fun, though, was in the dance afterward. I can't imagine any group of people dancing with more joy and enthusiasm than these folks, and as far as I'm concerned that's what dancing's all about.

It's good to be back on the road. This month I'm celebrating fifteen years since I quit my last side job, and even after all these years I still love it. The time at home over the holidays sure was a treat, too, though. Deanna and I took a couple of days away, did some hiking and went on a couple of photography excursions. And for such a relaxing time, it was also remarkably productive. I wrote three new songs, including an instrumental, a blues re-interpretation of John Henry and a lighter one called Ten and a Half about my propensity for putting my foot in my mouth, and I finally built the 'wedding deck' (well, it's almost finished). When Deanna and I got married a year and a half ago we really had no need for household items, so we registered for lumber at Home Depot and friends chipped in to buy wood for a back deck on our house. It's sort of the taj mahal of decks as it turns out, but in Black Mountain, North Carolina we do a lot of our living outside. And that's a good thing, as the deck space now exceeds the inside space. No kidding. The house is less than a thousand square feet, so it's not hard to top, but the front and back decks add up to well over that. That's as it should be, methinks.

Last week I had a good run to Florida, highlighted by catching up with several long-time musical friends. I did a live performance radio/TV show with the amazing Beth Wood in Pensacola, a split-bill with my old buddy Ellis Paul in Tampa, and got to catch up with one of my childhood songwriter heroes, John Paul Walters, in Tallahassee. I also got to spend a night staying with my Uncle Lee and Aunt Annelle in Lee, Florida. Uncle Lee has always been sort of a magical character to me, a farmer and storyteller, highway patrolman, performer of magic tricks for children and resonant singer of hymns. It was good to be in their home again, and to have Deanna with me on this trip, eating a big country breakfast and going out to check on the mules, horse and cattle before we got back in the van and back on the highway.

I guess I say this every year, but it's hard to believe it's 2006. When I was a kid I watched a futuristic science fiction TV show called "Space 1999." That seemed so far away and inscrutable, now it's dated fashion. The year is going to hold a lot of good adventures, and I'm very excited about what's coming up. The next three months or so should hold the release of both my new CD, tentatively titled "Change," and a live concert DVD of a show at the Grey Eagle last summer. Mark April 29 at the Grey Eagle on your calendar - should be a mighty fun release party. I'll be heading back to Guatemala sometime in the next few months to check back in on things there, which are going very well. I'll be back in Europe in October, touring in Germany and likely hitting Poland for the first time, and it looks like I'll be in all four corners of the US. Though we're just half-way through January, there are shows on the calendar in Washington state, New Mexico and Florida, with a tentative booking in Vermont, so that pretty much counts as "all over" in my book. If you want me to come your way and have an idea for how to make that work, be sure to drop MJ a line.

One other area of this adventure that's really been expanding for me lately is teaching workshops and keynoting. I've been having fun in schools lately working with elementary kids. They always have the best questions, like "How long is your hair?" and "Do you... um... sleep?" My favorite lately was from a first grader in Pensacola, who asked "How do you get the drum into the guitar?" after I played Shadows. I've also got some poetry and songwriting workshops with adults coming up this year that I'm really excited about. Some for private groups, but several that are open to the public including one in Brockport, NY at a church there, one at the Sand Hills Writers Conference in Augusta, Georgia and one at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. If you'd like to spend a few days digging into the process of writing with me, please get in touch with MJ and she can give you all the details. You need not consider yourself "a writer" or even have any experience writing to be a part of these, just a willingness to stretch.

Meanwhile in Guatemala school has just started, and the preschool project manager there, Nino Tecun, just sent me this picture of the first day of school. This preschool was built with contributions from people at my concerts in the last year (www.pegpartners.org). How cool is that?!

Thanks again to the Special Olympics folks, especially John and April, for taking such good care of me, including the sweet suite, and thanks to you for listening,

David

By the way, I just came across this little free web video of me playing my song Deadline unamplified at Camp SingKerrNicity at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas last year. If you've got a minute to kill, it's here.