I love Hallowell. It’s been several weeks since I’ve done my Thursday night rounds there as Malley moved her regular Thursday night class to Mondays. I decided to skip this session as there’s no point in going out in Hallowell on Monday nights and what fun is pottery without rounds afterwards.
There’s such a fun assortment of characters out on Thursday night in Hallowell. Old hippies, Bob and Susan, and Deb who always come out to listen to music after their silent vigil at the Augusta rotary in protest to the Iraq war. They’ve been there every week since the beginning, regardless of driving rain, or temperatures ranging from below zero to over ninety. Deb is director of CDS and can’t wait to retire so she can join the Peace Corps.
Then, of course, there’s Eddie; but he’ll be leaving soon to flee the cold Maine winter for sunny Dominica. Malley, my pottery teacher who’s glad to have a few Thursdays off from classes, but is still drawn out for the music and friends. Bruce the bartender at Hattie’s who starts pouring my beer when he sees me walk in the door – occasionally even when I hadn’t intended to stay. Ross the woodcutter and his on again off again relationship with Barbara. Definitely off this month.
Eddie, Deb, and I then headed down to The Higher Grounds where I found Brian, “play some Queen” Bob, Paul tending bar, whom I hadn’t seen in some time; Jim C on a brief return home from Florida, and of course, the guy in the corner whose name I don’t know but is always there with his sketch pad working on some incredibly elaborate piece of art. Deb and I actually sat and talked to him last night and checked out the piece he was working on. Bob C from the band came over (of course they went on break two minutes after I came in which never fails to happen) and seeing a Celtic knot in the sketch suggested that would be a good name for an English bar: The Celtic Not! Ha.
Next stop was Joyce’s, which is a fairly new pub in town, owned by a former bartender at The Wharf, named Joyce of course. Rick and I have been there several times for dinner and music but have always stayed downstairs at the main bar. Well we went upstairs last night and what a lovely surprise. Not only is it very cozy but lo and behold there were another 20 of my favorite Hallowell regulars there last night. They’d been out Christmas caroling to the local nursing homes, all dressed up in long black coats and top hats with red flowers. Very dapper. A different musical assortment with Mike Byrd on stand up bass, some guy I didn’t recognize on the baby grand, and Chris’s sister, Cathy on vocals. They were wonderful! Played a killer jazzy version of a couple of Christmas carols that just brought joy to the heart.
As we were headed back to our cars we met Stevie, a kick ass musician, just packing up from his gig at The Liberal Cup, eagerly inquiring what was happening where. Just imagining him sitting in with the folks at Joyce’s almost made me turn around and go back.
Thursday night pottery classes start back up in early January. I can’t wait. Oh yes, and boy do I have a shit load of pottery to give as Christmas gifts this year. Some good stuff, too! Gotta make room for the new.
fiorghra - a place for my ramblings about pottery, kayaking, poetry, and life in general, for me to look back on when I'm old and feeble.
2 comments:
Looked @ ur Kerouac mention below. I also feel a need to refer to his flow of consciousness even unto distraction type imagery. That book of his, Big Sur--is very interesting, even illumined in his demise. I quote something from that piece occassionally.
Opps, my blogspot is
www.hiddenreceived.blogspot.com
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