Category: Mississippi

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Miles To Go Before I Sleep…

10.16.23

Hello, friends of the Big Front Porch! It’s been awhile, so I thought it was a good time to catch up on some news and adventures (see the post date? I got sidetracked for about a week with the ol’ Delta crud….all better now).

Even though I grew up in Mississippi, I don’t ever remember a summer that was so hot for so long….brutal. And even though the temperature has finally started to cool down, we still need some rain…the ‘Father of Waters’ is mighty low.

A couple of summers ago, as we were all crawling out of the ‘Covid Cave,’ I tried a couple of SUV camping trips and had a blast! But this year, with the summer temps being so high, I delayed my car camping trip until a couple of weeks ago. Here’s a recap (feel free to skim or skip if you don’t have time…I got a little wordy):

I was once again delighted to join my friend and musical buddy, Dr. John Mulder, to perform at this year’s National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) conference, held this year in Little Rock, Arkansas. Dr. John and I had the privilege of producing a studio album (in early 2020 right before the Covid shutdown) of songs  that came out of the hospice community called The World Around the Bed, so we sometimes have the opportunity to perform at related conferences. If you’d like to listen to the project, click here. There are also some wonderful videos on YouTube associated with the project.

Two summers ago, I headed north to a gig in Michigan. Last summer, I headed southeast to a gig in Florida. So this year, since I was already headed west, I took some time to enjoy the downtown Little Rock riverfront area and the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum before continuing towards Texas to visit a couple of cousins I hadn’t seen in over 20 years. 

I made my way through the blue highways of Arkansas, stopping for lunch in Hope before landing at my first camping stop near Mt. Vernon, TX. It was a relatively new RV site, and shall we say, not exactly ‘finished,’ but the manager was kind and offered me a spot near the bathhouse. However, it was not on level ground, so in order to avoid blood rushing to my head all night, I flipped my normal sleeping position 180 degrees and tucked in to start reading an actual BOOK (wifi not always great at RV sites and campgrounds) that was recommended by an old friend and that had been sitting on my bedside table for over a year. Little did I know how much I would enjoy it…it’s based on a true story and it has a specific connection to my old farmhouse in Tennessee. As the chapters advanced, I felt connected to the protagonist and her adventure and sensed that I was finding a bit of myself reflected in the story. I finished the book during the noon hour of the last day of my trip, sitting under a shade tree in a park in downtown El Dorado, AR. Good thing I had a clean bandana to wipe back the tears. I reached out to the author a few days later to make the personal connection to the place mentioned above, and she graciously sent a reply. Small world, indeed. Here’s one  link to The Ride of Her Life…a unique story about courage and kindness and belief in the goodness in others:’ 

 

A Texas thunderstorm woke me the next morning, precipitating a change in my normal breakfast camping routine. Good thing a big truck stop was only a mile or so away. Grabbed some hot coffee, washed the mud off my sandals and continued west into Sulphur Springs, TX where I found the local joint with the most pickup trucks parked outside…guaranteeing the best breakfast in town. The goal was to make it to the Dallas suburb of Southlake to join the aforementioned cousins for lunch. It’s been a few years since I’ve driven in Dallas traffic…nope, no sir, not for me anymore. I’m fine with a Delta traffic jam [driving painstakingly slow behind large farm tractors and implements. Needless to say, I was a bit underdressed for the restaurant where we gathered, but no one seemed to mind. We swapped places more than once at the table, so we could spend the two hours we had together catching up on two decades of news about children, grandchildren, work, health issues (Sidebar: if any of you out there have a real need for speed, check out the https://www.motorsportranch.com/ and my cousin Jack might take you for a ride you won’t forget!).

I spent the night with my cousin Lisa, her husband and their four-legged menagerie at their place on top of some rolling hills outside of Maypearl, Texas. She has the kind and gentle heart of her grandmother, my mother’s older sister, whom she loved and cared for. Time well spent, cuz, even if it was short…

The next leg of the trip had me headed on the backroads east, through the Texas towns of Corsicana, Ennis, Tyler, and Kilgore before crossing into Louisiana to find my spot for the night. I had reserved a spot through the Corps of Engineers website for campgrounds, Recreation.gov, but couldn’t get a real sense of the place online. It was a late afternoon drive around Shreveport to the road that led to the campground. Although my map showed me to be correct, I began to get a little concerned for the miles I was traveling on a two-lane road and then along a raised levee, but at last, a small, clean, well-kept campground came into sight inside the levee of Bodcau Creek. I pulled up to my assigned site and asked a gentleman seated outside of his nice RV for some info. Turns out he, a native Cajun and his wife, from Michigan, downsized everything a few years ago, bought their RV, and now travel. We swapped some stories, talked about music, and I gave them a copy of my Gospel CD, Farther Along. After cooking some hot soup for supper, I tucked in to continue The Ride of Her Life, this time with my head pointed in the regular position. A heavy fog had settled by morning when I woke, and as I crawled out of my cocoon, my campsite neighbor asked, “You’re not leaving yet, are you?” “Nope…just answering nature’s call first at the bathhouse.” “You made me cry last night.” Seems the wifi was strong enough for his wife to do a little research on my website and he had listened to “The Heart of Dixie.” The power of a song…that made me smile. After the fog burned off, I packed up and headed out on the home stretch, taking two lanes in north Louisiana and southern Arkansas into my last stop in El Dorado. On the way back, there was still cotton standing in the fields of the Arkansas Delta, but the combines and pickers were steady busy and it won’t be long before all the fields in Arkansas and Mississippi are put to bed. 

When I pulled into my driveway, I had travelled almost 1,200 miles…a number that is just a little under the word count of this story:) Write on!

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God Shed His Grace On Thee…

Happy 4th of July holiday from the Big Front Porch!

Since last we visited, it seems like we sort of eased on through spring and now find ourselves navigating these summer days with some really oppressive heat…hope you’re finding ways to stay cool.

In April, I was pleased to represent Cleveland as its Music Ambassador at the long awaited Music Tourism Convention, held here in town after two postponed dates due to COVID. Deep Roots musicians entertained at some of the events and Mississippi’s favorite new country group, Chapel Hart, closed out the convention at GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi. Lots of folks from the USA and abroad got to experience the magical, mystical Mississippi Delta…good times:)

Right after the convention, the Women in the Round returned to the Delta for another show at GRAMMY Museum Mississippi. Pam Tillis and Ashley Cleveland made a return visit, and this time…after several tries…the wonderfulsongwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman was able to join us. It’s still one of my favorite gigs, and I am grateful that we got to do it one. more. time.

 

After catching my breath, the Big Front Porch, in partnership with the good folks at the Mississippi Songwriters Alliance, hosted the Mississippi Songwriters Festival – Delta Region, the first ‘satellite’ festival of the parent festival on the Coast. The 25+ local songwriters that participated had a chance to share their original songs with each other and the public over two nights.

 

 

 

 

Three professional songwriters, Bridgette Tatum, Clay Mills, and Sean Gasaway, came down from Nashville to play their ‘hits’ and present a couple of music business workshops. Most of you have heard my ‘sermon’ before that, in regards to the music business, “It All Begins With A Song,” so it was great to have an event that focused on the gifts and talents of the unsung folks who lay their hearts bare and put pen to paper trying to say those things we want to say but don’t know how…it’s a gift, to be sure. Hug a songwriter next time you see one. The Deep Roots music initiative continues its mission to strengthen community through music by providing live local roots music in area venues five nights a week, thanks to the support of the City of Cleveland and the talented musicians and audio techs that bring that music to the public each and every week. Just last week, I was honored to join the Mayor and other representatives from the City of Cleveland at the annual Mississippi Municipal League convention to accept a Municipal Excellence Award in the Spirit category for towns over 10,000 in population! Yay us!

 

Seems like I’m leaning into the slower tempo of summer more easily this year…not sure why…perhaps it’s the ‘significant birthday’ earlier this year…or perhaps it’s due to a more focused intention of being in the moment, whether enjoying the taste of a perfectly assembled tomato sandwich followed by a slice of sweet watermelon, or the joy found in a minimalist seasonal wardrobe of shorts, T-shirts, and flip-flops, or witnessing little miracles and blessings of God every day…right where I am. I am grateful.

I’ll wrap up this summertime post with little history from Wikipedia about one of my favorite patriotic songs…”America the Beautiful.”Stay cool, y’all…until next time, Tricia

 

The lyrics for “America the Beautiful” were written by Katharine Lee Bates, an English professor at Wellesley College, and the music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. The two never met.

In 1893, at the age of 33, Bates had taken a train trip to Colorado Springs. Several of the sights on her trip inspired her, and they found their way into her poem, including the wheat fields of the heartland of Kansas, through which her train was riding; and the majestic view of the Great Plains from high atop Pikes Peak. 

Just as Bates had been inspired to write her poem, Ward, too, was inspired. The tune came to him in 1882 while he was on a ferryboat trip from Coney Island back to his home in New York City after a leisurely summer day and he immediately wrote it down. He composed the tune for the old hymn “O Mother Dear, Jerusalem”, retitling the work “Materna”. Ward’s music combined with Bates’s poem was first published together in 1910 and titled “America the Beautiful.” _____________Wikipedia

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

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A ‘significant’ birthday;)

 

 

 

Hello, friends!

It’s been a minute since my last blog post…last November, I believe…before the ‘Deep Freeze of 2022’ closed out the year, before the glorious Christmas season, before the start of this new year…2023. 

“They say it’s your birthday!” (Cue Beatles music here…)

This year will mark a ‘significant’ St. Patrick’s Day birthday for me (at least on
the chronological calendar…really, they are ALL significant), and I continue to enjoy this season of taking a look back and reflecting, with joy and gratitude, on the countless blessings I have received throughout my life. To that end, I’m starting on a project this year to share the story of my musical journey, using words, images, audio, and video in a multi-media format (probably YouTube) collected from the past 40 years or so…should be interesting…stay tuned for that.

But to mark this upcoming birthday, I wanted to find a way to continue some work that means a lot to me and offer you friends and fans of the Big Front Porch an opportunity to share in that work.

Some of the most impactful programs I’ve ever been a part of have used songwriting as a means of honest and powerful self-expression, from kids to cancer survivors to social workers to veterans.

It’s no secret that I’m very proud of what was developed and accomplished at the Delta Music Institute at Delta State University during my tenure…state-of-the-art recording studios, a robust entertainment industry curriculum, a diverse faculty and staff, and engaged students. 

In addition to that academic work, DMI was blessed with a decade of grant funding to engage youth in a program that used songwriting as a means to
develop positive self-identity, address community and cultural issues, and provide a popular medium for participants to find and share their ‘voice.’ The program, started in 2013, was called Healing With A Groove, and I saw first hand the impact it made on young people as well as the DSU students who mentored young writers. The grant ended after I retired from DSU, but one of the final goals of the grant was to develop a ‘tool kit’ that would be available for use by groups and organizations interested in carrying on the work.

So to mark this ‘significant’ birthday, I created a Big Front Porch Giving Fund, administered by the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi, to receive donations towards the continuation of the Healing With A Groove work in our local community, using the ‘tool kit’  developed by the grant. 

If you’d like a little ‘backstory’ on the program, here’s a link from the grant’s primary funder: https://www.wkkf.org/what-we-do/featured-work/healing-with-a-groove-uses-music-to-promote-racial-healing-in-the-mississippi-delta

Focusing on local participation this time around, the program will be smaller in scale, and therefore, not too costly. Funds would be used primarily to reproduce the program’s resources for participants and for production and recording services after songs are completed.

Here’s a CFNM link to donate online along with a nice graphic with a QR code that will also take you to the CFNM donation page online. The name of the fund is Big Front Porch.

cfnm.org/donate

 

 

 

 

Friends and fans, YOU are the best birthday gift to me…I am blessed.

With a grateful heart, Tricia

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Paying It Forward…

11/18/22

Seed
and shoot,
Leaves and roots,
Flower and fruits,
and Seeds

This poem came from this morning’s audio devotional from an online community I’ve been listening to called The Seedbed, led by J.D. Walt. I’ve really been enjoying it…check it out.  That one phrase, to me, encapsulates that ‘full circle’ promise of surrender and hope. It’s one of the beautiful things I love about the Delta…the tangible manifestation of that primary lesson in the yearly planting and cultivating and harvesting of the crops. The Mystery of the Farm. And we’re all farmers…planting seeds…right?

Many of you know that I grew up outside the small town of Fayette, Mississippi (pop. 1600 ish). My daddy worked in politics and state government and would be involved with conventions and events that often had a ‘celebrity’ on the program…usually a star from the world of stage, screen, or television. When my musical dreams were starting to form in my teens, I sometimes had the chance to meet some of these ‘stars,’ and I remember the excitement of many of those moments. Most of them were kind and thoughtful and didn’t seem to mind taking a moment to speak to a young fan…and that wasn’t lost on me. Having spent the majority of my professional career in the music ‘biz,’ I came to learn that interacting with one’s fans may be the singular most important part of the job of an artist or performer. One of my favorite quotes, attributed to the great poet Maya Angelou, is: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

So many teachers, townsfolk, pastors, friends, and of course, Mama and Daddy, made me ‘feel’ like I could do anything…they ‘planted seeds’ in me that gave me the needed encouragement to be brave in taking creative risks as I grew up and became an adult. Even now, as I am stepping into the role of ‘elder,’ the good folks and dear hearts of this community continue to encourage the creative, educational, and community building work in which I’m involved, and I am grateful.

One of things I enjoy most in this work is ‘planting seeds’ and ‘connecting dots.’

Last spring, after seeing a short iPhone video (sent by a friend) of a young man from a very small town in southwest Mississippi who could play like Jerry Lee Lewis, I think I saw a little of myself back in my small town, trying to figure out what chords I had to learn to play “House of the Rising Sun.” This self taught young man clearly had talent, so connections were made, and he attended the Delta Music Institute Summer Camp a few months ago and stole the show at the camp showcase. So when GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi announced that this year’s Crossroads of American Music award would go to Jerry Lee Lewis, ‘seeds were planted’ to see if this young man might have an opportunity to perform at the gala event. Sadly, Jerry Lee passed away before this young fan could meet him in person, but the young man, wearing a borrowed suit, was invited to say a few words at Jerry Lee’s Celebration of Life in Ferriday, Louisiana, and Jerry Lee’s widow made 17 year old Thomas Sanders feel special. 

Another example of one of the many kindnesses of this community was one of our favorite haberdashers in town, Danny Abraham, arranging for some proper stage clothes for the young performer so that Thomas was made to feel like a star! He was introduced to the stage last night as “Little Killer” Sanders and he tore it up! So many of you there made him feel special and celebrated, recognizing that gifts and talents can sometimes come from the most obscure places, and like seeds, they need to be tended to and nurtured. Here’s hoping that this young man will have more ‘farmers’ around him as he grows.

Sometimes a seed bears fruit and the planter is still around to witness it. What a gift that is. This week, a former student of mine who graduated from the DMI program at Delta State, called to share the news that she was part of a GRAMMY nominated album this year as an audio engineer! I am so excited for her, but it made my day that she took the time to call and say ‘thank you’ for the lessons she had learned from me as a teacher and mentor while at Delta State…and THAT made me feel like I can go a thousand more miles…thank you, Audri, and good luck! You’ll be paying it forward in a few years…

I hope you all are staying safe and warm and finding some quiet time amid the chaos as Advent approaches and again we wait in wondrous anticipation for the Hope of the world.

 

+peace+

Tricia

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Beauty and Kindness

One of my favorite spiritual writers, Joan Chittister, does not believe in writer’s block. She says, “You must jump into the middle of a line and trust that God will take you to the end of it.”

Good advice…that being said…I’m jumping in:)

I’m a little late with what was to be an Eastertide post, and the official start of summer is only a little over a month away, so I wanted to check in from the Big Front Porch with a few small stories about beauty and kindness…two things we can always use more of…

It has been a particularly beautiful spring around the Porch in the Delta…with the exception of the F1 tornado that skipped through town, dropping one of the old oak trees in the street two houses up from me. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

But in the days after the storm, spring really starting showing out! The chinaberry and sweet olive blooms (transported from home), the huge purple Dutch irises (originally from a housemate’s yard in Dallas 30+ years ago), wisteria (purple AND white), a banana shrub, and the sweet smell of Confederate jasmine drifting through an open window. All stunning examples of the beauty and artistry of God…

Along my driveway fence, I have one flaming orange rose bush (see above)…planted by another’s hands long ago…perhaps it was planted by our resident rose master, Ms. Jane Dunlap. ‘Miss Jane’ was recently awarded the Louise Godwin Award from the Keep Mississippi Beautiful organization. The Louise Godwin Award recognizes individuals who are exceptional when it comes to helping keep their communities cleaner, greener and more beautiful, and believe me, Cleveland is one of those especially beautiful communities thanks, in no small part, to our public rose gardens, lovingly nurtured by ‘Miss Jane’ for over 50 years.  I only hope that if I make to 90, I can still play a G/C/D chord on my guitar or a simple scale on the piano!

‘Miss Jane’ Dunlap

“There is a built-in danger in old age which, if we give in to it, makes aging one of the most difficult periods of life, rather than one of the most satisfying – which it should be. The danger of old age is that we may start acting old.” ______Joan Chittister 

A few weeks ago, an online post/picture of a scruffy, battle-scarred old orange tabby cat popped up on a local social network, asking if anyone knew the owner. Within hours, a half dozen folks from the neighborhood responded, identifying the old warrior by various names__Big Daddy, Rudy, Frank, Scar, Buddy. Seems he traveled a large territory on a regular basis, receiving food and attention at every stop. Recently, one neighbor noticed that he seemed weaker and perhaps ill. She was able to catch him, and through her generosity and kindness, had the ol’ fella neutered, wormed, and treated at a local vet. The online group monitored his progress and shared good wishes for recovery and a better life for Big Daddy/Scar/Rudy/Frank/Buddy__and it seemed he was doing well. But a week or so later, he took a turn for the worse and went away. Online, we all promised to keep watch for him, but we never saw him again. Our neighbor that had provided the most care for him found his body under her back steps, and gave him a proper burial in her backyard. We’ve all been sad about it, but grateful that his last few weeks of life were filled with more comfort and love than perhaps he had known earlier.

Buddy/Rudy/Scar/Frank/Big Daddy

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”_____Gandhi

Veterinary services for an old tomcat—homemade pimento cheese from a neighbor to say thanks for the music—A favorite hymn sung by request at the graveside of a stranger___Fresh cookies for grieving family members and friends of a beloved coworker___these are the things that make us into a community. Kindness.

Wars continue to rage on the other side of the world; gun violence is on the increase; social media pulls us towards ‘doomscrolling’ and the idea that ‘we are not enough’…

But take a look around at what we have____roses and music and old cats and good neighbors___it is enough.

“The service that the whole world needs from the elders is not the service of hours spent and time put in and documents finished and machines fixed. There are untold numbers of people who can do all of those things. No, the service of the elders is not a service of labor, it is a service of enlightenment, of wisdom, of discernment of spirits. Only the carriers of generations past can give us those things, because wisdom is what lasts after an experience ends.”
― Joan Chittister, The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully

Look up___beauty is everywhere.

Look out___kindness abounds.

Peace be with you:)

Tricia 

P. S. Get ready for live local music…starting in June!

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There Is A Season…

Hello, friends…hope you are doing well as we head into a long-awaited Delta spring:)

As we begin this season of Lent, I thought I’d share a few things in this post that have been meaningful to me recently…I hope you find meaning in them, too.

First things first… the good folks at Thacker Mountain Radio in Oxford visited the Delta for a remote show at DMI last week, and the broadcast is set to air this Saturday, March 12 at 7:00 pm CST on Mississippi Public Radio. As the ‘guest author’ I sang a few tunes and had a conversation with their wonderful host, Jim Dees, and then sat back to enjoy the performances of my former student Keith Johnson, “Prince of the Delta Blues,” the Bobalows, DeltaRoX, and the Yalobushwhackers with guest musicians Fish Michie sitting in…a great afternoon!

I subscribe to a daily reading from Frederick Buechner and found this piece particularly inspiring…enjoy!

Creation

TO MAKE SUGGESTS MAKING SOMETHING out of something the way a carpenter makes wooden boxes out of wood. To create suggests making something out of nothing the way an artist makes paintings or poems. It is true that artists, like carpenters, have to use something else—paint, words—but the beauty or meaning they make is different from the material they make it out of. To create is to make something essentially new.

When God created the creation, God made something where before there had been nothing, and as the author of the book of Job puts it, “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (38:7) at the sheer and shimmering novelty of the thing. “New every morning is the love / Our wakening and uprising prove” says the hymn. Using the same old materials of earth, air, fire, and water, every twenty-four hours God creates something new out of them. If you think you’re seeing the same show all over again seven times a week, you’re crazy. Every morning you wake up to something that in all eternity never was before and never will be again. And the you that wakes up was never the same before and will never be the same again either.

-Originally published in Wishful Thinking and later in Beyond Words

Carolyn Arends is a fellow singer/songwriter and friend of mine…she and her family live in Canada, and I’m a big fan of her writing and thinking…here’s a post she shared called I Was An Ash Wednesday Rookie along with a prayer for Ukraine she had posted on her site:

Prayer for Ukraine

Sovereign Lord, you observe all those who dwell on earth. Have mercy we pray on those who now suffer the miseries of a war not of their own making. Have compassion on the wounded and dying; comfort the broken-hearted; confound the hatred and madness of those who make war; guide our rulers, bring war to an end, bring peace across the world.  Unite us all under the reign of your Son, the Prince of Peace, before whose judgement seat the rulers of the world will give account, and in whose name we pray. Amen.

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel,
Sydney, February 24, 2022

Also, here’s a video of her wonderful song written during the pandemic, “After This:”

Lastly, I was invited to submit a piece for Delta Magazine this month…the piece is called “Seasons”…I hope you enjoy it….+peace+…Tricia

SEASONS 

Eccl. 3:1 (KJV) To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…

The first seasons I remember were as a kid growing up in a beautiful old pre-civil war home built in a clearing among ancient hardwoods. My mother was the editor of our small town newspaper, so my love affair with words and writing began early. She always said she had ink in her blood, and I suppose she passed some of that ink along to me.

I was 27 years old when I heard ‘the call’ in my heart to go try and see if I could ‘make it’ in music. This was before the advent of the digital age we know today, so to answer that call meant packing a U-Haul truck and driving 500 miles away from my hometown of Fayette, Mississippi (pop. 1600) into the mysterious, unknown world of the entertainment business in Nashville, Tennessee (closer to home than New York or Los Angeles). A one-bedroom second floor apartment (no elevator) for $235 a month was where I began my quest, having made the move with no steady employment and no personal or business connections…and remember, no cell phones or computers. It was a scary and exciting season, but it was also a great time to be in Music City. I was afforded amazing opportunities over the years to meet and work with both legends and wannabes, crafting songs with pen in hand, standing behind a microphone in a studio or on a stage, and traveling to places near and far with some of the most gifted musicians on the planet.

Eccl. 3:4 (KJV) A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance…

A quarter century went by and, after Hurricane Katrina, I began to hear the call in my heart to come home to Mississippi. No big lightning bolt, but rather a slow revelatory ‘parting of the curtains’ over time which, with confirmation from trusted friends and counselors, was undeniable. The opportunity of this season was in the form of a new entertainment industry studies program at Delta State University into which I could sow all that I had gleaned from my time in Nashville. As I drove that U-Haul south down Highway 61 through those fertile flatlands, headed to my new position, I remember experiencing an immediate familiarity in the natural beauty of the land and sky along with what seemed to be an invitation coming from the sheer expansiveness of the Delta.

Eccl. 3:2b (KJV) A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted…

The Delta carries a constant reminder of the seasons in the Law of the Farm…the necessary process of planting, watering, fertilizing and cultivating in order to be able to produce a crop of any kind…no short cuts. After working the ‘field’ of the DMI for a season of 13 years, I went through a yearlong discernment process and came to see that, for me, another season was on the horizon, so I announced my retirement from Delta State, with plans to spend more time engaging in creative pursuits related to community building through music. And what better place to do that than right here in the Delta? The roots of music and community run deep in the dear hearts of the good people who live here and who took me in, and even in this age of uncertainty I find that one of my greatest sources of comfort continues to be found in the faithful and relentless repetition of the seasons.

And for all the seasons away from the beautiful Delta and my beloved Mississippi, given the circular nature of seasons, in many ways I feel like I was never even gone.

Eccl. 3:1 (KJV) To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…

Tricia Walker — singer/songwriter, Director Emerita, DMI Entertainment Industry Studies, Delta State University, Music Ambassador, Cleveland, MS.www.bigfrontporch.com

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All the trees in the fields will clap their hands…

11/24/21

Hello, friends…

It’s been a busy fall here on the Big Front Porch presenting local Deep Roots music shows, doing community and church work, and prepping home and hearth for the winter season ahead. I hope this post finds you well with your finest place settings ready at the table and delicious smells coming from your kitchen…and a strong WiFi connection in case some of your loved ones can’t actually BE at your table. 

I’ve been concerned that the ‘push’ for Christmas consumption seems to be so much earlier and more ‘in your face’ this year…feels like Thanksgiving is almost being overlooked altogether….anyone else? I hope this holiday of ‘gathering with grateful and thankful hearts’ is not diminished…

I was pondering this on a walk one afternoon, when I looked up and saw….the trees…(Isaiah 55:12)

I had such a good experience with my inaugural car camping trip back in the summer that I planned to block a few days off for another road trip to see some fall foliage over in Arkansas. But lo and behold, as the days passed, I could see that the trees on my own street and in our own little town were prettier than they had been in years, so I decided to stay put and enjoy what was right outside my own front door. The golds and reds of the crepe myrtles, ginkgos, sweet gums, oaks, and maples have been rich and deep this fall, along with the rust color of the Leland cypress trees which complimented the entire palette beautifully.

Staying put and observing the lessons of the natural world around me reminds me of one of the three primary monastic vows of the Benedictines…stability. Stability refers to the importance of community and commitment in life. When I came back to Mississippi in 2006, I believe it was a calling, and when I retired from Delta State in 2019, I believe I had a call to stay in this community….To  Be. Now. Here. And so here I am…

Part of my ‘staying put’ over the past decade has been to share whatever gifts I have been given in considering visions, sharing ideas, dreaming dreams, and then working towards the realization of those things. It has been my honor to serve on the board of the Cleveland Music Foundation, Inc., the governing body for GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi, since 2011 as a founding member.

My “sermon,” if you will, was and continues to be, “Music can bring us together and make us better,” and trying to insert that idea has been my primary contribution while serving on this board. Others who have way more ‘left brain’ that I, have done the ‘heavy lifting’ of procuring funds, making political connections, overseeing construction, and developing staff in order to make the museum the reality it is today. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of such a magnificent project.

 

Advent begins this Sunday…one of my favorite seasons, and the beginning of the new year for the Church. No argument from me that Easter is the great Alleluia! to the Gospel story, but to consider the Incarnation…that God would ever come to be with us at all…Emmanuel…wow. One of my Advent/Christmas/Epiphany readings will be For The Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio by W.H. Auden. I was not familiar with it until recently, but it is said to be perhaps one of his greatest works. I’m looking forward to some reading time spent with a well-written book and a cup of strong Community coffee.

+peace+ to you and those you love…I am thankful for each of you:)

 

Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free,
From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.

 

Tricia

 

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Nothing Like Old Friends…

8/15/21

Nothing like old friends…

Earlier this summer, one of my closest friends sustained a severe ‘head injury’ and it was my fault. After finishing a local performance, I placed my old friend, a 1981 Guild D-45 cutaway, in her case, and thinking I had zipped the case shut, became distracted in conversation with a fan at the event. When I picked up the case to leave, my old friend came out of the case and did a complete face plant on the concrete floor. Horrified, I reached down to pick her up and when I did, I became nauseous at the sight of what would have been diagnosed, in a human patient, as a severe head trauma..the headstock was almost completely severed from the neck of the guitar. 

When I got home, I immediately phoned the only guitar repairman that has ever worked on this guitar (30+ years), Mr. Greg Krochman of Classic Ax, in Nashville, TN. I sent pictures of the injury and asked if he could treat the patient. He said, “Hard to tell…you’ll need to bring her to me.” So a quick road trip to Nashville a few days later took me to his new location (after he was nudged off Music Row in the name of ‘progress’…read that however you like), where I left my friend in the capable hands of this master craftsman and then made the drive back to the Delta. My ‘sub’ guitar through the next several weeks was the guitar I went to college with, a 1970 Fender Newport acoustic. It’s always been my favorite ‘writing’ guitar, and it served me well while I waited on the outcome of ‘surgery’ on the Guild. Did I mention that American Airlines broke the headstock on the Guild in almost exactly the same place 17 years ago (another story for another time…)? Not knowing what the total ‘medical bill’ would be for surgery and hospitalization, my sweet church family at St. Luke UMC, in an exceptional act of kindness and generosity, took up a collection towards the repair and recovery of my old friend.

I got the call from ‘Dr. Greg’ in mid-July so I hopped in the car to go pick up the ‘patient’ who was being discharged after a successful surgery. Not only had the surgery been successful, but with some additional PT (neck adjustment, new strings, new pins, etc.), my old friend played like she did when she was new 40 years ago. I was overjoyed to say the least:)

I have several of these old friends, and like their human counterparts, each is different and special in his/her own way…and each contributes to my life is ways for which I am eternally grateful. Since you’ve been kind enough to put up with this rambling medical analogy, let me introduce these friends to you.

1981 Guild D-45 cutaway

Nothing like old friends…

I recently returned from the annual ‘Summer Gathering’ with my sweet YaYas (lifelong friends) down on the Mississippi Gulf Coast..I’ve lost count of how many years we’ve gathered, but suffice it to say it’s been a LOT of years. I know this because the main topics of our conversations have shifted from the challenges of middle age and career adjustments to the joys of grandchildren and the comparison of medications and health conditions brought on by the inevitable aging process. So very grateful that all three of us could once again gather for a few days of doing nothing together except lounging in the pool, binge watching Manifest and feasting on home-cooked vegetables, summer peaches, and fish from the Gulf.

Nothing like old friends…take a moment to call/text/email/visit one of your old friends today…they are PRICELESS gifts.

+peace+

Tricia

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Random Acts of Kindness…

July 6, 2021

When I was a teenager, the Jesus Movement was in full swing, invigorating young believers like me. My chosen Bible translation at the time was the Living Bible, and my mama sewed a cool cover for my copy out of a pair of old blue jeans, complete with a pocket for assorted inspirational materials. I often refer to that sacred ‘conversational’ text still today. I began to soak up how the ancient stories sounded to my ear in a more ‘common tongue’ rather than the regal King James version. I have a distinct memory of being sixteen years old and coming across a partial verse spoken by Saint Peter in the tenth chapter of the Book of Acts, explaining to the Gentiles that “…Jesus went around doing good….”

Somewhere…somehow…that stuck.

At random times over the course of my life from age 16 until now, when that fragment of a verse surfaced (and it continues to surface) in my conscious mind, I would think, “Wouldn’t it be great to just go around and do good?”

Many years ago, I took a test to identify what my spiritual gifts were based on the list of gifts in the New Testament book to the Romans. The results pointed to two gifts in particular…teaching and encouragement. Is it any wonder then, in the Divine scheme of things, that over the course of all my years working in the music biz to developing the DMI entertainment industry program at Delta State to now being in ‘retirement’ and working on behalf of the community….that putting those two gifts into practice along the way offers me the best opportunity of standing in the ‘crosshairs of my giftings’ from time to time? How sweet it is…

To that end, I am humbled by a recent honor I received from the Cleveland Exchange Club when they selected me to receive the 2021 Golden Deeds Award, one of their highest honors, given in recognition of service and volunteerism in the community. Three of my friends were given the task of getting me to the luncheon, and they successfully pulled off the ruse by inviting me to the club’s monthly meeting to be the guest speaker about the Deep Roots music project…I had no clue what was coming. If you look at the names on the list of previous recipients you will see men and women who have been and continue to be foundational to the success of this wonderful Delta community that has embraced and supported me so generously over the last 15 years. I am truly grateful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Random acts of kindness…that’s something we can all do…helping a respected elder with some mobile technology, assisting a young pastor in serving communion, singing softly to a friend in her last days on this earth, feeding the neighborhood tom cat that hangs around the back door, sharing home grown tomatoes with a neighbor…sometimes seemingly insignificant things, but each of which resonates like ripples in a pond. Just like Scout explained in To Kill A Mockingbird…”neighbors bring flowers in sickness and food in death and little kindnesses in between”…..I believe this is how the kingdom of God comes to us.

And because baseball is often like life…congrats to the Mississippi State University Diamond Dawgs for bringing home the D1 NCAA National Baseball Championship! Whether you regularly side with MSU or another team in the Magnolia state, you gotta admit…it was so much fun feeling the growing momentum of the entire state behind this Bulldog team. Once again, here’s a tribute to the first Mississippi State scholarship baseball star, Boo Ferriss, who knew a thing or two about random acts of kindness…just ask the hundreds and hundreds of young men who played for him.

See you down the road…pax,

Tricia

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Let Us Never Forget…

I remember the roar of jets flying over as one of them peeled away to represent the ‘missing man’…I remember the crack of the rifles firing a 21-gun salute…I remember feeling smothered by the heat of a Mississippi July day as we laid Mama’s baby brother, “Action Jackson,” to rest in our hometown cemetery. In my memory, it seems like most of the town turned out for his service. He died trying to guide one of his squadron members to safety. I was 12 years old. He was 41.

Countless brave and selfless men and women have given the ultimate sacrifice during the many wars our nation has seen…wars for which the reason for some is easier to grasp more than others, but every conflict devastating as is the nature of war. So we pause to remember…to memorialize…to give thanks for duty and service and sacrifice. Let us never forget…

The Deep Roots music movement is going well, and I’m having fun with it. Folks are glad to be outside after being ‘locked up’ for over a year, and it is such a joy to see how music can be a real connecting point in building a community. There are some great photos from some recent shows on the Deep Roots Facebook page HERE. Or our Instagram page HERE. Please ‘Like’ the pages for updates. If you haven’t seen the video series we’ve done featuring our local Deep Roots artists, here’s a link to the YouTube channel (please subscribe!): Music From The Ground Up. In fact, last Friday’s feature was me performing “The Heart of Dixie”…enjoy:)

For all the difficult things that have come with the pandemic, the ability to connect online almost anytime/anywhere has really been an amazing gift. Yes, I, too, have suffered from ‘Zoom fatigue, but this Thursday is a fun example of having the opportunity to connect with folks all across the world, and that amazes me. Jeff’s Place, a virtual coffeehouse hosted out of New York City, will be celebrating the 39th birthday of the Bluebird Cafe` by presenting an ‘in the round’ show online with me, Fred Knobloch, Amy Speace, Paul Jefferson, and Amy Kurland, the founder of the Bluebird Cafe`. The show will be this Thursday, June 3, at 1:00 pm CST. Free tickets are at this link:  https://tinyurl.com/jeffsplace2021. Hope you can tune in!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we head into the heart of summer, I hope that you will have some long overdue chances to gather with your friends and loved ones on a big front porch somewhere with the perfect tomato sandwich, a glass of sweet tea, and a fat juicy slice of watermelon (no salt for me, please). And traveling mercies as you head back out on the road!

From the Big Front Porch…stay safe, keep a song in your heart, take time to dance in your kitchen, and be kind to your neighbor. But…who is my neighbor?  Look it up…the Gospel of Luke…chapter 10:)

+peace+

Tricia