Coming Home

If you haven't come home for good, you can imagine that you have this week.

We threw a NOMRF musicians' party at Jimmy and Sue Ford's studio / home / work in progress / cabana last night. A rotating roster of New Orleans musicians including Big Chief Alfred Ducette jammed. Crawfish boiled. Shrimp were BBQ'd. The jam got louder and, yes, the police were called. God I miss this place.

If you haven't come home for good, you can imagine that you have this week.

We threw a NOMRF musicians' party at Jimmy and Sue Ford's studio / home / work in progress / cabana last night. A rotating roster of New Orleans musicians including Big Chief Alfred Ducette jammed. Crawfish boiled. Shrimp were BBQ'd. The jam got louder and, yes, the police were called. God I miss this place.

Robin Chambliss was busy with production at Tipitina's and Rickie Castrillo is still displaced in Memphis and his gig this week fell through, but between Sue Ford of Manwitch and John Thomas Griffith of Cowboy Mouth, we had enough of a board meeting to agree to keep giving out grants to displaced musicians as long as individual donations roll in.

Rockers Sue and Jimmy are my touchstone for how to handle hardship with grace. Jimmy was Jeff's former band manager with the dB's and is hosting FordFest at the Three Ring Circus Saturday night.

They threw fund-raising concerts for years and raffled off tickets for Jimmy's Barracuda until there was enough money to construct their own ramped pool. Their sons' muscular ailments are relieved by floating in the salt water.

Jimmy called days after the hurricane to tell us the pool was finally full. Full of fish and other flotsam, but now it's the perfect salt water soak. Musician friends gathered there last night with stories of how their rebuilding is coming along. Food, music, reunions, and friends like this are why we want to come home.

Sue describes it best. "Every time you get in this pool you can feel the love that helped build it."