dedication

We went to a Fiddler’s contest Wednesday.

Fiddle music is not what I grew up with, but in relatively small doses I really enjoy it. That said, I have a stack of Mark O’Connor's fiddling, eve with YoYo Ma.

What struck me was the dedication to this music form. The contestants were kids, 9 to 14 or so. But they all played extremely well. Bet they don’t get into a lot of mischief -- no time.

But I also was impressed by the dedication of the family members. The contestants were from Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Montana. Others were from Oregon and Washington, but some traveled a very long way. It takes dedicated parents for that to happen.

Another observation is that the little kids who were playing well at 6 or 7 do not always become the stars at 12 or 14. It seems that a lot of them have a peak time. My guess is that they develop other priorities.

Our friends who went with us (actually we went in their car), were divided. The wife thought it was an amazing performance, and the husband would have gone home early. He said some of that music was a waste of his life.

I suppose we could make a case for a LOT of things we do as being a waste of life, but maybe they have other advantages, sometimes that we do not see.

Any way I was impressed, and will spend the next week with fiddle tunes bouncing in my head.

If all of this sounds a little strange, go to this site: http://www.fiddlecontest.com/, and just listen a bit to the background music. Good sample!