The Universe Provides if We Step Aside!

We had what I fondly call a "Barbe moment" on Sunday. I went to dinner with my wife Sally and the German Miner’s Band (http://www.lock3live.com/winterMarket.aspx) at the Radisson Inn in Akron. After that the plans were to take them over to EJ Thomas Performing Arts Hall on the campus of the University of Akron for the second performance of Tuba Christmas. While at dinner one of the band members, Norman Wolfgang (not sure of his last name) said, "It's one thing to see it but really another to be able to play in it!" A couple minutes later Sally’s cell phone rings and she gets a call saying Tucker Jolly, the conductor and professor of Low Brass instruction at U of A, has invited the Miner's Band to play in Tuba Christmas and is waiving the registration fee. So we rush through dinner while Norman and Uri rush off to get their instruments and put on their Miner's Band shirts.

Sally decides that “duh” elf (me) needs to take the two band guys in and get them registered if needed and get the rest of the band seated while she parks the 15 passenger van. I go in and get our tickets and I ask an usher where the band guys can check in. He says stage door follow me and TAKES OFF OUT THE DOOR WITH THEM IN TOW!!! I have to follow them! I glance over my shoulder at the rest of the band and happen to hear, "Take the elevator to the second level." We were supposed to have seats saved in the first row! YIKES!!!

I get down to the stage area (lucky I went) and search for someone in charge. Norman Wolfgang speaks English well but doesn’t “speak between the cracks” so to speak. Uri speaks a couple of phrases. The guy in charge wants to know how many people are playing which prompts Uri to start naming all the instruments played in the Miner's Band. I explained to guy in charge briefly as to what was up and asked if he could make sure they got hooked up. No problem. I bolt back out the door and back inside knowing the rest of the band is lost in the huge crowd by now. I spot Sally inside asking people something like, “Where are my Germans?” I explained as best “duh” elf could the situation and said I think I heard, “Elevator go to second level” So we head up and start looking out over the sea of people and see way in the distance some arms waving that look like our people. Thank goodness they have found seats in the nose bleed section.

We get settled in the two seats they have saved for us and spot Norman and Uri looking good amongst the 400 other tuba players.

Here comes the Barbe moment…

Halfway through the performance Tucker Jolly talks about who comes from where, so I’m kind of nudging Sally in the ribs by now as Tucker Jolly says, “We are honored and privileged to have all the way from Chemnitz Germany two members of the Miner’s Band performing with us tonight.” The guys stood up and were thrilled and I could see Sally was doing the proud momma thing. So I said, “You know Barbe would say this is the universe putting things together!” It was a great evening, everything just fell into place!

Barbe by the way is my good friend from soulyyours on Etsy. You can view her blog link on the right side of my blog if you like!

Wood Carvers from Erzgebirge

Well the wood carvers from the Erzgebirge region of Germany finally arrived in Akron for the Chriskindl Market. There's four of them and they arrived late Wednesday night from flying all day and came right over from the hotel and started up the lathe! They were turning out bowls and carving all sorts of traditional German figurines and toys. They are amazing to watch!

They will be here until our First Night celebration on New Years Eve!

Christkindl Market Akron, Ohio

Well it's turning towards winter again in Ohio. That's good and bad in a sense. Bad that it's going be freezing cold for several months. I will have to shovel my sidewalks and scrape my car windows.

Good in the sense that 80 Germans come to downtown Akron the day after Thanksgiving and set up a traditional Christkindal Market for 6 weeks. Good in the sense that a group of highly skilled traditional woodcarvers are among them! They are from the Erzgebirge Mountain region of East Germany. This is a world famous woodcarving region.

I'm excited to see them again and watch them work. Wish I spoke German.