Maple sap and all that jazz.

A friend of mine has said, “There are always choices.” Yes, there are, but how do you know you’re making the right one? For instance, my daughter was playing last night in a student showcase organized by an enterprising music student to give other students (both music and non) a chance to strut their stuff in front of an audience. Little Princess, who is in physics, played her violin in one unaccompanied piece and in another where she was joined by a pianist who is a music student. Also, my friends Ollie and Ed were performing together and I would have liked to support them. There were also some other presentations that I was just as happy to avoid, but it would have been fun, nonetheless.

I did not go to the student showcase. Instead, I chose to accompany my husband and his jazz trio and the drummer’s girlfriend on a road trip (an hour-and-a-half’s drive west and south of here), all five of us jammed into the bass player’s van with all their gear (two guitars, one electric bass, one upright bass, three amplifiers, drum kit, music stands, lamps, stools) for the trip there and back. Two people did not have seatbelts on (I was not one of them) and one person wasn’t even sitting on a proper seat (Hubby).

They’d played at this venue before, a bistro in a small, picturesque town at the foot of a popular ski hill in the scenic Eastern Townships. The organizer, a bald fellow who plays keyboards and reminds me exactly of the manic musician in that ancient anti-marijuana propaganda film Reefer Madness, was their fourth, and they all had a wonderful time. I was tired, cold, and bored. I’ve heard this music many, many times, and I’ve heard it much better played. The GF and I are friends and I like her a lot, but we really couldn’t talk over the band when they were in full tilt. Hubby got me up to sing exactly one tune, in which the other players drowned me out, and I had one alcohol-flavoured coffee which was tasty but not very generous in serving size and cost a whopping $8.50. I didn’t leave a tip. The rest of the evening I drank tap water.

They wrapped up their playing at 11 p.m., had to have a bite to eat and shoot the shit with various patrons, the equipment needed to be broken down and loaded into the van, and after driving home in a blinding snowstorm it was 2:00 a.m. when I got to bed. I informed Hubby I wouldn’t be doing that anymore.

One thing I did learn, though, was that the maple sap collection is late this year. Because there is so much snow on the ground keeping their roots frozen, the trees aren’t getting the message that it’s spring, their sap isn’t rising, and no maple syrup is being made. The producers are using the surplus from last year (which has been in frozen storage) to start making product, but they are running out. It also means that once the sap does start flowing, it will be a very short season. Maple syrup will be more expensive than usual. This is probably why I hoard it.

|

<~~~ * ~~~>