I have come to enjoy the website my son produced for me.  I find that I can make rash statements on documents saved on it and then go ahead and change them.  I can make them better.  In fact, when I discover that the change is not enough I can make them “more better”.

For instance: in my original formulation of “About Me”, I noted that “no one sings folk songs anymore.” I was so wrong.  I discovered that people do sing folk songs and there is quite an active group just north of me in Fort Lauderdale.  One of the members of our Saturday Bible Study group, Bob Sugarman, read my “about me” statement and let me know there were folks still singing folk songs.

So, I looked around on the web and discovered a whole mess of folk singing groups.  They are alive and well. As a consequence I brought up the page and changed it to read, “no one sings madrigals anymore”.  I wonder if this will cause someone else to comment that, “Oh, no, that’s not right.  People are still singing madrigals.” I have been brooding about getting this page for so long that I didn’t use the time to browse the web to explore how others had used it to post information about joint interests.

I have learned that if you ask enough people, someone will have the information you need. For instance, I asked Debbie, our Temple Religious School Principal who sings marvelously, if she knew of the group in Fort Lauderdale.  She does and would go more often but works when they have concerts.  I hope that if she can go to one that she will call me and make arrangements to introduce us to the group and what they do.

Since I have found the group exists I get at least four e-mails each day with the exchanges of information between members about all kinds of activities.  This is a support group for the performers who still struggle to be heard and make a living by singing folk songs.

Once upon a time I earned some money singing programs for groups after having advertised locally and was hired to perform.  It is really hard to make a living or even spending money that way.  I find that I am getting to be a really, really old folk fogy.  There are a lot of young fogies out there and I am not the prime example of old-fogydom.  Still I need to be brought up to date about a lot of things I pay little attention to.

For instance, I am not up to date on the slang used nowadays.  There are so many age and interest groups who are busy sending messages by cell-phones and e-mails and web chat rooms that just discovering that all this exists is opening up a new world.  I still am not sure if I want to go there – that is a sure mark of a genuine, dyed in-the-wool old fogy.