At any rate, I decided that Bisquick mix just wasn’t cutting it for me.  I figured if Beth could do it so could I.  I broke out my Joy of Cooking (this was pre-Google and you had to use a book back then) and started mixing.  The recipe claimed to make 20 biscuits; since I was cooking for just Vernon and me, I figured I would cut the measurements in half.  Since I had eaten 7 of Beth’s, 5 each seemed a reasonable number to consume.

I halved the amount of flour required by the recipe and dumped it in the bowl.  I actually had baking powder, salt, and the other ingredients on hand so measured and dumped them in.  When I got to the milk, I realized I was out of real cow’s milk so decided to use powdered milk.  I figured out how much powdered milk and how much water to use make a cup, BUT, forgot that I had to halve it for the amount of flour I had in the bowl.  Before realizing this oversight, I dumped the milk into the bowl and created the gooiest, slimiest mess you ever saw!

By now, I had flour up to my elbows and gooey batter all over my hands.  I hollered for Vernon to come dump some more flour into the bowl.  I got it thick enough to form into balls and plopped them onto the baking sheet and slapped it into the oven.  Only after slamming the oven door shut did I realize I had only formed 5 biscuits out of a recipe for 20.  They were HUGE!  They were also rock hard.  I managed to eat one but a single bite was enough to convince Vernon he didn’t want any more.  Needless to say I have never again presumed that I had the culinary skills to make biscuits like Beth did!

Vernon and I had driven down in our bus along with Dwight, Randy, Curt, and Kenny.  At 2am when we finished our show at the Sandpiper, Vernon wanted to drive to Damascus, MD, a good 50 mile drive. His mom and sister lived there and he wanted to mix a family visit with our band trip.  As another Maryland native, Dwight also had friends and family to visit locally so took off with them.  Andy had been visiting his then fiancé in New York so had driven down separately to meet us at the show. That left Vernon, me, Randy, Curt, and Kenny riding in the bus with Andy following in his car.

Of course, Vernon got hungry en route to Damascus so we stopped at a dive restaurant along the highway.  By this time, Randy was sound asleep.  Curt and Kenny claimed they weren’t hungry so opted to stay on the bus and wait for us.

The restaurant adjacent to where we parked the bus was full up to over flowing.  Waiting in line didn’t interest us so we walked a block down the road to another, less crowded place.  We enjoyed a fine breakfast then walked back to the bus and, assuming Randy, Curt, and Kenny were asleep in the back of the bus, we took off with Vernon driving the bus, me riding shotgun for him, and Andy following in his car.

As we drove further and further from the restaurant, I got more and more uneasy.  Surely Curt would have awakened when we fired up the bus?  If not, wouldn’t bouncing down the road bring him up out of his bunk?  I decided to go to the back of the bus to check and see where they were.

First I checked in the bunks.  Nobody.  Then I checked UNDER the bunks.  Why they might have climbed under there didn’t concern me at the time.  Since there was only 6” of clearance beneath each bunk, I obviously didn’t find anyone there.

Then I checked the bathroom.  Again, I didn’t fret about why two guys might have gotten into the bathroom together.  Didn’t matter though; nobody there.

On the way back toward the front of the bus to tell Vernon I couldn’t find them, I stopped again to check under the bunks just to make sure I hadn’t missed them the first time.  Nope.  They weren’t there.

I told him, ‘McIntyre, Curt & Kenny aren’t on this bus.’  He most definitely took his eyes off the road, turned in his seat, and said, ‘WHAT?!?’  Once he wrenched himself back around to face front, we pulled off the road and Andy pulled in behind us, very concerned about why we had stopped.  After some consultation, it was decided I would stay on the bus while Vernon and Andy drove back to the restaurant in Andy’s car.  Before he left, Vernon admonished me, ‘If anyone bothers you, there is a gun under the seat.  Use it.’  Jeeze!  At that time, I had never held a gun let alone shot one!  Randy slept like a log through all of this.

When Vernon and Andy arrived back at the restaurant 40 minutes later, they found the police ready to arrest Curt for disorderly conduct.  He and Kenny had decided to join us at the restaurant but didn’t realize we had walked down the block to a different establishment.  Somehow, Curt, who was wiry but only about 140 pounds when wet, had gotten into an altercation with a VERY large guy.

The cops were called.  When they showed up, Curt kept telling them that he had been riding on a greyhound bus and that it would come roaring into the lot any minute to pick him up.  The cops were getting less and less interested in such a fantastic story and jail time was getting imminent.  About then, Vernon and Andy came putt-putting into the lot in a small, private vehicle, not roaring in driving the promised greyhound.  Somehow, Vernon and Andy convinced the police that Curt and Kenny were NOT crazy, drunk, or insane and managed to get them out of there with no arrests and no physical altercations.  I guess all’s well that ends well.  Since that day, I have made a point to count how many are on the bus whenever we pull out.  We may not have the right PEOPLE on board, but we have the right NUMBER!

Thinking back over my years with Vernon and Famous Old Time Music Company, one of the things I have enjoyed most was hosting the Appalachian Opry at the Wapakoneta facility.  Each concert was introduced with several numbers by the Opry Band (comprised of Vernon on rhythm guitar, me on fiddle, John Arms on mandolin, Mitch Manns on banjo, Mitch’s son Jesse on snare drum, and an assortment of bass players over the life of the series).  The next segment featured various local artists performing bluegrass and/or old country tunes.  My favorite part of the show, however, was the Opry Comedy Crew.  These comedy skits weren’t necessarily long or complicated but I, for one, thought they were a hoot!  These photos are taken from our  Halloween Opry show.  Obviously the first one is Vernon, featured as a suspender, slouch hat wearing bluegrass boy.  Next is me in my Elton John glasses (and I don’t know whose hat!) as keyboard player with Kermit and the Kroakers.  The monster is… get ready for it… Robert Campbell, our quiet and, we thought, shy banjo player!  And last, but certainly NOT least, is our very own Jenny Lee  as Madame Touche’ singing a VERY sultry version of Five Pounds of Possum!  We had a blast at those shows!

Vernon has always been serious about his bluegrass music.  While still a kid, Vernon went to work for Nick Trifelous, a family friend, helping Nick strip cars for junk.  Vernon scrounged up an old car radio and car battery from Nick and listened to the Grand Ole Opry every night until the battery ran down.  Next morning, on the way to school, he would tie a rope around his waist and drag that battery a mile down the road to a filling station.  The guy at the station would charge the battery for him and he’d drag it back home again that night.  On weekends, Vernon worked at odd jobs for the station owner in payment for charging his battery.  This is a kid who is highly motivated to learn about the music he loves!

As an undergraduate, I majored in clinical psychology.  I planned to become a therapist and help people work out their problems and live better, happier lives.  Laudable goal, huh?

In pursuit of that end, I signed up to work once a week at Longview, which at that time, was Cincinnati’s asylum for the insane.  When I arrived for my first day, I found I had been assigned to the ward housing women age 20 and up.  The head psychiatrist asked me to run the onsite store where the residents could spend the tokens they earned for good, ‘non-insane’ behaviors the staff wanted to encourage.  Seemed reasonable to me.

I got in there and did some cleaning and organized the display of merchandise.  The inventory included books, toiletries, makeup, clothing… just stuff the residents might like to have and thereby be motivated to earn tokens with good behavior.  On that first day, I was able to help several residents find things they wanted to buy and left the hospital feeling that, while I had not necessarily contributed significantly to their recovery, at least I had neither traumatized nor insulted my customers.  So far, so good.

On my second visit, however, things took a turn.  I was on the ward talking with a young but VERY large resident.  Aside from the fact that I worked there and she lived there, it was obvious we were from completely different worlds.  To survive in her world she had grown up hard, mean, and fast. I was a nice, white, middle class girl with aspirations to ‘help’ people.  In retrospect, I have to give her credit; she was kind to me and exceedingly tolerant of my naivety.  She could have squashed me with one blow!

Midpoint of our conversation, another girl came running down the ward hollering ‘Help me, oh, please, somebody help me!’  When I looked up, I realized she was stark naked!  She was also flinging water everywhere and still hollering!  I was lost; what to do?  Do something?  Do nothing? My nice, suburban upbringing had not prepared me for this situation.  At that point, my new found, VERY large friend turned and snapped, ‘Shut up and go get a towel!’  Miracle!  The wet, hollering, naked girl did exactly that!  What a simple solution.  Needless to say, I realized at that point that I was NOT cut out for the career path I had chosen and promptly switched majors!

I met John of John Brown Flooring as a result of a waterline break at the house last February.  The water completely destroyed our newly installed laminate flooring and our Cincinnati Insurance Company agent suggested we contact John for replacement flooring.  John and his team did a top notch job for us!  In talking with him while the work was ongoing, I found out John is also a musician and plays in a band called Reasonable Doubt.  The band plays lots of local gigs and all the band members are very active in the local community.  An ongoing pet project is the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields in Fairfield, OH (https://nuxhallmiracleleague.org/). 

The mission of the Joe Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields is to provide the opportunity for adults and kids with disabilities to enjoy a unique and safe sports experience.  This recreation facility now includes baseball diamonds, a mini golf course, and a wheelchair accessible merry-go-round. 

The May 26, 2019 Concert for a Cause is part of the effort to promote awareness of and solicit financial support for the endeavor.  The Concert takes place at the John Michael Brown Farm, 6291 River Rd, Fairfield, OH 45014.  The event starts at 1pm and activities include live music with Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass playing bluegrass, Pete Grimes and Rock-a-Fella’s doing some blues, Reasonable Doubt on stage with classic.  Event admission is free.  A $10 donation gets you a  top notch spaghetti dinner and helps this worthy cause.  Show goes on Rain-or-Shine (tents are provided for seating area and the stage is covered).  Bring a lawn chair and join us!

Howdy!

Make plans to join us any Wednesday in October at Vinoklet Winery, 11069 Colerain Ave in Cincinnati, OH  45252.  Enjoy the famous Vinoklet All You Can Eat Spaghetti and Meatballs buffet or dine on the featured special of the evening.  Lively bluegrass music by Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass from 6:30 til 8:30.  To ensure a table, we strongly suggest making a reservation; call 513-385-9309 now!

Friday, October 19 takes us to the Butler County Bluegrass Association at 200 Warwick Rd, Hamilton, OH  45013.  Showtime is 7pm; donation requested at the door.  They serve good, downhome food, too.  Save me a corncake!

Sunday, October 21, Appalachian Grass is entertaining at the Annual Walk with Nature Fall Festival in St. Marys, OH.  Sponsored jointly by the St. Marys Kiwanis Club and the Heritage Trails Park District, the Festival features a farmer’s market, tours of historical St. Marys, and arts and crafts show, a car show, and the beautiful walking trails along St. Marys historic canal.  I’ve walked that trail and it is beautiful in the autumn weather with the trees turning colors.  Appalachian Grass plays from 2pm til 4:30.  Hope to see you there!

Update from my How to Play in a Bluegrass Band Class at the Oxford Community Arts Center… having reviewed the material covered during the first class meeting, we moved on to riffs you might use to make a simple melody (still I’ll Fly Away) fancier and more interesting to play and to hear.  As the class was dispersing for the evening, one of the members asked me to write out some of the riffs we had discussed and record them in the context of the tune.  Brilliant idea!!  Give me a couple of days then check the fotmc.com blog at  https://www.fotmc.com/bi-monthly-bluegrass-blog-from-famous-old-time-music-co/.  I plan to post a couple of items generated by this discussion. 

I am considering offering a similar class at my Cincinnati studio.  I already have a fiddler, a banjo player, and hopefully a guitar picker.  I’d REALLY like to have a bass, too.  Anybody interested in details, contact me at fotmc@iglou.com.

Thanks!