Double J and the Boys

I’ve given up looking to the calendar to plan any seasonal activities. We all know, for instance, that we are likely to have a spate of cold wintery weather after March 20^th or even after June 21^st – which are the official dates for Spring and Summer, respectively, for 2018.  Nope.  I am definitely not counting on the calendar.  Or on the weather.

But, I am satisfied that summer is on its way and, not only that, it will be here in a day or two.  As of last night, summer was in Los Baños, California and headed our way.  Well, actually, only a part of summer – part of Double J and the Boys.  Judy Eron and Charlie Watkins are headed for the Peninsula and when they get here and the group is reunited with Janet Clark, I can say with confidence:  “It’s summer!”

Los Banos Opera House after 1906 San Francisco earthquake

I’ve been tracking their progress from their winter home in Texas, partly because I miss their sunshiny faces and upbeat music and partly because they are scheduled to do a House Concert here on Mother’s Day – May 13^th.  I’ve been trying to nail down their program so I can send out the announcements in a timely manner.  I finally got this bit of information which I think is better than good enough for starters:

Celebrating their 10^thyear together, more or less as cowboy as ever, Double J and the Boys return to Oysterville, still grammatically incorrect.  Boys?  Charlie Watkins on accordion is a great guy, but does he qualify as plural?  Janet Clark on fiddle and mandolin, and Judy Eron on guitar and songwriting pen, are, as Janet puts it, “twins born to two different mothers, 4 days apart.”

In the Ocean Park Parade, 2014

And speaking of mothers, there’s likely to be a brand-new Mother’s Day ditty.
This year’s concert will feature songs of revenge: “I picked his plum trees bare,
songs of advice: “Women be wise, keep your mouth shut.” And songs of sly competitiveness “The outfit I wore was sure to catch the judge’s eye, ‘cause I wear size 7 and it was size 5.”

Oh, and don’t forget the yodeling . . .

Sounds good.  Good enough to put on the invitation.  And, if you are interested in getting one, send me your email address.  It’s that simple to welcome summer on Mother’s Day!