To our surprise, last month's salon began with Slainte pub in Oakland also hosting an Irish whiskey tasting. The spirit from Dingle seemed a favorite.
After a bit of technical setup, the salon for the first time showed the IAW&A sizzle reel and it was well received.
Maureen Duffy read a story titled "From This Day Forward” – a tale of romance and road trips, with many memorable lines. One that stood out: “We lie in bed making up songs of every place we kissed.” A song I would love to hear.
Robert Anderson, this time solo, sang two songs: first an upbeat original “Get Away” and the second a cover of Keb Mo’s “Put a Woman in Charge,” which had the audience nodding along and thinking “If only we did”.
Barbara McVeigh read from her work “Aftershock,” about her years as a substitute teacher in San Francisco and Marin. One piece was where her students had a device that made the sound of a machine gun, scary and sadly not responded to very well by the administration. And the second of the financial hardships of the job with tolls and the worry and reality of getting a parking ticket, which ate away at her day’s wage.
Barbara also announced her next doc that will be screened soon. About Jimmy Carter and his peace process struggle during his presidency, “Was He Silenced?”
Your diarist read a short piece that was printed in the magazine Irish America about her grandmother’s first year in America, after she was warned about the gangsters with their “tommy gun” shooting up the streets, and confused that with July 4th fireworks.
The night ended with a Clif Linton and Jenny Linton duet of fiddle and ukelele passing out lyric sheets for the audience to sing along to Irish favorites such as “Danny Boy,” “Galway Bay” and more. Clif made a point of sharing the song writers and the history of the songs.
Always great to conclude with a sing-along. Malachy would have approved.
