ARSC, National Parks and More (Conference and Greenwood)–May 17-18
The ARSC Conference Although I was rather tired when I finally reached my hotel room, I had already missed ARSC sessions on Thursday and that Friday morning. So, instead of answering the call of the hotel bed, I showered and changed clothes then attended the afternoon sessions. ARSC, or the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, is an interesting mix of professionals and amateurs covering the fields of sound production, preservation, research, etc. I have maintained my membership beyond my retirement because my research interests have a direct correlation with the organization, and there are colleagues whose interests tie directly with mine. I got a very pleasant surprise when, looking through the printed program to decide what to attend, I saw that the publisher of my second book had taken out an ad featuring the book. Thanks!! This year, my proposed presentation, “Porgy and Bess at 90,” had been selected for…
ARSC, National Parks and More (Gettin’ There)–May 14-16
A head’s up from the very beginning: This trip was very different than I had mentioned in my April 20, 2025, post. But then, that’s not at all unusual in my journeys. I tend to have a basic plan with lots of variables that I can consider as the trip occurs. My departure on Wednesday, May 14, was much later than planned because I wanted to make a sausage delivery as I left town and used that as an excuse to get a few extra hours of recovery sleep and trip prep after my recent return from my class reunion just two days earlier. Anyway, on my first gas and food stop near the Maryland-Pennsylvania-West Virginia borders, I saw my first McDonald’s advertisement for their offering of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I had read an announcement about the arrangement a year ago, but I wasn’t ready to actually see the doughnuts…
Pittsburgh–Conference and a Tour
I had packed a lot of activity into the trip that would take me from my current home base in Iowa to Pittsburgh, PA, via Illinois and Ohio. My plans changed from the very beginning when I decided to delay my departure from Sunday morning, May 14th, to Tuesday. This change meant that I had to miss the Renée Fleming/Evgeny Kissin recital in Chicago on Sunday, very much to my disappointment. When I finally did get started on Tuesday morning, I loaded the Silver Bullet with a larger-than-usual suitcase to handle the clothes I thought I’d need for the ARSC conference and my time visiting family in the DC Metro area. I also had eight of the ten copies of my newly published book that its publisher had sent to me. I had already mailed books one and two to my eldest sister, to whom I had dedicated the book,…