Accompanying the food was the music of the Potlatch Senior Jammers performing a musical repertoire of what was called “oral” music by one guest. It was music that has been passed down through the years from family to family without the benefit of written score. This evening’s selection was a combination of Irish and American Folk songs. I talked with Mable Vogt who comes from Potlatch, a town of some 900 people. She said that 15 years ago there was an interest by one student to learn the fiddle. She took him on as her first student. That relationship grew with others joining until it became the organization it is today with the older members teaching the younger ones. The night was still not over as we walked further east to a large open hillside overlooking an outdoor stage. The Coyote Special was playing as we settled on the grass in preparation for the final treat of the evening. The Idaho Repertory Summer Theater’s presentation of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado about Nothing”. As an interesting twist, the setting had been moved to the American Civil War, mostly because of a rare opportunity to acquire an assortment of authentic Union uniforms from a recent Turner film production. The contrast was sufficient to cause a sense of a new and different play, as Kelly Quinnett playing Beatrice taunted and teased Michael Behrens as Benedick. The play was good, the performers convincing, but nature took its toll on the crowd. There is an old saying in the theater, an outdoor play should never last past the dew point. As intermission came, I found my seat on the unprotected ground as wet as if it had rained. Hot, muggy, and tired, I watched, as couple after couple slowly rose and retreated toward the trailers. I looked at Laura, who was sitting on the only chair we brought. She read my thoughts. We joined the slow possession trudging back. I turned for a final glance at the now distant hillside and marveled at the stamina of the few remaining diehards. I thought of the feelings of the players, standing behind stage, watching the exodus from their summer long endeavor. I remembered school plays and the reaction I got to the audience, and then the wet and exhaustion overtook me and I turned away, walking without thought, back to the trailer, dry clothes, a shower and bed.

The morning came with renewed strength. This year, two large generators had been added to the parking lots. Running between 6:00 AM and 11:00 PM, they supplied 30 amp service to the hundreds of sites that had signed up for power. Though there was no water hookup, there were water hoses running into the parking lot from every direction. Honey truck certificates were purchasable at the registration booth for $10. a tank. The truck came by every day.  The second class of the day was one I had anticipated with delight. Bob Livingston, an editor for Trailer Life and author of the renowned book "Trailer Life Maintenance Manual" was teaching a course on writing for Trailer Life Publications. One of my long term goals is to have something I have written, published in a magazine. This was the course where I learned the ins and outs of getting a publisher to recognize my work, including the writing of the mysterious query letter which is required by most publishers to get the ball rolling.