Monday, September 29, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Homegrown Music Thursday August 14th
Does anyone remember me telling everyone about a year and a half ago that I was going to be taping a performance for the "Homegrown Music" series hosted by George Graham on WVIA-TV out of Pittston, Pennsylvania? Remember? Really, it happened in January 2007. I bet you thought I was lying. (Just because I didn't really date John Mayer doesn't mean that I lie about everything.) If you want the proof, turn on your tube to WVIA this Thursday August 14th at 9:00pm. First up is a performance from bluesman Jonah Gregory which is followed by a performance from yours truly with a very special appearance by a clarinet played by the extra special Doug McMinn.
For more info, you can check out www.georgegraham.com or www.wvia.org.
Does anyone remember me telling everyone about a year and a half ago that I was going to be taping a performance for the "Homegrown Music" series hosted by George Graham on WVIA-TV out of Pittston, Pennsylvania? Remember? Really, it happened in January 2007. I bet you thought I was lying. (Just because I didn't really date John Mayer doesn't mean that I lie about everything.) If you want the proof, turn on your tube to WVIA this Thursday August 14th at 9:00pm. First up is a performance from bluesman Jonah Gregory which is followed by a performance from yours truly with a very special appearance by a clarinet played by the extra special Doug McMinn.
For more info, you can check out www.georgegraham.com or www.wvia.org.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Farmer's Plea
Farm songs, farm songs, all I write are farm songs....these days. I promise they will all solidify into a nice project of sorts. By that, I mean an album and at some point, an agricultural based folk opera. It's in my head right now and slowly trickling out, or I'm sort of just holding it until I feel it's ready like grain in a silo. See, there's another one.
In the meantime, here's a great article featuring Sweet Meriam's Farm...my muse of sorts.
Published July 28, 2008 12:00 am - There are no two-for-one specials here, no bonus card discounts. You won't find fancy packaging, produce imported from Chile or fluorescent lighting.
Goodbye, produce aisle
More shoppers buy shares of crops from farmers
By Damian Gessel
The Daily Item
BEAVER SPRINGS -- There are no two-for-one specials here, no bonus card discounts. You won't find fancy packaging, produce imported from Chile or fluorescent lighting. All Sweet Meriam's holds for the residents who buy its seasonal crop shares is carefully tilled soil, rows of organic vegetables and a healthy dose of rural central Pennsylvania sunlight.
And if you ask them, that's exactly the point.
Sweet Meriam's community-supported crop took root in 2000, putting it at the forefront of a growing movement in the Susquehanna Valley and in the nation at large.
The idea is simple. Folks pay $300 for a half-share, $600 for a full, and then from May through October take home weekly bushel-size boxes of carrots, spinach, lettuce, squash, zucchini and nearly everything else you'd find in a traditional grocery store, depending on the season.
Some shareholders, such as Rebecca Hoover, of Sunbury, take the back-to-the-Earth concept a bit further by working the plot themselves.
"I want the experience of being out here and working with my hands," Hoover said. "It gives you an appreciation of what you're eating."
Hoover isn't alone in her ideals. Far from it. Since a pioneering farmer carried the concept with him to the United States from Europe in the mid-1980s, community-supported agriculture has seeded itself slowly but surely, catching a big headwind from the country's ongoing push for organic foods and recent campaigns urging residents to eat locally. In the last five years, new CSA crops have sprouted in Lewisburg, Sunbury and elsewhere in the Valley. Since Sweet Meriam's started the trend, five other CSA operations have popped up around the area.
The idea's proliferation has actually cost Sweet Meriam's some business. Many Lewisburg shareholders who last year traveled to Beaver Springs for their organic veggies now can find the same just down the road. Union County Commissioner John Showers and his wife, Nancy, have found themselves among the local-food converts. They rent a crop share at Dreamcatcher Farm in Lewisburg.
While many are just turning to the idea that food doesn't grow only in the grocery store, Sweet Meriam's owner Kristen Markley has long subscribed to the concept. She said people are beginning to see the importance of supporting local agriculture.
"People are getting back in touch with where their food is coming from. They want to live a more balanced life," she said.
Markley said when people plug themselves into local agriculture, skipping the supermarket middle man, they reap the dual benefits of helping local farmers and the local economy and wrapping their hands around the freshest food possible.
Sure, maybe that means you'll have to go without strawberries in October. But for Rebecca Hoover, who kneeled in the Earth on Wednesday, plucking sweet peas out in the open air, it's a small price to pay.
"I've learned a lot being out here," she said.
In the meantime, here's a great article featuring Sweet Meriam's Farm...my muse of sorts.
Published July 28, 2008 12:00 am - There are no two-for-one specials here, no bonus card discounts. You won't find fancy packaging, produce imported from Chile or fluorescent lighting.
Goodbye, produce aisle
More shoppers buy shares of crops from farmers
By Damian Gessel
The Daily Item
BEAVER SPRINGS -- There are no two-for-one specials here, no bonus card discounts. You won't find fancy packaging, produce imported from Chile or fluorescent lighting. All Sweet Meriam's holds for the residents who buy its seasonal crop shares is carefully tilled soil, rows of organic vegetables and a healthy dose of rural central Pennsylvania sunlight.
And if you ask them, that's exactly the point.
Sweet Meriam's community-supported crop took root in 2000, putting it at the forefront of a growing movement in the Susquehanna Valley and in the nation at large.
The idea is simple. Folks pay $300 for a half-share, $600 for a full, and then from May through October take home weekly bushel-size boxes of carrots, spinach, lettuce, squash, zucchini and nearly everything else you'd find in a traditional grocery store, depending on the season.
Some shareholders, such as Rebecca Hoover, of Sunbury, take the back-to-the-Earth concept a bit further by working the plot themselves.
"I want the experience of being out here and working with my hands," Hoover said. "It gives you an appreciation of what you're eating."
Hoover isn't alone in her ideals. Far from it. Since a pioneering farmer carried the concept with him to the United States from Europe in the mid-1980s, community-supported agriculture has seeded itself slowly but surely, catching a big headwind from the country's ongoing push for organic foods and recent campaigns urging residents to eat locally. In the last five years, new CSA crops have sprouted in Lewisburg, Sunbury and elsewhere in the Valley. Since Sweet Meriam's started the trend, five other CSA operations have popped up around the area.
The idea's proliferation has actually cost Sweet Meriam's some business. Many Lewisburg shareholders who last year traveled to Beaver Springs for their organic veggies now can find the same just down the road. Union County Commissioner John Showers and his wife, Nancy, have found themselves among the local-food converts. They rent a crop share at Dreamcatcher Farm in Lewisburg.
While many are just turning to the idea that food doesn't grow only in the grocery store, Sweet Meriam's owner Kristen Markley has long subscribed to the concept. She said people are beginning to see the importance of supporting local agriculture.
"People are getting back in touch with where their food is coming from. They want to live a more balanced life," she said.
Markley said when people plug themselves into local agriculture, skipping the supermarket middle man, they reap the dual benefits of helping local farmers and the local economy and wrapping their hands around the freshest food possible.
Sure, maybe that means you'll have to go without strawberries in October. But for Rebecca Hoover, who kneeled in the Earth on Wednesday, plucking sweet peas out in the open air, it's a small price to pay.
"I've learned a lot being out here," she said.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
I Like Guitars
Published April 06, 2008 12:01 am - A simple flick followed by a pluck, then a quick strum, and a small corner of Snyder County was filled with music.
Group gives guitar lessons ... and instruments
Free lessons come with free instruments
By Jaime North
The Daily Item
BEAVERTOWN -- A simple flick followed by a pluck, then a quick strum, and a small corner of Snyder County was filled with music.
It may not have been classic Eric Clapton or folk icon Sheryl Crow, but it was music to the ears of 15 first-timers who spent a few hours Saturday learning how to play acoustic guitar.
The Generoo Organization, a nonprofit group in Beaver Springs, organized a free community guitar workshop at Beavertown Lutheran Church to help influence locals to follow their artistic interests and take to the guitar.
"Guitar is very popular these days," said Hannah Bingman, who organized the event and was among three guitarists giving lessons. "If people aren't already playing guitar, they're playing Guitar Hero (video game). There aren't many opportunities for people in our area to take lessons. Everywhere we go, we have to drive 30 minutes."
Bingman said the goal of the workshop was to encourage people to continue playing the guitar. The students, who ranged in age from 10 up to 50 years, learned many fundamentals, including how to read music and play three basic chords on the guitar.
Students who didn't have a guitar before the workshop were given a new one as a surprise gift, Bingman said.
"We wanted to pack as much as we could in three hours," Bingman said. "When they leave, they should be able to play a little at home and hopefully keep taking lessons."
Michaela Wagner, 10, of Beaver Springs, said she couldn't wait until she got home to play guitar with her dad.
"I love music, and I've always wanted to try guitar" Michaela said. "My dad has one that I've played around on, but I never really learned how to play it. Now I can surprise him."
Kacie Bogar, 12, of Beavertown, was also looking forward to joining her family guitar players. She was most excited to learn how to play a new instrument, especially one with such flexibility.
"I've started to get bored playing other instruments," Kacie said. "When you play the drums, you can't change it too much. A drum is a drum.
"If you know how to play guitar, you can play acoustic, electric or even bass. There are a lot of options."
Although the main lesson in the workshop evolved around the acoustic guitar, Bob Dock, 43, of Beavertown, couldn't wait to try his hand on the electric guitar even if it meant he had to take another lesson.
"I've always wanted to learn how to play but never had the chance to get started," Dock said. "Guitars are rock music, and that's what I like best. It will be interesting when I try out an AC/DC song. We'll see."
The event and gift guitars were sponsored by a grant provided by the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts.
Generoo has applied for funding assistance from the Degenstein Foundation and M&T Bank in hope to offer the workshop next spring, according to Bev Lash, Generoo's board president.
"We're always trying to find out what the community is lacking in terms of the arts," Lash said. "We hope to do more events like these, including possibly putting together a community theater group and drum circle class."
In addition to the Council of the Arts grant, Bingman said a few local businesses lent their hand to the workshop.
Robert M. Sides Family Music Centers in Williamsport donated music folders, while USA Embroidery Silk Screen LLC in Penns Creek donated guitar jammies to help protect the gift guitars in their cases.
In-Tune Music Shoppe in Millmont donated picks and guitar strings, and Airy Dale Farm Market in Beaver Springs donated snacks for breaks in between lessons.
For more information on Generoo and its other community events, call Lash at 658-7710.
Published April 06, 2008 12:01 am - A simple flick followed by a pluck, then a quick strum, and a small corner of Snyder County was filled with music.
Group gives guitar lessons ... and instruments
Free lessons come with free instruments
By Jaime North
The Daily Item
BEAVERTOWN -- A simple flick followed by a pluck, then a quick strum, and a small corner of Snyder County was filled with music.
It may not have been classic Eric Clapton or folk icon Sheryl Crow, but it was music to the ears of 15 first-timers who spent a few hours Saturday learning how to play acoustic guitar.
The Generoo Organization, a nonprofit group in Beaver Springs, organized a free community guitar workshop at Beavertown Lutheran Church to help influence locals to follow their artistic interests and take to the guitar.
"Guitar is very popular these days," said Hannah Bingman, who organized the event and was among three guitarists giving lessons. "If people aren't already playing guitar, they're playing Guitar Hero (video game). There aren't many opportunities for people in our area to take lessons. Everywhere we go, we have to drive 30 minutes."
Bingman said the goal of the workshop was to encourage people to continue playing the guitar. The students, who ranged in age from 10 up to 50 years, learned many fundamentals, including how to read music and play three basic chords on the guitar.
Students who didn't have a guitar before the workshop were given a new one as a surprise gift, Bingman said.
"We wanted to pack as much as we could in three hours," Bingman said. "When they leave, they should be able to play a little at home and hopefully keep taking lessons."
Michaela Wagner, 10, of Beaver Springs, said she couldn't wait until she got home to play guitar with her dad.
"I love music, and I've always wanted to try guitar" Michaela said. "My dad has one that I've played around on, but I never really learned how to play it. Now I can surprise him."
Kacie Bogar, 12, of Beavertown, was also looking forward to joining her family guitar players. She was most excited to learn how to play a new instrument, especially one with such flexibility.
"I've started to get bored playing other instruments," Kacie said. "When you play the drums, you can't change it too much. A drum is a drum.
"If you know how to play guitar, you can play acoustic, electric or even bass. There are a lot of options."
Although the main lesson in the workshop evolved around the acoustic guitar, Bob Dock, 43, of Beavertown, couldn't wait to try his hand on the electric guitar even if it meant he had to take another lesson.
"I've always wanted to learn how to play but never had the chance to get started," Dock said. "Guitars are rock music, and that's what I like best. It will be interesting when I try out an AC/DC song. We'll see."
The event and gift guitars were sponsored by a grant provided by the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts.
Generoo has applied for funding assistance from the Degenstein Foundation and M&T Bank in hope to offer the workshop next spring, according to Bev Lash, Generoo's board president.
"We're always trying to find out what the community is lacking in terms of the arts," Lash said. "We hope to do more events like these, including possibly putting together a community theater group and drum circle class."
In addition to the Council of the Arts grant, Bingman said a few local businesses lent their hand to the workshop.
Robert M. Sides Family Music Centers in Williamsport donated music folders, while USA Embroidery Silk Screen LLC in Penns Creek donated guitar jammies to help protect the gift guitars in their cases.
In-Tune Music Shoppe in Millmont donated picks and guitar strings, and Airy Dale Farm Market in Beaver Springs donated snacks for breaks in between lessons.
For more information on Generoo and its other community events, call Lash at 658-7710.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
If Only They'd Stop Calling Her Fat
The thing about car rides is that though they can be counterproductive to the sustainability of breathable air, they can be productive, if the time is used wisely by the driver or passenger(s), to the thought process or useful in the generation of ideas. I zoned out at 35mph in a snow storm on Tuesday listening to NPR (I think?). The host talked about a new web site recently launched by a woman who found much closure in writing an obituary for her father who recently passed. She found also that writing an obituary for the "death" of a relationship brought the same result. So the new site allows other folks to write obituaries for their extinguished relationships.
The thing is, my best friend just passed away. And when I say best friend, I mean my cat. That is Nike Scout Hemingway Bingman. Nike was given to her via my obsession with Michael Jordan (I thought I was going to be tall and play basketball for a living) when I was twelve. Scout is from To Kill a Mockingbird. Hemingway is from the author, of course, who had a fondness for six-toed felines. Nike had six toes on her front paws. Bingman comes from where you might expect it to. The names didn't all come at once.
I'm not sure how to write a sufficient obituary. What did she accomplish? The gaining of several pounds and hours of sleep I would say. How old was she? Only eleven years, or 77 in the cat world. The cancer got her and wouldn't let go, so I had to. She was a good cat. It was tough during "the college years"but we got through it. I'll leave you with a poem I wrote for her in either my junior or senior of high school. (I also wrote her a song entitled "Nike the Cat" to the tune of "Rocky Raccoon." Mrs. Mellott still remembers it.) The poem stays posted above her kibble dish.
If Only They'd Stop Calling Her Fat
If only they'd stop calling her fat
How could they not
When every glassy-eyed glance
Seems to say "I am hungry!"
Her body, like a big furry sack of potatoes
Looks almost lifeless lying there with one
Hind leg dangling form the dining table chair
But she hurriedly rises with every
Opening of the fridge door
As if to say "No, I haven’t had a snack today."
And after defeat, she flops her belly
On the floor listlessly to return to her dormancy
The worst motivational speaker in the world
But a surprisingly very good sack of potatoes
If only they'd stop calling her fat
hkb
If only they'd stop calling her fat
How could they not
When every glassy-eyed glance
Seems to say "I am hungry!"
Her body, like a big furry sack of potatoes
Looks almost lifeless lying there with one
Hind leg dangling form the dining table chair
But she hurriedly rises with every
Opening of the fridge door
As if to say "No, I haven’t had a snack today."
And after defeat, she flops her belly
On the floor listlessly to return to her dormancy
The worst motivational speaker in the world
But a surprisingly very good sack of potatoes
If only they'd stop calling her fat
hkb
Nike Scout Hemingway Bingman 1996-2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Inclusions
My high school was so small that we didn't have enough students to create cliques or similar social groups. Therefore, if you were a band geek (me), you were also most likely to be the basketball team's shooting guard (me again), in the school play (yep, me), and wrote articles for the school paper (just the silly ones).
Yeah.....I don't know where I am going with this either. I just know where I want this blog to end up.
My friend from high school, Cass Barbour, was one of those guys that was great at everything. He still is, I'm pretty sure. He recently finished the music and sound effects for an independent film called Inclusions. Check it out here http://www.inclusionsthemovie.com/. Cass was nice enough to ask me to use one my songs, "Finished, Fine, Done", for a scene in the movie. He let me watch a nearly finished version of the movie. It was very well done by the way. So well done, that the film has already won prizes at the Northampton Independent Film Festival and has been selected for the Festivus Film Festival in Colorado.
Huzzah for another Beaver Springs kid!
Yeah.....I don't know where I am going with this either. I just know where I want this blog to end up.
My friend from high school, Cass Barbour, was one of those guys that was great at everything. He still is, I'm pretty sure. He recently finished the music and sound effects for an independent film called Inclusions. Check it out here http://www.inclusionsthemovie.com/. Cass was nice enough to ask me to use one my songs, "Finished, Fine, Done", for a scene in the movie. He let me watch a nearly finished version of the movie. It was very well done by the way. So well done, that the film has already won prizes at the Northampton Independent Film Festival and has been selected for the Festivus Film Festival in Colorado.
Huzzah for another Beaver Springs kid!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
I played the melody. And always will.
Some of you readers may remember one of my posts from a year or so ago about my friend, Rudy. He's a great musician and source of knowledge whom I met when I worked at a public library during my college years. Rudy would play old standards on the piano in the community room below the library and sometimes bring in old instruments for me inspect. He's 92 years old now...and still rides his bicycle everywhere. He liked to read about my performances in the regional paper and now I finally get to read about him. Check it out...
http://www.dailyitem.com/0300_entertainment/local_story_305001559.html?start:int=0
The music survives
Former Big Band pianist continues to entertain
By Cindy O. Herman
For The Daily Item
SELINSGROVE -- Spending time with Rudy Gellnett is like sitting down to chat with Jimmy Stewart. You come away humming show tunes and feeling it's really a wonderful life, after all. And much like the beloved actor from the 1930s and '40s, Mr. Gellnett can't seem to understand why people make such a fuss about him.
He is a man who, at the age of 92, rides his bicycle every day at Grayson View, in Selinsgrove, where he has resided for the past eight months, and who plays the piano there for fellow residents.
"I started a band in high school," the Selinsgrove graduate said, in a soft, deep voice. "I'm one of the old-time musicians around here in the popular field.
"Then, in college, at Susquehanna University, in the summer of '35 and '36, I took a five-piece band to Europe. We were the first Pennsylvania college to do this," he said. "All college students go to Europe these days. It was big stuff in the Depression."
After college, he started in a band with Ivan Faux until World War II called him away from his music. He served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy until returning to form a band under his own name.
Mr. Gellnett's band was popular at Rolling Green Park, in Shamokin Dam. He pointed out the park's logo, RG, the same initials as his, over the Rainbow Ballroom stage. "I told everybody that that was our park," he said with a soft laugh.
The Rudy Gellnett Band played everywhere, including Bucknell University fraternities and Penn State. "We were very, very popular at Penn State," he said. "It's very far. You didn't think of it when you were young."
After World War II, people flocked to musicals like "Oklahoma," "South Pacific" and "The King and I," and the big band music was everywhere. It seemed like it would last forever, but ...
"In the late '50s, rock killed us," Mr. Gellnett said, emphasizing the words. "Rock killed us. Just like that."
He shook his head, still bridling at the end of an era.
"Even the country clubs were having rock bands. God, we played country clubs in Harrisburg, Jersey Shore. Williamsport country clubs. All over the place. But rock killed us."
Mr. Gellnett played with other bands afterward, and continues to play at wedding receptions and private parties. He recently played at a 50th anniversary party for Susquehanna University's class of 1957 at the university president's house.
"Just a few engagements come along, but I continue to play. I haven't lost my touch," he said, twirling his fingers as if on a piano keyboard. "But I'm not a rock n' roll type. Never was."
Until recently, when Susquehanna University donated a new piano, Mr. Gellnett had to tickle the ivories on Grayson View's old one, which was in sad shape. "It was so badly ...," Mr. Gellnett broke off, shaking his head. "It just wasn't working well. So Susquehanna donated [the new one]. I had nothing to do with it. They just came through."
And now, Mr. Gellnett is able to give regular piano concerts to fellow residents, playing the music they all love.
"It's the usual. "'Indian Love,' that sort of thing," Mr. Gellnett said of the music requests. "One man came up with ÂDaddy's Little Girl' the other day, and that's a very pretty song." He gave a deep chuckle. "It's not rock n' roll here."
And his personal favorite? "I would say 'People Will Say We're In Love' is one of the best songs ever written," he said solemnly.
The Rudy Gellnett Band is long gone, but the Big Band songs they once played continue on.
"I loaf, but I do it gracefully," he said with a twinkling smile. "But after all, at 92, loafing gracefully is my job now."
And when Mr. Gellnett gracefully loafs, sweet music fills the air and stirs memories at Grayson View every day.
"I grew up with Gershwin and Cole Porter and those boys. Richard Rodgers. Jerome Kern. In other words, I played the melody. And always will," Mr. Gellnett said, adding, "Jazz has its place, and rock has its place "'? it's not for me."
http://www.dailyitem.com/0300_entertainment/local_story_305001559.html?start:int=0The music survives
Former Big Band pianist continues to entertain
By Cindy O. Herman
For The Daily Item
SELINSGROVE -- Spending time with Rudy Gellnett is like sitting down to chat with Jimmy Stewart. You come away humming show tunes and feeling it's really a wonderful life, after all. And much like the beloved actor from the 1930s and '40s, Mr. Gellnett can't seem to understand why people make such a fuss about him.
He is a man who, at the age of 92, rides his bicycle every day at Grayson View, in Selinsgrove, where he has resided for the past eight months, and who plays the piano there for fellow residents.
"I started a band in high school," the Selinsgrove graduate said, in a soft, deep voice. "I'm one of the old-time musicians around here in the popular field.
"Then, in college, at Susquehanna University, in the summer of '35 and '36, I took a five-piece band to Europe. We were the first Pennsylvania college to do this," he said. "All college students go to Europe these days. It was big stuff in the Depression."
After college, he started in a band with Ivan Faux until World War II called him away from his music. He served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy until returning to form a band under his own name.
Mr. Gellnett's band was popular at Rolling Green Park, in Shamokin Dam. He pointed out the park's logo, RG, the same initials as his, over the Rainbow Ballroom stage. "I told everybody that that was our park," he said with a soft laugh.
The Rudy Gellnett Band played everywhere, including Bucknell University fraternities and Penn State. "We were very, very popular at Penn State," he said. "It's very far. You didn't think of it when you were young."
After World War II, people flocked to musicals like "Oklahoma," "South Pacific" and "The King and I," and the big band music was everywhere. It seemed like it would last forever, but ...
"In the late '50s, rock killed us," Mr. Gellnett said, emphasizing the words. "Rock killed us. Just like that."
He shook his head, still bridling at the end of an era.
"Even the country clubs were having rock bands. God, we played country clubs in Harrisburg, Jersey Shore. Williamsport country clubs. All over the place. But rock killed us."
Mr. Gellnett played with other bands afterward, and continues to play at wedding receptions and private parties. He recently played at a 50th anniversary party for Susquehanna University's class of 1957 at the university president's house.
"Just a few engagements come along, but I continue to play. I haven't lost my touch," he said, twirling his fingers as if on a piano keyboard. "But I'm not a rock n' roll type. Never was."
Until recently, when Susquehanna University donated a new piano, Mr. Gellnett had to tickle the ivories on Grayson View's old one, which was in sad shape. "It was so badly ...," Mr. Gellnett broke off, shaking his head. "It just wasn't working well. So Susquehanna donated [the new one]. I had nothing to do with it. They just came through."
And now, Mr. Gellnett is able to give regular piano concerts to fellow residents, playing the music they all love.
"It's the usual. "'Indian Love,' that sort of thing," Mr. Gellnett said of the music requests. "One man came up with ÂDaddy's Little Girl' the other day, and that's a very pretty song." He gave a deep chuckle. "It's not rock n' roll here."
And his personal favorite? "I would say 'People Will Say We're In Love' is one of the best songs ever written," he said solemnly.
The Rudy Gellnett Band is long gone, but the Big Band songs they once played continue on.
"I loaf, but I do it gracefully," he said with a twinkling smile. "But after all, at 92, loafing gracefully is my job now."
And when Mr. Gellnett gracefully loafs, sweet music fills the air and stirs memories at Grayson View every day.
"I grew up with Gershwin and Cole Porter and those boys. Richard Rodgers. Jerome Kern. In other words, I played the melody. And always will," Mr. Gellnett said, adding, "Jazz has its place, and rock has its place "'? it's not for me."
