off to Suzie Vinnick or not?

Suzie Vinnick - Little One from the neighbors dog on Vimeo.

I've been hoping to be able to get to see Suzie Vinnick tonight at 8 pm. She's playing, along with 2 other acoustic musicians, at the Finnish Labour Temple. I warned my husband 2 days ago when I first noticed the poster on the cashier's door at Hoito Restaurant that we must go to the concert! I told him I do so much want to hear her again live. He's never heard of her,nor had the woman and her daughter who stopped to listen to me gush to Heli, the cashier at Hoito, how great Suzie Vinnick is.

I first heard Suzie Vinnick perform at the Thundering Women's Festival, where both my sister, Della, and me did performances. This was a number of years back as Jake, Della's son was just a hesitant back up for his mother, and now he is the lead singer and guitarist and songwriter for his award-winning band. I remember sitting out on the grass on a beautiful sunny day, on a knoll overlooking the Kaministiqua River as it empties into Lake Superior, being completely rapt to attention when Suzie Vinnick strummed her first notes and started to play. I immediately ran off and bought her cd after her set was over. I listen to it often. Lost of variety in her tunes. One song, with a bit of humorous whimsy, titled "I need a cowboy" always makes me feel light-hearted and silly. You can't stay in a funk listening to that song. So, too, listening to "Drive Fast" in the car....while driving fast. She reminds you of how we get caught up in our busy lives. Reminds us to slow down. "33 Stars" is also a beautiful song she dedicates to one of her friends who lived only 33 years. These are all on the cd I bought, called 33 Stars.

Will I get to concert tonight? Oh, I don't know. Desires and actual happenings are 2 different things in my life. I've a ton of marking, preparing classes, course proposals and syllabus, reading books and poetry, putting together a reading packet...oh, the list is long. Never mind clean the house! You don't want to know what state my office at home is in. Find a book? Geez, I spent some good time looking for Food for our Grandmothers yesterday. I gave up. Luckily today I found it; it was under Word Warriors. Luckily, too, lots of left overs from last night's supper when Rasha came by to join us. Today's rally against the HST at Waverley Park kept me busy. I was the MC/announcer, moving things along, cracking quips, stating hard realities. Imagine that shy little Finnish immigrant girl who never even knew English, who kept her head down in her books and her eyes cast down in class least the teacher address her...oh she's a bold one today.