Thanksgiving was delightful. Spent with my younger brother and his family, Seth Cohen (whose LJ name I'm blanking on these days) and associated kids (Karen being back in the hospital).
Then came the last Darkover. It was also the last Clam Chowder concert, and I suspect, given the health problems of one member and the immediate future plans of some others, that this fellowship is ended for good this time. Perhaps some future group with some overlap will revive the name and have its own traditions and followers. But, to borrow from Doctor Who, this song has ended.
So for me it was melancholy but without being unduly bitter. Friday night it kept hitting me we had lost three folks I would usually expect to see at Darkover in one year. Jaelle, Marty, and Pedro d'Alcazar aka Craig Levin. All of them familiar acquaintances of many years. All missed.
At the end of the Hallelujah Chorus, a Darkover tradition, there was a round of "hava nagilla." It was well meant, but not really what was called for -- especially since it was actually Chanukah. So a few of us sang the opening chorus of Maoz Tzur, a traditional Chanukah song. Felt better after that. (I'd an actual itch to add something suitable at the Jaelle memorial music jam, but had decided against it. Jaelle had left that part of her life, and we had not been that close. It felt, well, filk-hoggish if you will to have inserted something there that most of the participants would not have understood and would have had only a few participating voices.
Now flying off to Boston to spend tonight with my parents (since we barely had time to say 'hi' during the Bar Mitzvah a few weeks back) and then speaking tomorrow (Tuesday Dec. 3) at this free event at Suffolk Law School on Tremont street. Sadly, will not have time to see
mabfan, gnomi and family unless anyone shows up at the event.Finally, I did an appearance last week before Thanksgiving on To The Point, a show produced by KCRW at UC Santa Monica, to discuss Net Neutrality. You can find the link here.