Football + Music = busy weekend

Here's hoping that you, dear reader, aren't getting tired of my various postings about weekends loaded with activities. E.g., my second-most-recent posting is titled "Crowded Weekend. . . ." On the other hand, I might confess that I'm getting tired of writing these! "Tired" from all the activity available in this city whose middle name is "party" that is.

Considering that it's autumn now, the season not only of falling leaves but of "Friday Nite Lites", i.e. my beloved sport of high school football, it's no surprise that autumn weekends are so busy for me. And Friday nite I was at one exciting high school game while listening to an even more exciting one on my radio. Before my eyes the defending 4A Division I State Champs Alamo Heights Mules were opening District 27-AAAA play by hosting Fredericksburg. Ahead 10-7 at the half the Mules let the "Battlin' Billies" (billy-goats, that is) from the Hill Country get ahead 14-10 early in the third quarter after an interception near our goal line. But AHHS roared right down the field on the ensuing series, to regain the lead. We never gave that lead up again, but "Freds-town" kept it close to the end. Final score was Mules 24, Billies 17. Time for some cabrito!

Meanwhile, in my ears I listened to the Judson High Rockets come from behind at home in nearby Converse. Down 10-0 at the half, Coach Jim Rackley's team took the lead early in the third quarter, only to see visiting District 26-AAAAA rival Madison regain it. With a late field goal Judson tied the score. And then on the very final play of the game the Rockets' place kicker again drilled the pigskin thru the uprights, for a 20-17 Rockets victory! Whew!

The next day, Saturday, the Lanier HS Voks, the "Pride of the Westside", faced Sam Houston HS in Alamo Stadium. It was again a close game, with the winner in doubt 'til the "bitter end" one might say. But my Voks notched another victory in their quest for the District 28-AAAA title and/or a playoff spot.

However, much as I support the Voks and enjoy sports events in picturesque Alamo Stadium, I wasn't there. Instead, after clocking out from work at Fiesta Texas I went to the Take-a-Break Café (the employees cafeteria) and had the "special" for supper, while watching part of the LSU at Kentucky football game on the big-screen TV. LSU, one of my least-favorite football teams in the Southeastern Conference, was ahead when I began to watch. However, the University of Kentucky Wildcats, my next-favorite SEC team after Vandy and Georgia, scored a quick touchdown to come within six points of the Number One ranked Tigers. Later I heard that the Wildcats went on to defeat LSU in triple-overtime! It was one of two upsets of Top Ten teams that day, and one of a spate of upsets to this point in the season! Can you say, "parity"?

When I was done eating supper I took the bus downtown to historic La Villita and the International Accordion Festival. The first year I lived in San Antonio and learned about the festival I smirked, considered if Urkel (sp?) would be there, and then attended it and discovered what an amazingly versatile instrument the accordion is, and how many, many genres of music use it! On Saturday nite I went to the Arneson River Theater beside La Villita and enjoyed a group from San Francisco with FOUR accordions, called "Those Darn Accordions". The "Weekender" section of the Friday Express-News had commented that one might consider four squeezeboxes to be "overkill" but that the group actually began with many more than that! The article went on to say that their beginning consisted of musicians who played other instruments grabbing the "stomach Steinways" and going into places to perform informally -- until they would get kicked out. Hm-m-m! Sounds like even in "anything-goes" 'Frisco the squeezebox gets no respect!

However, I enjoyed "Those Darn Accordions" very much, especially when they did a humorous yet touching tribute to Lawrence Welk. The tribute presented the story of his progress in live entertainment with the accordion and mentioned several (perhaps all) the regular musical and singing artists oh his TV show -- one of my cherished memories from childhood.

I left the venue early in the evening, with the jolly sounds of the squeezebox still ringing in my appreciative ears, so I could get sufficient sleep. I wanted to be ready to sing in the choir at Alamo Heights Christian Church (Disciples) Sunday morning. This was the final Sunday for Janis Erwin, our dedicated, accomplished and inspiring choir director. We choir members had suggested that she choose the anthem for this final Sunday of her service. She chose "Make Your Life a Song to God", and as I practiced the lower-voice line before the rest of the group showed up, I mused that the message and happy tenor of this song were most appropriate for Janis' final Sunday.

. Make your life a song to God; sing loud and string and clear,
. Make your life a song to God for ev'ry-one to hear.
. Jesus will put the melody into your heart. . . .

The song leading into the pastoral prayer was changed from the one we had practiced on Wednesday, to "Come and Find the Quiet Center", words by S.E. Murray and set to the tune Beach Spring, based on a traditional American melody.

. Come and find the quiet center in the crowded life we lead,
. Find the room for hope to enter,
. Find the frame where we are freed,
. Clear the chaos and the clutter, clear our eyes to see
. All the things that really matter,
. Be at peace and simply be.

Sort of post-hippie lyrics, but still a good theme is expressed here: quiet and silence are all the more important in this chaotic, noisy, angry society in which we now live. The third and final verse also has a surprising and catchy phrase about "the Spirit's lively scheming". That word "scheming" usually has a negative intention when applied to a human, but combined with "lively" it may just apply to the divine Spirit -- and in a positive way!

There was a "farewell" reception for Janis right after worship, in the church's spacious lobby. Lots of visitors and irregular attenders were present. In the former category were Lynn and Neena McChesney; he was one of my roommates on my Pilgrim Walk to Emmaus, Men's #327 back in A.D. 1993, and now volunteers in Kairos Prison Ministry, in the Torres Unit near Hondo. In the latter category would be Janis' husband, Dr. Bill Erwin, who hasn't been at church much (at least those Sundays I go to AHCC rather than Mexican CC) since his term as Elder ended.

From Church I returned home briefly, to exchange a few things before heading back downtown to La Villita the Accordion Festival. In mid-afternoon, the great Santiago Jiménez, Jr., took the Arneson River Theater stage with his accordions (like most accomplished, veteran squeezebox performers he's got more than one) and his backup band that includes that other essential instrument for conjunto music: the bajo sexto (a twelve-string guitar). Santiago Jr. belongs to a famous dynasty of conjunto accordionists, which includes his father Santiago Sr. and brother Flaco (who was at my first Accordion Festival, back in '02). He was terrific: as he played old polka standards older chicano couples got down to dance in the wide section of the Riverwalk between the Arneson's bankside seating area and the edge of the San Antonio River. (The Arneson stage is on the other side of the river -- unique for a performance venue!) And on one song the audience joined in on the chorus lyrics. This reminded me of when I was at Mission San José for the likewise legendary Little Joe y la Familia, and the audience would sing along on songs they obviously had known and loved for years. These chicano neighbors of mine truly love to sing!

Sad to say, Santiago Jr., que tiene 64 años, suffered from the heat of the midafternoon sun and had to cut short his time on that stage. Later we were told that he was actually taken away in an EMS vehicle. Truly, the Festival's organizers should have scheduled him for the evening, when the hot sun would have been low, if not behind the riverside trees!

Before and after the legendary conjunto star I heard from a Native American family band which includes accordion. They're called "Southern Scratch" and hail from the Tohono O'odham Nation of southern Arizona. Their tribal reservation abuts the USA-Mexican border, so it surprised me not that their musical style sounded a lot like conjunto! They call their music "waila" (pronounced "wide-ah"), which they said means "popular dance music" in the Tohono O'odham language. (The nation used to be called the Papago Indians.) In English it's called "chicken scratch", which leads to the second word of the family band's name. That term was the white man's way of describing the natives' dance motions -- or by another telling the natives' way of describing the white-eyes' movements! But either way, it includes the jolly vibes of the squeezebox and is very danceable!

Hail to the accordion!