Sal Goes to the Pickin' Picnic in the Park

The Cleveland Jumping Fleas had their Third Annual Pickin' Picnic in the Park on Sunday, July 26th, and a good time was had by all! 

A great-looking bunch!

The traditional "silly" shot.

Nicole wowed us all with her rendition of Shambles by Della Mae.

Jeff playing Romance -- a classical guitar piece.  Sounds great on a uke, too!

Bruce's entertaining rendition of Do You Love Me by The Contours brought smiles all around.

Sal Goes to an Akron Rubber Ducks Game

Last summer a few of the Cleveland Jumping Fleas played Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the 7th inning stretch at an Akron Rubber Ducks game.  (If you want to read all about that outing, click here.)

It was so much fun that we decided to do it again this summer, so I made the arrangements (I thought).  I talked to Christina (head of promotions) and we selected a date.  Then I talked to Jenna (ticket seller extraordinaire) about tickets.  The Fleas practiced Take Me Out to the Ball Game at every meeting starting at the beginning of May.  Many Fleas enlisted family members and friends to come along to watch the game and see us play.  Ticket money was collected by Bruce, our Flea money man, and he and I took a trip to Akron to pick up the tickets.  Unfortunately, there had been a power outage, which prevented ticket printing, so we went home empty-handed.  Happily, Jenna was able to print and mail the tickets to us later that day.  Tickets were distributed to the Fleas, and I thought everything was good.

We arrived at the ballpark, and I reported to the Guest Services window, just as I did last year, to let the Rubber Ducks folks know we were there, and to get instructions.  I was told to bring the group to Guest Services during the 6th inning.  This was what we had done last time, so it seemed that everything was going according to plan.  At the appropriate time, the Fleas made their way to Guest Services, meeting a bunch of Star Wars characters on the way.  (Did I mention it was Star Wars Night at the ballpark?)

You can hardly see Sal in this photo.  She is being held by the sand man.

When we arrived at Guest Services, excited (and a bit nervous) about playing, we found that there had been a mix-up.  Christina had scheduled us to play before the game.  Another person -- a young man called Jason Rummell (who had appeared on a TV show called The Voice) -- was scheduled to sing during the 7th inning stretch!

I am sure the look on my face was something to see when this bomb was dropped.  It seemed obvious to me that -- given a choice between a ukulele band and a guy who had appeared on TV -- the TV guy would be singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game with the crowd.  I gazed at the Fleas standing there, and felt absolutely horrible.  I thought about how we had all practiced, and got a bunch of people to come see us play, and talked about it to everyone we knew, and been looking forward to it for so long, etc.  and this was how it was going to end!?  It was a terrible moment.  I didn't know how the glitch had occurred, but I felt I had let everyone down.

Then it was suggested that perhaps we could accompany Jason Rummell as he sang.  Christina said she would go talk with him, and off she went.  While she was gone, we stood around wondering what had gone wrong.  Then we played a couple of tunes that some of the group had memorized, and practiced Take Me Out to the Ball Game in a skinny hallway off the concourse (just in case we were going to be performing after all).  Eventually we saw Christina conferring with Jason Rummell.  They were talking in a nearby space, and after a while we were asked to come and play for Jason.  In the end, it was agreed that we would play and he would sing.

Off we rushed to the place where we would wait for the 6th inning to be over. Last year we had performed on the concourse, but this year we were going to be standing on top of the dugout.  Gulp.  As a person who is afraid of heights, this put a bit of terror into my heart.  As we waited for the 6th inning to be over, some folks had their pictures taken with Jason Rummell, and I debated with myself about whether or not to ask him to pose for a shot with Sal.  There was lots of hubbub, and I hesitated.  But time waits for no uke, they say, and soon the chance to get a Sal photo was lost.  The inning was drawing to a close!

Here we are with Jason Rummell - right before going out to play on top of the dugout.  Not a good place for people afraid of heights!

When the 6th inning ended, we went down the aisle to the dugout, climbed on top, and played while Jason sang.  It was fun, and afterwards we happily went back to our seats and asked our friends how we had sounded.  They told us they couldn't hear us at all.  Jason had the only mike, so the crowd heard only him.  Argh!

After we played last year, enthusiastic Rubber Ducks staffers congratulated us and encouraged us to come back again, but this year there were crickets.  I don't know what sort of problems the mix-up caused, but I got the idea that perhaps we were Fleas-non-grata.  I ran into Christina and Jenna later, and they were good sports about posing with Sal, but neither one expressed an interest in having us back. 

Jenna, ticket provider extraordinaire, and Christina, who ironed out the confusion and got it done!

Looking on the bright side, most of the experience was fun.  It was a beautiful evening.  We performed for a sell-out crowd of 6000+.  (Of course nobody heard us, but oh well...)  We had beer and saw fireworks.  We got to hang out with our Flea buddies.  Overall, a pretty good night.

Sal Goes to the Cleveland Jumping Flea Spring Strum

The Cleveland Jumping Fleas love to play al fresco, so this year we added a Spring Strum to our schedule.  We couldn't have picked a nicer morning.  It was warm!  With sunshine!  Ukuleles bring out the best in people -- and weather!

The Spring Strummers - and Sal.

The traditional silly pose.

The Cleveland Fleaharmonics Perform a Holiday Singalong (with Sal in attendance)

On Tuesday, December 16th, there was a Holiday Singalong at Fairview Park Library.  The performing branch of the Cleveland Jumping Fleas led the audience in a selection of jolly wintery tunes.

This was the first time our performing group called ourselves The Cleveland Fleaharmonics!  Now audience members will understand that if they want to get a ukulele and play with a bunch of fun people, they can come to any Cleveland Jumping Flea meetup.  If they want to book our band of performers, they can contact The Cleveland Fleaharmonics at clevelandfleaharmonics@gmail.com.

The last slide in the Holiday Singalong PowerPoint -- showing most of the evening's performers.  Sal is standing in for me.

The Cleveland Fleaharmonics about to start the singalong!

It was a super fun night, and, as usual, there are lots of thanks to be given!

First of all, to everybody in the group for all the hard work, practice, dedication, long-distance travel, and everything else you do!
Special thanks to...
Jeff:  for working on arrangements, steering us in the right direction, bringing Emily Ann, etc.
Lisa:  for the fantabulous artwork, xylophone playing, etc.
Terianne:  for working out songs on the flute and playing them so beautifully.
Nicole:  for fantastic count-offs.
Tabitha:  for helping make our elf-tastic hats.
Holly:  for putting together the very merry jingle bells.
Emily Ann:  for the very cool melodica playing.
Thomas:  for being so agreeable!  ;)
and, last but not least,
Anne:  for your powerful performance with the PowerPoint!

A very merry time was had by all!  Looking forward to doing more holiday shows in 2015!

Sal Visits a Pickle Factory

Sal's last post was a cliff-hanger!  The Midwest Uke Fest was over, but some of the Fleas were going to break up the drive home with a stop at Sechler's Pickle factory...  I hope the suspense wasn't too much for anyone!  ;)

Back to the final night of the Uke Fest...  At the Sunday night jam, it was decided that everybody who wanted to go to Sechler's would meet in the hotel lobby at 10:00 a.m.  Four of us showed up at the appointed time, and we formed a mini caravan to St. Joe -- Sechler's home base.  When we arrived, we found we had just missed a tour, so would be waiting 20 minutes or so in the gift shop.  No problem!  We had a great time there checking out the pickles and pickle-related merch.

Sal and Bruce, wearing the required hair and beard nets, posing by a photo of Frank Sinatra -- a fan of Sechler's products.

Sal with some of the pickles Sechler's makes.  I never knew there were so many varieties!

After we had been perusing the jars of pickles for a while, it was time to start our tour.  As the ladies began to don their hairnets, it was discovered that something was amiss.  Tabitha was not wearing closed-toe shoes, which are required.  The tour guide asked if she had other shoes in the car.  She had Crocs.  Nope -- Crocs are too slippery.  Tour denied!

Tabitha generously encouraged the rest of us to go on the tour, which we did.  As we left her, it was suggested that she write a song about her sad plight while waiting for us to return.

The tour was very interesting!   I won't give details about the pickle-making process, but if you are ever near St. Joe, Indiana, I highly recommend going to Sechler's!  You will learn a lot and have fun, too.

One little taste of the tour... These giant wood vats hold thousands of pounds of cucumbers in brine.  They age in them for 3-9 months before being processed into delicious pickles.

Sal with our friendly and informative tour guide.

At the end of the tour, I wanted to buy some pickles to take home, but I'm not really a pickle person.  I consulted with our tour guide, who suggested that I accompany her to the pickle tasting bar and try the Candied Sweet Raisin Crispy Pickles.  They were delicious, so I bought four jars -- one for myself and three for gifts.  (One lucky person has not yet received her jar of pickles.  Are you hoping it's you?)

There was a sign in the shop suggesting that visitors pose for a photo with the "giant pickle."  Of course we had to do this!

Our little group.  Notice Tabitha's open-toed shoes, and lack of hairnet.  Maybe next year...

Tabitha made good use of her time while the rest of us were on the tour.  She did write a song!  We ended up playing and singing it at a picnic table next to the factory.  A few other visitors came by and talked with us, and then a Sechler's employee asked if she could take a video for their Facebook page.  Of course we agreed!  Click here to watch it!

If you would like to sing Tabitha's funny song, here are the lyrics.  They are to be sung to the tune of You Are My Sunshine.

          I went to Woodburn, to lovely Woodburn,
          to sing and play my mighty uke.
          Then went to Sechler's, a-wearin' sandals,
          and I could not see the cukes.

          I love them pickles, them crunchy pickles,
          but alas I could not go.
          For wearin' sandals, in pickle factories,
          is apparently a big no-no!


In my endless quest for photo ops for Sal, I saw a cornfield across the street and decided to ask my companions if they would be willing to do another faux busking shot there.  Being the extremely cool people they are, they said "yes," and a nice lady took the pictures for us.

Who would busk in front of a cornfield?  The Cleveland Jumping Fleas!

Too much fun!

We could put it off no longer.  It really was time to go home....  Sigh...

On a happier note... while going from ukulele paradise to real life is always tough, this fun stop made the transition a lot less painful.  Perhaps stopping at the pickle factory will become a post-Uke Fest tradition...

Thanks Sechler's!  I'm really enjoying my Candied Sweet Raisin Crispy Pickles -- and some great memories, too!  :)

Sal's Super-Busy Day: Part One -- CPR and Fun with the Fleas

Sal and I did so many things yesterday that I decided not to squeeze them into one post!  We started with a CPR class at Southwest Hospital.  I have taken CPR several times over the years, but it's always good to refresh one's knowledge and get the most current information about what is recommended.  I hope that I never have to actually do what I learned today, but it would be great if I could keep my wits about me and save somebody if such a situation arose.  Keeping my fingers crossed it never does!

Sal with two of the dummies (no insult intended) we practiced doing CPR on.

After the class, Sal and I traveled to Visible Voice Books, which is my favorite spot to meet with the Cleveland Jumping Fleas.  Half of our small band of performing Fleas gathered together to practice the music we'll be doing at a Ukulele Singalong at Middleburg Heights Library on July 8th.  The rest of the group was otherwise occupied, but this little bunch ironed out some of our performance kinks -- and had quite a few laughs, too.  It's always a pleasure to play with these folks!

Dedicated practicers!  From left to right, Bruce, Holly and Sal, Thomas.

After the pleasantly ukulele-filled afternoon at Visible Voice, it was time for Sal and I to get on the road and start the next part of our very busy day...  Read about it in our next post. 

Postscript:  As I read what I've written here, it doesn't sound like the day was that busy -- or interesting for that matter!  And the post seems a bit hum-drum.  At least it's short.  Never fear!  The next one will be much more entertaining.  :)

Sal Goes to a Hula Lesson

Since the ukulele is a Hawaiian instrument, it makes sense that a ukulele group should be able to play a Hawaiian song or two.  With that in mind, four intrepid members of the Performing Flea group (subsidiary of the Cleveland Jumping Fleas) spent an evening with Dahmia -- a hula teacher extraordinaire.  Of course Sal came along to join in the fun.  Dahmia had agreed to teach us the hula hand motions for the song Beautiful Kauai.  We enjoyed a meal together and then Dahmia showed us the motions, and very kindly allowed me to videotape her with my phone so we could refer back to the recording when trying to remember what to do later.  She also had lots of fascinating tales to tell about the hula training program she attended.  You can find out more about her in this article from Cleveland Magazine. 

Dahmia and Sal

After the lesson I asked everyone to pose with Sal.  Of course Dahmia's ukulele had to be in the photo, too!  I'm usually camera-shy, but in this case I figured out a silly way I could be in the shot, so I decided to go for it.  I stood at the other end of the looooong conference table in the room and took a photo of the rest of the gang on either side of the mirror at the other end of the table.  From left to right:  Lisa, Nicole and Sal, my reflection, Bruce, Dahmia and her uke.

We had hoped to break out Beautiful Kauai at our next Singalong performance, which will be July 8th at the Middleburg Heights Library.  On reflection (pun intended -- see photo above), however, we realized that there is no way we will be able to do the song justice in the three remaining rehearsals we have -- considering that there are lots of other songs to work on, too.  But we will learn it!  And it will be awesome!

I asked Dahmia for her contact information -- thinking that some Travels With Sal readers may be interested in getting in touch for lessons.  You can e-mail her at Dahmia@hotmail.com   She teaches Middle Eastern and Polynesian dance each Thursday through the City of Wickliffe Recreation Department.  She also teaches and facilitates at girls' nights, weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays.  

Aloha! 

Sal Goes to a Cub Scout Singalong

Sal and I are proud to be members of a wonderful group of Cleveland Jumping Fleas!  These dedicated folks practiced several times in preparation for a Singalong program for a bunch -- actually a pack -- of Cub Scouts.  It was only our second big public performance, and our first program for kids.   The husband and sons of Lisa, one of our members, are active in Cub Scouts, so she invited us to do a program for their April pack meeting.  Four dens of Cub Scouts -- 60 kids or so -- were expected to attend.  Add in the parents and you're talking a big audience.  We worked hard selecting songs and practicing them, and in two shakes, it was the big night!

To make a long story relatively short, the evening started as a bit of a disaster.  The program was to take place at North Royalton Middle School, but when the first Flea arrived, he was informed by the custodian that the staff had not been told about our event.   The custodian called somebody and there was some back and forth about whether or not we would be able to have the program at the school.  Eventually this was straightened out, and we started bringing in all of our stuff.  We carried everything to the Purple Gym -- which was where we were supposed to perform -- and began to set up.  We were then told that we would be in the Gold Gym instead, so we took all of our stuff to the Gold Gym.  When we had done this, we were told that some students were supposed to use the Gold Gym to practice basketball, so we would have to go back to the Purple Gym.  Once more we lugged all of our paraphernalia to the Purple Gym.  Then it was determined that since the Purple Gym did not have bleachers for the Cub Scouts to sit on, we should return to the Gold Gym, and the basketball players could practice in the Purple Gym.... Seriously!  We moved all of the stuff AGAIN!

Sal with Lisa's son, Dominic, in his Cub Scout regalia.  This is the Gold Gym!  With bleachers!

The fabulous performing Fleas!  From left to right:  Tom, Bruce, Terianne, Lisa, Brian, Nicole, me, Holly, Jeff, and Anne with Sal.

After intensive discussion about the best placement of the laptop (containing a PowerPoint of the song lyrics), projector, screen, backdrop, and music stands, and some rearranging of those things, we were all set up by about 6:45.  The program was to begin at 7:00, but as the hour drew near, a mere trickle of Cub Scouts appeared.   In the end, there were fewer than 20 Cub Scouts in attendance.  They brought their families, too, but the audience was much smaller than we had anticipated.  (Thinking about it later, the low turn-out could probably be explained by the lovely weather that evening.  After a truly horrible winter, perhaps people couldn't bear to be inside on such a warm night.)

As we began to play, I had an unpleasant realization!  Because of the acoustics of the cavernous gym, we couldn't hear each other well, and therefore were not playing together.  I looked down the row of ukulele players, and saw that the people at the other end were a few beats ahead of those at my end.  Fortunately we were able to overcome this problem by moving into closer formation after a couple of songs.  Lesson learned = a giant gym is not a good place for a ukulele show!  Looking on the bright side... despite the low turn-out and the lousy acoustics, the people who came seemed to have a great time -- and that's the important thing! 

After the program we went to Lisa's house for pizza, beverages, and delicious ice cream cake.  While enjoying the food we watched a video of our Fairview Park Singalong  (you can read about that Singalong by clicking here).  I'm unhappy to report that despite enjoying watching the other Fleas in the video, I had to cover my eyes whenever I appeared on the screen. I know it is wise and mature to accept oneself as is, and not be haunted by the image of oneself in a video, but unfortunately I am not that wise and mature.  I'm currently trying to recuperate from the experience.  Note to all videographers: please be kind -- don't videotape me!!!

On a happier note, Sal made some new friends at Lisa's house -- an armadillo and a racoon.   Photos of Sal with these critters -- products of Lisa's amazing artistic talents -- follow.

Sal with Lisa's paper mache armadillo.  I love how the texture of the armadillo and Sal's grain look together.

Lisa with Sal and the super-fun Cub Scout raccoon she created.

All in all it was a good night for Sal and I.  Lessons learned from the experience:
1.  Don't perform with un-amplified acoustic instruments in a cavernous gym.
2.  To maintain peace of mind, do not watch any videos in which I appear.

Kudos go to the performing Fleas for all of the time and effort they spent preparing and performing.  Extra thanks to...
Brian - for his infectious and entertaining MCing.
Bruce - for his terrible (in a good way) riddles and jokes, plus hours of PowerPoint proofreading.
Lisa - for her incredible PowerPoint artwork, percussion playing, whistling, and hostessing.
Jeff - for his musical leadership.
Nicole - for her super banjolele playing.
Tom - for his washboard skills.
Holly - for her virtuoso performance on the train whistle.
Terianne - for bravely joining us after playing uke for a short time.

And a super big THANK YOU to my sister, Anne!  Once again, she did a wonderful job as our PowerPoint slide changer.  She goes above and beyond to support me, and I really appreciate it!!!

And a round of applause for Sal -- for her ability to make people smile! 

And now it's time to plan for our next Singalong!!!  It will be here before we know it!

Sal Goes to a Ukulele Singalong!

How can I even begin to describe last night's events?  They were the culmination of many months of effort from a small band of ukers extraordinaire!  (New readers should refer to this post from way back in October and this post from a couple of weeks ago to get an idea of the effort that went into this humble evening.)  The whole experience has reinforced my belief that people can't possibly understand and appreciate the effort that goes into any endeavor -- unless those people undertake a similar endeavor themselves.  Any group that puts together a show and performs it has done soooo much more work than anybody who has never done such a thing can imagine.  Even if the performance isn't so polished, chances are the people on stage have devoted an untold amount of time, thought, work, and devotion to that show.  (My sincere apologies to those I drove crazy for months with my incessant talk about the Singalong preparations.  You know who you are!)  And now back to the story...

So, after countless hours of behind-the-scenes effort, the big day finally arrived!   About an hour before it was time to leave work and head to Fairview, I began to experience a growing sense of anxiety.  I believe stage fright would be the appropriate term for what I was suffering.  Luckily, Sal was there to distract me from this unpleasant feeling.  I couldn't spend all my time worrying about messing up big-time in front of a room full of people.  I had to think of how to get some pictures of Sal at the program!

In the end, poor Sal didn't get the attention she so richly deserves.  Since I was getting ready to play, then playing, and then accepting the congratulations of the dazzled-by-our-boffo-show audience (this last part might be a slight exaggeration), there was little opportunity to get Sal photos.  I am happy to be able to share a picture of our merry band of Cleveland Jumping Fleas in action, however, thanks to my sister who wielded the camera and got the following shot.  (She is not pictured in this post, but she was an invaluable part of the team last night.  She was the ultimate PowerPoint slide-changer!)

What a great group of people!  I am so glad those Portuguese sailors went to Hawaii and that Al Gore invented the internet (inside joke).

Quite a few family members and friends of the performers attended the program, including this very promising young ukulele player and his mom. 

This lovely lady -- who my son's friend was lucky enough to meet and marry -- brought her musical son to the program.  This young man has been teaching himself to play the ukulele by watching videos on YouTube -- and he is already playing some chords I can't do yet!  Here he is with my awesome banjolele.  His mom is holding Sal.  So glad they came to the program!  Several other friends came, too, but I was so distracted by chatting with them that I didn't think of asking them to pose with Sal.

Sooner than you can say "is it already time to go?" it was!  We packed up our stuff, loaded our cars, and started driving caravan-style to a local pizza place (which shall remain nameless).  Some of us had not had dinner and all of us were looking forward to a chance to talk about how the program went, etc.  The pizza place was supposed to close at 10:00 p.m., but when got there (at approximately 8:55), we found that they had closed early!  Now we were standing outside in the bone-chillingly cold night air, wondering what to do.  After some discussion, we decided to follow Jeff to a restaurant he knows, which is a few miles down the road.  We all got in our cars again and drove in the same caravan-style to find that this restaurant was also closed.  By now I'm pretty sure we all were tiring of this to-and-fro.  Across the street, the lights of a Steak and Shake were visible.  Despite the fact that this was not at all what we had in mind, we hastily traveled thither.  I, while wishing that the pizza place had been open, realized that all of this adversity would make Sal's post more interesting, so it was easier to accept. 

After a bit of a delay, we were seated and began talking about the show --  what we thought went well, what we would do differently next time, etc.  I brought Sal out of her case and, as the night went on, got some fun pictures of her.  The one picture I did not get was a picture of Sal with our server.  When I asked him if I could take a picture of him with Sal for this blog, he seemed horrified.  Personnel at Steak and Shake are not permitted to pose for photos at work!  I was surprised.  This was the first time I had asked someone to pose with Sal and been refused.  Normally people are very happy to get their photo taken with this adorable instrument. I am happy to report that my Flea chums were not so reticent!

Nicole ordered the best thing of all -- a delicious shake!  Yum!  (Uh-oh!  "I drink your milkshake" just popped into my mind.  If you're not familiar with this infamous line, check out the film "There Will Be Blood."  The milkshake speech is truly memorable.)

Sal with Nicole, Jeff, Holly, Bruce, and our extremely unhealthy meals.  Sorry Lisa and Lynn.  You were sitting at the wrong end of the table and I didn't get a shot of you.  Our server said he would take a picture of our group, and then disappeared, so we don't have a photo of the whole group enjoying our post-performance repast.

I'm not saying that anybody in our group is a ham, but...  ;)

After all the notes we scribbled on our music or attached with sticky notes and/or e-mailed back and forth, here is one last post-it...

Finally we all went home.  I am currently experiencing a bit of Singalong withdrawal.  Happily, we will probably be doing this program again in other venues.  There are some Cub Scouts who would like us to perform for them, and other libraries who are hoping for a visit from the Cleveland Jumping Fleas!

Sal Attends a Rehearsal

The weather has been truly frightful, which means that Sal has been staying home.  Who wants to go out when the threat of frostbite is in the air?  Plus, I have been so busy with other things that I haven't had a free moment to plan an outing with my little uke.  Poor Sal has been sadly neglected -- and so have her loyal readers -- so last night I took her to a rehearsal.  She didn't have to travel far, though, since the rehearsal took place in my living room!

If you are wondering who is rehearsing and what are they rehearsing for, read on!  A bunch of the Cleveland Jumping Fleas (including yours truly) will be performing at the Fairview Park Library on February 11th.  We'll be playing and singing a whole bunch of songs and, we hope, inspiring audience members to take up the ukulele.  We've been working on this program for a long time. (See this post from way back in October for the backstory).  If our rehearsals are any indication, it will be a fun evening!  And the best part -- for the audience anyway -- is that they will be singing, too.  The program is a Ukulele Singalong!

This fantastic group of Fleas has put in many hours preparing for the Singalong -- and, let's face it -- having a wonderful time playing, singing, and laughing together.  We started out thinking we'd have two rehearsals, but realized that would not be enough, so we kept adding more.  By the time the Singalong date rolls around, we will have had nine practices -- six of them in January!  (No wonder I haven't had time to take Sal traveling this month!)

Customarily we practice in meeting rooms at various library branches around town, and last night we planned to meet at Fairview Library.  Unfortunately for us (but fortunately for the library staff), the library was closed because of subzero temperatures.  A flurry (or barrage, as one of our merry band calls it) of e-mails ensued, with the result that everybody came to my house to practice.  It was a pretty tight squeeze, but we had a great time -- and we didn't have to stop practicing at 8:45 p.m. in order to vacate the meeting room by closing time!  We kept going considerably after we would have been evicted from our library rehearsal space.  Lots was accomplished -- and a good time was had by all.  The evidence is before you!  Check out these pictures of the fabulous Fleas -- and Sal!

From left to right:  Holly, Nicole, Lynn and Sal, Lisa, Bruce, Jeff.

What a great looking group of ukers!

Sal and Friends Select Sing-Along Songs

On February 11th, the Cleveland Jumping Fleas will be presenting a program titled Ukulele Sing-Along! at the Fairview Park Library.  On the library's calendar the program is described thusly:  "Join the Cleveland Jumping Flea ukulele group for a fun evening of songs and laughter. You'll enjoy singing along as the Fleas play a variety of catchy tunes and merry melodies."  The target audience is, according to the calendar, "Seniors, Adults, Families."  In other words, we could be playing just about anything for just about anybody!  This makes the task of selecting songs a bit of a challenge.  Should we aim to please seniors who might come because they enjoyed the ukulele when it was popular in their younger years?  Or should we do a bunch of songs that families with young kids would like?  How can we find songs that just about anybody would be able to (and happy to) sing along with!?

Who is up for such a challenge?  That would be me, Bruce, and Lynn!  We compiled a very long list of songs we considered sing-along material.   We are now engaged in cutting that list down to 90 minutes of music.  So many good songs are being cut...  But never fear, we're keeping lots of great ones!

After several hours of conversation about music (and many other things), I took these photos of Bruce and Lynn with Sal.  You can see that even after all the work we did -- trying out various versions of songs and giving them thumbs up or down, etc. -- we were still a happy (or shall I say goofy) bunch. 

We'll be meeting again this Sunday to make the final song selections!

Bruce and Lynn with their ukes -- and Sal -- at the end of our selection session.  This meeting took place in my dining/music room.  Notice the photos of Sal with famous ukers -- and other musicians -- on the wall behind.

These guys are so much fun to work with!

Sal Goes to UkeToberFest!

We are very fortunate to have many lovely parks in the Cleveland area, and Sal is always ready to spend some time in the great outdoors.  Sunday morning brought a uke-tastic opportunity to do just that.  It was UkeToberFest with the Cleveland Jumping Fleas!  This event was not about drinking beer in October.  It was about playing ukes in October!  A bunch of Fleas gathered at around 9:00 a.m. to hang out in the Harriet Keeler shelter eating donuts, drinking cider and coffee, and playing lots of songs together.  Of course we all had to pose for photos with Sal!

Sal with the UkeToberFest gang!

Of course we had to have a silly shot, too.  As usual, some were sillier than others.  ;)

Why would a group of presumably intelligent adults play ukuleles outside in 40ish temperatures?  The simple answer is that when we met at the same location a few weeks ago, we had a great time playing al fresco.  How could we know that the temperature would plunge so early in the year?  Fleas are hardy souls, however, and nothing can keep us from gathering together to socialize and make music.  And, despite being quite nippy, the morning was beautiful.  We were playing our ukes together whilst surrounded by lovely autumn colors!  All was right with the world!

Our fingers may have been numb, but the chilly air was full of hot music!

We got applause from some people as they walked by the shelter -- and one guy hung around listening for quite a while.  And why not?  The Fleas are awesome!

An extra added UkeToberFest bonus was the addition to our group of Tabitha's husband, Dan, who brought his double bass.  The low tones of this instrument added a wonderful note (pun obviously intended) to the proceedings -- AND I got a picture of Sal with the biggest string instrument I know of.  She's had her picture taken with a tiny violin, L'il Rev's uke, a Cleveland Orchestra cello -- and now with a double bass!  Many Fleas -- including yours truly -- were urging Dan to come back and play with us again!

Sal and her giant cousin.  Thanks, Dan, for bringing your bass!

Some Fleas had to leave after a couple of hours to go to work -- or because their hands were numb -- but a few extra-hardy members of the group stayed until noon.  Sal and I were, of course, in the extra-hardy contingent!  What a super-fun way to spend a Sunday morning! 

Sal's Wonderful Sunday

The other day I realized that Sal and I haven't gone anywhere since we returned from our vacation last month.  Every day has been filled with going to work and/or trying to complete major projects in the house and yard.  Blech!  Since today was the first day in a very long time that I didn't plan on doing anything "productive," I decided to take Sal out and let her join the fun!

We started by attending the Sowing Seeds of Hope Annual Brunch to benefit Seeds of Literacy.  This wonderful organization is -- in words stolen from their website -- "an adult literacy program providing basic education and GED preparation free of charge to people in the Cleveland, Ohio area. A unique curriculum and one-on-one tutoring offer maximum learning by building relationships of trust between the student and the tutor. We bring people of diverse race and ethnic backgrounds together to help break a root cause of poverty - illiteracy."

Sal came along with me, but I didn't bring her inside.*  I didn't want to embarrass my son -- who works for Seeds -- by making a spectacle of myself at such an occasion.  (I didn't mind doing it at the Seeds Bowl-A-Thon**, but I wasn't sure Sal would be appreciated at a country club.)

* Of course it's not a good idea to leave a ukulele in a car on a very hot or very cold day, but the mild weather meant that Sal would be okay for a couple of hours.

** See the Travels With Sal post from May 18th for pictures of Sal at the bowling alley.

The brunch was held at the Westwood Country Club -- a lovely place.  I am sure they will never invite me to be a member -- or even a guest -- after observing me taking this photo of Sal posing on their sign.  ;)

As I returned to my car after the brunch was over, I was thinking about taking some Sal photos at the edge of the golf course.  Then I saw one of the Seeds of Literacy students who had given a speech at the brunch, and approached her about posing with Sal.  Titanisha Westry's speech had been truly inspiring -- and I confess to being teary-eyed as she described how Seeds helped her get her GED.  She also talked about the bright future she has planned -- and I believe she is determined enough to follow through and make those dreams a reality!  I hope she didn't think I was a kook when I told her about Sal and this blog -- and maybe she did -- but she kindly agreed to pose for a photo.

Titanisha Westry and her sweetie, Kenneth, with Sal. 

The next event in Sal's day was a Cleveland Jumping Flea jam at the Java Bay Coffee Shop in Bay Village.  (If you are thirsty -- or hungry for giant muffins, etc. -- you can find Java Bay at 27225 Wolf Road.)  As usual the Fleas had a great time playing and singing together, and customers coming in seemed pleasantly surprised to have musical accompaniment as they placed their orders.

Java Bay owner, Becky, and her helper, Dan.  This young man plays the ukulele and was instrumental (pun intended) in making it possible for the Fleas to jam at Java Bay.   

After the jam, Sal and I finished off our big day by going with our ukin' friend Norma to the Moosehead Saloon for dinner and a good chat.  It was a lovely evening to eat outside on the patio, and we ended up staying for a long and very pleasant time.

Norma and I started our Moosehead meal with refreshing beverages -- a Moosehead beer for me and a glass of white wine for her.

 What a great day Sal and I had.  Tomorrow it's back to getting stuff done.  Sigh...

Sal Picnics with the Cleveland Jumping Fleas

This morning the Cleveland Jumping Fleas had their very first picnic -- the aptly named Pickin' Picnic in the Park.  We met at the Harriet Keeler Memorial Picnic Area in the Metroparks' Brecksville Reservation.  The picnic was scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m., but one of our members kindly agreed to go extra early and save a few tables for our group.  It's a good thing he did, because as he was waiting for more Fleas to arrive, another group showed up and began to decorate the pavilion for a different event.  It turned out they were expecting a big group -- but there was plenty of room for us, too. 

A whole bunch of Fleas arrived bearing large quantities of food and coffee, of which we happily partook.  After the meal we played our ukes for a considerable time -- and what a wonderful time it was!  Sal, of course, had to be included in such a festive ukulele event.  See if you can find her in this picture of all the Fleas with their ukes. 

After a couple of pictures were taken, our photographer asked us to pose for a "silly" shot, which we did. 

As you can see, a good time was had by all -- and I think I can safely predict that there will be more al fresco events in the Fleas' future.

Sal Meets Jake Shimabukuro!!!

Sal was a very lucky ukulele last night!  She (along with a bunch of the fabulous Cleveland Jumping Fleas) attended the Jake Shimabukuro concert at the Kent Stage.  My ukin' friend Norma and I spent the afternoon walking around Kent, looking in some of the shops there, and having a delicious dinner at the Pufferbelly.  (If you see Norma, ask her about the Grouper Reuben sandwich -- sounds strange, but she says it's delicious.)

We got our tickets by pledging to the area's PBS station -- an excellent thing to do anyway -- and received tickets to a pre-show meet-and-greet as part of the deal.  This was going to be Sal's big chance to get a picture with Jake!

Before the meet-and-greet began, I wanted to get a photo of Sal with the Kent Stage marquee, but how to do it?  Norma volunteered to hold Sal up so I could do some fancy camera work and get Sal in front of the marquee, but it didn't work, which is okay.  I got this fun picture instead.

I could have tried harder to get a close-up of Sal with the marquee in the background, but if I had done that I wouldn't have this picture of Sal and Norma.

I took a couple shots and suddenly who popped up out of nowhere?  Bruce -- one of our Flea friends!  We didn't know he was going to be there, and were very happy to see him.

You can see why I like hanging around with the Fleas -- they are fun people!

We were standing around in front of the meet-and-greet location (an art gallery down the street from the Kent Stage), when a couple of people stopped and asked us about Sal.  This little uke is a great conversation starter!  I gave them Sal's card and we talked for a while.  They live a bit far away to attend Flea jams, but we encouraged them to try.  After they walked away, I realized I should have taken a picture of them with Sal, but I was so focused (pun intended) on the upcoming meet-and-greet that I didn't think of it until it was too late.  In a minute or two another Flea -- Nicole -- came by, too.  More smiles and laughs ensued. 

Soon it was time to go inside for the meet-and-greet.  Unfortunately, Bruce and Nicole didn't have tickets for that, so we said a temporary goodbye to them.  The line was full of happy people with ukes they wanted Jake to sign.  I can't imagine posing for pictures and signing autographs right before doing a show, but he was so gracious and nice to everyone.  I would be a nervous wreck, but he doesn't need to worry about messing up like I would!  After taking Sal's picture with Jake, I gave him one of Sal's cards, and said something goofy about checking out the blogpost featuring him.  (I'm always ridiculously nervous when meeting ultra-talented people I idolize.)  I walked away thinking, as I always do after saying something like that, "Why the heck did I say that?"

Jake, Norma, and Jiminy Christmas (the uke that Jake signed for Norma).  Sal isn't in this picture, but I had to include it.  :)

Jake and Sal!!!

We proceeded to the Kent Stage and saw Shelley (another Flea) there!  Sal felt it was necessary to get a picture with all of the Fleas (except for the camera-wielder -- moi) at the theater.

Shelley, Norma, Bruce (with Sal), and Nicole -- a fabulous bunch of Fleas!

After this was taken, yet another Flea (Jeff) entered the theater!  I asked everyone to hang around by the door after the show for a group picture -- and perhaps an outing for a beer or something.  (Sal really enjoys hanging out with this bunch!)  Before the show began I took some pictures of Sal on the edge of the stage.  I knew it was too dark, but had to take them anyway.

Where the magic is about to happen!

I took some pictures during the show and have to share a few -- even though Sal isn't in them.

Not a super sharp shot, but I like it anyway.  I've seen two previous Jake shows, and this one had a lot more visual stuff going on with the lights.  Pretty cool.

Touchingly beautiful melodies were played...

I don't think it's necessary to say that the show was mind-blowing!  Jake is incredible!  There were some problems with the sound at the beginning, and he was very cool about it.  He handled the situation with humor and soon everything was resolved.  We got to see Rudd (hope I spelled that right) come up on stage to change cables and do some other techie things.  Batteries were changed, etc. and the show resumed.  The technical difficulties were actually an enjoyable part of the show (for me anyway) because the whole thing showed Jake to be a good guy, which is important to Sal and me.  During the show he told some adorable stories about his 11-month-old son, and gave a shout-out to a Kent restaurant (I didn't catch the name, but he said they had the "best hummus") and a book/record store where he got a used cd that he was was very happy to find.  Sal and I experienced two hours of musical bliss! 

After the last amazing notes were played, a bunch of Fleas met near the doors for this group shot, which was taken by a helpful gentleman standing nearby.  (I think he was a security guy, actually.)

Tired, but happy, Fleas.  Some of us were exhausted just from watching Jake play!  Where does he get all that energy!?  From left to right: Jeff, Norma, Nicole with Sal, me, and Bruce.

After this, we all went home thinking about the incredible performance we had just witnessed.  What a great night!