New computer in operation, and back to blogging, with the long-promised pictures of the Orleans concert, remembered fondly as we head into the fall leaf season.

First Concert Note, and a Thank You

The Orleans concert was wonderful. The group was at the top its form, and driven by three percussionists, they had the crowd dancing and cheering. I'll be posting some photos here, but I'll start with the thank you.

One thing we do each year at the concert is a 50-50 raffle -- makes a few extra bucks for Opus 40, and Lord knows we need it. Raffle tickets for a dollar, we keep half, the winner keeps half. But yesterday I kept thinking...if we're going around collecting a buck here and there, there are people who need it more. So I checked with Laurie and Pat from our board, got their thumbs up, and I when I went to do the drawing, I announced that Opus 40 would give half of its share to the Red Cross.

There was $500 total, so the winner would be getting $250. When we called out the winning number, a guy in the audience held up his winning ticket, and called out "Give my share to the Red Cross."

We caught up with the guy afterwards. His name is Bob Ryan, from Kingston, and Bob's wonderful and spontaneous generosity...well, we had to match it. The whole amount will be going to the Red Cross, in the names of Opus 40 and Bob Ryan.