By Vern Holmquist
I like to write about all the good things I find in Silverton and Mount Angel. I can’t get around to them all, but I must tell you what I found at Mac’s Place on a recent Saturday night.
The entertainment was billed as Twisted Whistle. Never heard of them and the name sort of told me I was not going to enjoy them. What a surprise! They blew me out of my gourd. The sounds they created were distinctly different. The lady on the bass played as if it was a cello with a bow, sitting down, and she had a great singing voice.
The harmony the group sang was complicated, truly their own. I was just getting used to their swinging bluegrass style when they hit me with a very mellow rendition of Mr. and Mrs. Jones (We’ve Got a Thing Going On) that made me a dedicated fan.
If you get a chance to hear Twisted Whistle don’t let the name scare you off. Their music is Americana, folk, and rock and roll. Sophisticated and most enjoyable. I hope to see them at Silverton’s Shindig later in the year. Hey! If they hadn’t kept me dancing ‘til almost midnight I wouldn’t be writing this.
After nearly three years living in Silverton, I am still in a state of amazement as to the amount of great talent I’ve encountered here, whether it is artists, writers, musicians, poets… Whether it’s in the restaurants, community center, galleries, parks, senior center or out on the sidewalks, it’s all accompanied by broad smiles.
I love this town.
I just got word of the passing on of a friend of mine. When you get to my age this event comes more frequently. Just one of those things we can‘t avoid, like taxes, but what troubles me is what is so often said: “He has gone to a better place,” or “She has gone to a better place…” Now my question is, if it is so much better there, how come we fight so hard to not go? … Life is good.
While I still believe the sidewalk benches in our downtown areas say “welcome“ to residents and tourists, and the sandwich boards call attention to the goods being offered in our shops, they get to the point of being an obstacle course for mothers pushing carriages, people riding mobility scooters, people in wheelchairs, or lovers who want to walk side-by-side.
When families are forced to walk in single file down the sidewalk, it seems to me their attention is more on how to get through the maze than what is being offered. Merchants, take a good look. Leave enough room so everyone can get down the sidewalk and maybe pause to see what you have to offer. (It may just save your from getting a citation that will make you mad as hell.)
