Many of us are listening to the same music tonight. We have our favorite Christmas songs and stories. The season always reminds me of the importance of giving and sharing. Gratitude is part of the story as well as celebration. I recently heard a rendition of “Oh Holy Night” that rearranged my listening some. Amazing how sound can do that.

  On Saturday, December 6, I heard the best concert of my listening season:  Monte Montgomery playing with a trio at the Hill Country Opry. He has a relationship with his guitar (each of them) that defies description. His drummer of 12 years and his bass player of two months were the perfect 2/3 of this trio. I loved watching Monte, after watching him first 17 years ago when I moved to Kerrville. He just keeps getting better, and he was good then. I bought two of his new cd’s and visited with his mom, Maggie.

His last song was a tribute to her, with specific reference to that first guitar. 

  On Tuesday, December 16, I went to the Bass Concert Hall in Ft. Worth to hear a quartet of songwriters share songs. Seated alphabetically on stage, Guy Clark, Joe Ely, John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett, sang one song after another. Joe told me later, “Of course, we don’t have a script for this. We decide after each song what we want to play. We’ve done this show in 20 cities already.”

  I was in the upper gallery, and the acoustics were still perfect. Imagine a thick silence that resonates with the sound of Guy Clark’s voice. He told me later, “I see on my schedule that I’ll be in Kerrville this spring. Tell me about that venue.” I happen to know that he’s scheduled at the Hill Country Opry on Sidney Baker.  I’ll enjoy the experience of hearing him up close and personal after hearing him in the big and sold out Bass Concert Hall. I also had the chance to hear Guy Clark sing “Desperados Waiting For a Train” under a tree at Schreiner University while my writing class sat in a circle and listened.

  My Christmas journey. I headed to Ft. Worth on Friday, December 12, ate lunch with Dr. Pillow and Annabel (parents) and headed to Kansas on a late flight. I arrived there in the midst of a soft snow falling. By morning we had about 5 inches. The plan was to visit my daughter, her husband, and the three granddaughters. Yes, that made me a happy grandmother full of the Christmas spirit.

  Her tree was up, lights shining in the window as I walked up through the drifting white snowflakes. We had a great weekend together, ending with an afternoon movie with Jessica, my oldest granddaughter. Monday I visited the River View Retreat Center. Located in a large brick house on the banks of the Arkansas River, this center is a perfect gathering spot for many types of groups. I began imagining a workshop there for teachers. And some music, of course. A former deejay and emcee of a wonderful blues festival, Randy, manages the retreat center. Richard Racette, the dentist who owns this place, has it stocked with music, books and video. We had similar interests in many similar areas.

  Tuesday I visited Wilber Middle School, facilitating all of my daughter’s science classes in a leadership exercise from the Past is Prologue program that I coordinate at Schreiner. What fun and what a lively group. I flew back to Ft. Worth Tuesday evening, just in time for this spectacular presentation of songwriters, three of whom I had interviewed extensively for my first book.

  Lyle and I talked later about his new belt buckle, created by Clint Orms, now located in Ingram. Lyle also told sister Carolyn to tell Rod Kennedy hello. I remember hearing Lyle play around a campfire at the Kerrville Folk Festival years and years ago. Guy also played the Folk Festival many years. Interesting to sit in the Bass Concert Hall and see these men who also played to crowds here in Kerrville. The men finished the evening with a Woody Guthrie song, and ended their encore with “This Land is Your Land,” two opportunities for the sing along. I joined in.

  Guy began the evening with a favorite of mine, singing, “Always trust your cape.” Joe followed him with, “On the run again, felling like the wild, wild, wind.” John Hiatt sang about being gone away, and Lyle sang, “I live in my own mind where I can breathe.” What a first set. We heard “L.A. Freeway,” “Dryland Dirt,” “Tennessee Plates,” “Behind the Bamboo Shade,” and more. Hiatt’s “Lipstick Sunset” created a stark image while Guy sang of “Sis Draper,” asking us to imagine the fiddle in the song.

  The night before Michael Martin Murphy played his Christmas program there, a week before bringing it to Kerrville on December 18. I’m from Ft. Worth and celebrated many a Christmas by attending a musical pageant put on by Richland Hills Baptist Church, the church of my childhood. What is your favorite Christmas song? “We Three Kings” was always a favorite of mine, being in a minor key.

  Ponty Bone comes to the Hill Country Opry on December 27. Sentimental Journey plays a New Year’s Gig at the Inn of the Hills. I’ll be that’s where you can find Rod Kennedy, this man connected with the musical careers of more performers than we can count. Monte will play December 27 at Hondo’s, a new venue in Fredericksburg.  Happy Trails and down the road