OK! So, the 2008 American Chesterton Society Conference is already going to be amazing. Who wouldn't love three days in St. Paul, MN that not only celebrate the Centennial of Chesterton's masterpiece, Orthodoxy, but also include such Justine-pleasing presentations as "Chesterton and Shakespeare" and "Chesterton and Jane Austen," right? I am so going to be there!
Cloud Eight was floating pretty high, but then came the niggling little idea, "You know what would make this ACS conference even more sublime? Music by Carolyn Arends and Spencer Capier, of course!"
I said to Jason, my sounding board for all my crazy ideas, "I think I'm going to e-mail the ACS and ask them to book Carolyn for their conference."
Jason shot me down with a disparaging, "That's really weird. You're not Carolyn's promoter -- why would you approach an organization out of the blue about booking a concert with someone of whom they have most likely never heard?"
Well, if the ACS has "never heard" of Carolyn Arends, it's about time they did. I would, perhaps, not know about G.K. Chesterton, had I never read about him first in Living the Questions, and they would be down one three-year subscription. So, I remained undaunted by Mr. Gloomy's negativity. I decided to e-mail Paula Flink -- Fearless and Tireless Coordinator and Manager of Team Carolyn. If this really was weird, she would (gently and nicely as Canadians know so well how to do) let me down.
Well, Paula e-mailed back that it was OK by her if I contacted the ACS on Running Arends's behalf; so I did. Now, I'm scared as hell. It's pretty intimidating just to put your ideas out there to strangers with the very good chance that they will be rejected.
Still, though, they might not be. And, how cool would it be to get Carolyn and Spencer in Minnesota to rock out with their fellow Chesterton fans? How much would those fans get a kick out of "One-Syllable Words" and all the rest of her songs? It would be "legend -- wait for it, and I hope you're not lactose intolerant, because the second part is -- dary. Legendary!"
Here's to hoping for an upgrade from Cloud Eight to Nine!
6 comments:
Is it your goal for 2008 to slowly get Carolyn to cross North America eventually ending up on PEI sometime in late July? I would certainly be amenable to that idea.
I hope your suggestion is accepted with enthusiasm!
Ha!Ha! There's another centennial celebration that could use a little Carolynness, eh?
Oh, and btw, I finally got the other thing I was hoping to send with the Michelle Tumes CD -- so hopefully within the next week I can get a package of my own out to VT. It can not possibly compare with the excellence, grace, and generosity of yours, but God has plagued/blessed me with the most thoughtful friends in the world, while withholding similar traits from my personality. So, dearest vermonster, you're stuck with me in my lameness, while I'm reveling in you and your absolute elegance.
This doesn't have to do with your post, per se, but I want to tell you that I love this phrasing: ". . . with someone of whom they have most likely never heard".
Come now, Justine,
I recall receiving several lovely books celebrating our dear Miss Austen. Both of which were quite unexpected and most excellent!
You are far from "lame" and it is I who am blessed by you and your writings.
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