MISSING MARY. . . . . .KISSING PETER

This story starts about 50 years ago.  I was a teen-ager.  I was musical.  I was walking down Vermilion Street in the downtown section of Danville, Illinois.  This was before the downtown section was torn up and made into a large outdoor mall.   In the past 50 years it has been returned to it's original condition.  But I digress.


So I'm probably 13 or 14 years old, and I walk past Thomas Music Store.   I don't think it was Kamp Music, the store I went to more often.  Thomas Music store, on that particular day, had a smallish used guitar in the window.  The price tag was a whomping $17.50.  It had a treble clef printed on the front.  I'm sure it was about two steps up from being a toy.  But I had to have it.  Mostly because the main musical loves of my life at the time, besides the Beatles, was a group called Peter, Paul, and Mary.  I can't describe what their folk sound did for me, but I knew I had to learn how to play the guitar.  So I marched into Thomas Music and put that guitar on lay-away.   For weeks I would revisit the store with the weekend's babysitting money, and methodically pare down that debt, one weekend after another.   Eventually I was able to take the guitar home.  But not before I bought a book of Peter, Paul, and Mary songs.  The guitar chords in the songs had little charts that told you where you put your fingers.  It was the easiest thing in the world for me to go home and figure out those chords and start playing those songs.  And I would listen to the records.  I learned all of Mary's parts.  I thought she was so pretty with her long straight blonde hair.  And Peter and Paul (whose actual name was Noel) were pretty cute too with those little goatees!  I wore those albums thin listening to them, literally hundreds of times.  As time went on I replaced the albums with 8 track tapes, cassette tapes, CD's and then downloaded them on my IPOD.  


So in 2009 when Mary died, I could have kicked myself nine ways to Sunday for never getting off my keister and going out to Wolf Trap where they performed every summer.  I couldn't believe that I had not ever heard them live.  They were one of the most influential groups of my musical life.


So of course I was excited to find out that Peter and Paul were coming to Chautauqua this summer.  I wasn't sure how it would be without Mary, but I was eager to see their show.


Here's how this all went down tonight.   We had our regular Saturday night choir rehearsal in Lenna Hall which is about a 10 minutes walk to the amphitheater.  Nancy and I were going to go to the concert.  I rode my bike to the rehearsal so I could get back early enough for us to get a seat.  Now that we are librarians, we can't just leave right after rehearsal.  There's collecting music, discussing issues, and putting everything away.


So I'm at the rehearsal by 5:30, a half hour before the beginning.  People are coming in and new people are signing up to sing on Sunday.  Tonight was the last night for new people to join.  And there was an issue about whether or not we had enough music.  And sure enough, we ran out.  The drill is to have people share while we figure out what to do.  Nancy came up to me and said that Jared (the director) had driven the Department of Religion golf cart to rehearsal.  I am the official golf cart driver for the librarians.  So Nancy suggested I go back to the amp to get some more music folders.  I agreed right away because I knew that Peter and Paul were back there warming up, and that their catered dinner would be held in the choir room.  MAYBE I WOULD SEE THEM!!!!!


I get in the cart and tear over to the amp.  I'm admitted through the back because I am "official" since I'm the choir librarian.  As I pass the main floor I can hear the sounds of Peter and Paul singing on the stage, checking the sound.  When I get up to the choir room the smell of fancy catered food fills the air.  There's a feast ready up there, but the stars are down on the stage.  I grab the folders and chat with the caterers for a second.  Then I head back down the stairs feeling a little disappointed that I had not seen the "guys."


As I got to the bottom of the stairs I casually looked down the hall that leads to the stage.  And standing there, big as life, guitar in hand, is Peter Yarrow himself!   He's looking right at me.  Now at this point it's appropriate to mention that through my choir experiences with the Kennedy Center Honors and other miscellaneous celebrity encounters in my life, that most celebs have their on-stage personas, and their off-stage personas.  And I don't blame famous people for having a limit on the amount of interacting they want to do with the public.   I'm used to knowing that you don't try to chat up the famous people.


But come on. . . there he was.   Peter Yarrow.  He didn't know me, but I had known him for years and years.   My eyes met his  and I just simply said,  "You are my hero."   And he walked toward me with the warmest smile you can imagine.  I told him he had no idea how many hours of my life had been spent with his music. . . either listening or playing it.  And he came over and put his arms around me and gave me a big bear hug and then kissed me on the cheek.  And he asked me my name and we chatted a bit more and then he repeated the hug and kiss and I told him how much it meant to me to meet him.  And how much I missed Mary.  And I think he was delighted that I wasn't clamoring for an autograph.   I turned to go feeling so grateful that I had had this encounter with him as he walked back into the dressing room. And then out of the corner of my eye I saw someone else.  Also with a guitar.   Noel Paul Stookey!  I had turned to go and I turned around and said to him,  "You're my hero too!"  And he said,  "What?  I'm your thrill?"  To which I replied,  "Okay. . . let's go with that!"   He also walked towards me with a warm open smile and we chatted and I told him I had lived in the DC area and always managed to miss them at Wolf Trap.   And he said he performed at The Barns there and then said,  "I have to get Peter to perform at the Barns."  At that point I had to leave with my folders and they had to eat.   What a thrill to have that private moment with them.  They both are, in private, exactly as nice as they are on the stage.  What a treat!


And the concert was great.  Everyone singing along.  They are still fabulous.  And even though I miss Mary, I sang her parts right along with them during the concert.  I literally have always dreamed of singing Mary's parts with Peter and Paul.


I had no idea that moment would happen tonight.  A delightful serendipity that I will remember all of my life.


I bet right now they are in a hotel somewhere kicking themselves that they didn't get the phone number of that cute little music librarian!  Yeah, I live in a rich fantasy world. .. . . .