Band Rehearsal, Hippies and a Contact High

I don't lie about my age - I'm 52 years old right now. And today, the 15th day of my 52nd year, I apparently experienced my first "contact high", during band rehearsal, when the other musicians were passing around some weed. I have certainly been in the same room as pot smokers before but apparently whatever they were smoking this time around was potent stuff!

May I just say I hated the feeling? I felt disconnected from the music, I couldn't get my bearings and I was dizzy. Also, I couldn't take a deep breath due to the smell and the smoke. Maybe I was suffering from oxygen deprivation and wasn't high? Music is enough for me. Especially live music where I am a participant. I really don't understand why other people need something artificial inside of their bodies in order to feel connected to music (or anything else, for that matter). Perhaps I am just wired differently? I was always a "straight ass" - as they used to call me in high school. The only time I ever even considered getting high was when I was 17 and my boyfriend, Bruce, and I discussed eating some brownies laced with pot. We never did it, together. (Or that other thing, either). When I was growing up, I was far from cool. I was the choir and theater geek and the hardest stuff my friends and I ever touched was too much hot English Breakfast tea with lemon and sugar. Maybe some diet soda (Tab) and we had a blast! Lots of story-telling and laughter and music and creativity. That was our high.

Since I landed in Taos, from day 1, I have been seen, again, as a singer. THANK GOD! It has been a loooong time since a community of musicians has embraced me. Much of this is thanks to the beautiful angel, Lynn, who was my savior when I didn't have a place to stay. She took me in with open arms and introduced me to many of her friends, most of whom are musicians and artists and other outsiders. OK - I suppose you could call the majority of them "Hippies". The VW Microbus is the transportaion of choice. You can never be sure when everybody's had a bath. And, you quickly learn that they're living on the fringes of the community and with their own sense of time. Already I've learned that it is hard to pin down a time for rehearsal. Today, I arrived at the practice space at 11:30, and the last one to get there walked through the door at 4:00. But, I like these people. Many of them are good musicians and I've never sung with a harp and violin before. They are very good-natured and encouraging of each other. Very few egos. In fact, I am realizing that I have a bit of an ego, when it comes to music. I am much "tighter" than I realized. I like rehearsal to have structure and purpose. If I'm learning a song (for a future performance), I want it to have a defined melody, so I know where to put my harmonies. Is that too much to ask for?

But, I'm learning to let go a little, although we have a performance in 11 days and I'm a bit nervous of falling on my face. Hippies who smoke pot don't seem to have the same sense of urgency and perfection as me. I kind of want to grab one or two of them by the hair and shake them, though, to put them back on track, sometimes. But, they let me join their group and they invited me to perform at their show. I am trying to adopt one of their favorite phrases "It'll all work out, man, it's all good". They truly believe that. And the stakes are not that high, even if we do flub a couple of tunes. Just one roomful of people will ever know we goofed. Nowadays, though, there are cell phone cameras and You Tube to worry about....