The Entertainers

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I thought the Ohio River was wide but this lady dwarfed it by as much as twice it’s breadth.  But before we had put the jacks down, we were befriended by our neighbor, Judy Neal.  She hollered over, “hey, I see you’re from Pennsylvania”.  And thus began a conversation, camaraderie, and new friendship.  Apparently Judy originally hailed from the Erie area before settling in central Florida.  She introduced us to her better half, Stoney.  It’s really Ewell Stonewall Neal, an honest to goodness southern gentleman.  The original Florida ‘cracker’.

Then things got busy for us.  Robin and I took a long walk trying to tire Brutus.  We made a trip to the local Walmart for some wine, got the laundry done, chatted with more neighbors, and then the entertainment began.  A real rip-snortin’ time for you readers.  How about it.  Are you bored yet?  Well pull up and chair and hold on to your hat, for the entertainment has just started.  Judy pulled out her electric accordion, an original Elkavox.  And she srtarted to tickle the pearls as if she had been a regular on the Lawrence Welk show.  Now I’m really dating myself.  Nevertheless, she was amazing.  She entertained Robin and I, as well as two other couples who had sauntered along when the music resounded from the banks of the Mississippi.  When she played the Steeler fight song,  our version of the “Pennsylvania Polka”, I started to get the goosebumps that come every Sunday in the fall and winter.  Judy entertained us for more than an hour and her repertoire ran the gamut of standards covering several decades.  We couldn’t pass up the chance to purchase a few of her CD’s.  

As soon as the music died down heads went back and eyes went up.  John, from the other end of the campground, had donned his air driven backpack,  sails and began weaving his golden silk under the bright blue skies. I had the urge to go up as well but apparently due to my girth, the winds weren’t strong enough this day.