Monday photo feature

Here's one of several shots of Rob Hartman that I got during his gig in Grand Rapids last Monday.  He and his mates in the John Shea Trio served up some quality entertainment, and they seemed to have quite a following in the bar.

I got to watch Rob perform in another venue on Saturday: the 45 North Solstice canoe and kayak race in Suttons Bay.  Rob was pretty virtuosic there too, winning the 9-ish kilometer race with little trouble.

Under ordinary circumstances, I probably wouldn't have left home until maybe Wednesday in order to get to Saturday's race.  I might have been able to get the central air conditioning situation at my house squared away Monday or Tuesday, and that would have been a load off my mind.  But Rob's gig on Monday was the only one he had scheduled during my time up here, and I really wanted to see him play.  The simple truth is that I really enjoy music of all kinds, and even though I have almost no talent of my own for making it, I'm fascinated with people who do.  What's more, one thing I love about my sport is that the people who do it tend to be interesting, talented people in a more general way.  If somebody is a really good canoe and kayak racer, it's a good bet that he or she does some other things really well, too.

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