The release of “The Mandolin Case” borders on surreal. It is out of stock on Amazon right now, though they have promised it will roll out again in 24-48 hours.
WNCW 88.7 radio was my first media gig. I was relaxed and yukked it up with Dennis Jones as if we were on my grandmother’s front porch swing eating MoonPies and picking bluegrass. At one break he told me how many people listened to WNCW and I ’bout freaked, but then settled down okay. It ain’t as scary as acute myocardial ischemia (heart attack) but it was new experience.
I guess I did okay, ’cause first thing Monday morning an upstate S.C. television station e-mailed and wanted to arrange a T.V. interview. It is now 99% set up, but I’m gonna wait until I have more details to announce it. I decided right away all these spots will have to be on Wednesdays (my day off) or weekends when not on call. I have to keep the balance right to be happy and want to give my patients my best. It might sound strange, but when I see them I seldom think about the writer gig unless they ask. Few of them even know I write, and that might be for the best. I want to stay on at the Doc gig as long as they’ll have me; it’s all I know.
The great Alison Brown is in Asheville Friday. We’ll be at her show, but I won’t have any books there. I don’t have many anyway, but also I don’t want to impose on another artist’s gig. Y’all need to come out and hear Alison; the young lady is a world-class talent with a band to match. Part Harvard business woman, part banjo picker, Alison and her husband Gary own Compass Records in Nashville. They not only carry fine bluegrass, but also a wide selection of jazz and Celtic music.
Saturday me and Marfar are gonna be in Jackson County at their annual bluegrass festival. I have few books left and will have them there. This is a nice low-key event at a lush green meadow nestled between a couple of North Carolina mountain ridges. It should be a touch cooler up there, and it will be a reprieve. Harvey County hovers at 100 right now.
A decade ago, I decided I had to write a book to show how to be a decent human being and doctor even under duress, and also to promote the music I love. It looks like I might done just that. I think modern bluegrass music is the last relatively undiscovered American art form, and I hope to be some small part of the transformation I believe to be imminent.
I’ll always be 80% doctor and 20% artist. My doctor brain is practical, predictable and boring. The artistic side of me can’t help but chase dreams and rainbows. Somewhere over the rainbow me and my Marfar have already found more enjoyment than any human beings deserve. Y’all come join us when you can.
Dr. B
Dr. Tom Bibey: Stories of the Bluegrass Music Road 