Here is a copy of a letter I sent to a physician's assistant based in Fresno that took part in a presentation breakfast I attended last Saturday 6/24/10 in Santa Barbara.  It was hosted by the drug company that makes Copaxone, the daily injectable therapy I am currently on for Multiple Sclerosis. Thought I'd share it with you.  Mr. Baker- It was great to meet you at the Shared Solutions meeting in Santa Barbara, I was pleased to gain a better understanding of the way my copaxone is working …

Well, we just had a wonderful time in Washington, capping it with an incredible house concert in Tumwater, WA just south of Olympia.  "Music Up Close" is a new music series hosted by JD & Joanna Miller, an absolutely delightful team who amazed everyone, pulling delicious homemade pizzas out of the custom brick oven that resides in the sprawling his & hers kitchen in their beautiful home.  An almost fulll house, the night was a shining star on my tour schedule and an excellent …

We've had a great time in Washington and are looking forward to our last date in this beautiful state tonight.  The "Music Up Close" house concert series will be home to us tonight and I've gotta say I'm especially looking forward to some homemade pizza fresh from their brick oven!  I'm honored to be one of the first in this blossoming series. We had a great experience at Seattle Children's hospital and had such a warm reception from the children, parents and staff, I have a …

What a great trip I had in Oregon.  I guess I'll have to come back sooner than later as I just had the best time and such wonderful support here.  We added a last minute, weds. wild card gig at a place called the Clockworks Cafe in downtown Salem.  It's the nucleus of a recently opened but still evovling cultural center which my friend Erika is involved with.  So we rolled into town around 2pm, by seven I was watching the Candelaria Choir performance including one of Erika's little …

We drove north after the Bread & Roses show in Berkeley at a shelter, which was really cool to do.  The audience really seemed to love it and I finally got to meet Kurt Huget who works with Bread & Roses, putting a face to the emails we've been writing for so long now.  We tried to book a B&R performance as part of the Patience Pays tour but the dates just didn't jive.  I'd love to do more with this group and hope they ask me back. We spent the night in the bus off the 101 in …

Kicked off the tour with a great show at The Clubhouse in San Luis Obispo.  It's a bar and restaurant in what used to be called This Old House, an old dairy farm.  I was so thrilled to see some friends turn out and also to meet some new friends that night.  Big thanks to Lady Tie Di and Rachel for making the trip and showin up with a party, always nice to see familiar faces singing along in the audience! We headed north after the show and arrived at Allan Molho's Landfall house concert in …

This story was particularily touching, I had read it before but loved it just as much.  For all the dog lovers out there, Woof woof! A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.. After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road.. It looked like fine marble. At …

I ventured north this past weekend to San Francisco to celebrate Phil Lesh's 70th birthday at the Bill Graham Civic Center.  Just in case you're not clear, Phil Lesh is the iconic bass player and core part of the original Grateful Dead.  This show was brought to us by Furthur & Unbroken Chain Foundation to benefit the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. Created in the spring of 1997 by Phil Lesh and friends, the Unbroken Chain Foundation is a nonprofit organization which seeks to …

Wow!  I am amazed at technology these days!  When I was in Memphis at the National Folk Alliance Conference this past February, Madalyn Sklar had set up a webcast of the showcases in the GoGirls room.  It was so cool to see viewers interacting during the show that they were watching right along with us in real time from all over the country! Last night, I watched the Raina Rose & AJ Roach House Concert at Blue Ridge Cabin Concerts  in Georgia and had such a great time, …

Land Ho!  It has been some time since I returned from my journey down to Central America to visit a sweet island off the northern shore of Belize called Ambergris Caye (pronounced key).  My Ojai friends Terry & Teri Mackey had been visiting the island for several years and staying at this really neat bed & breakfast there in San Pedro town, where the majority of business and social stuff goes on.  They befriended Cindy & Renita, owners of the B&B called Changes in Latitudes …