ANNE E.'S JOURNAL - September 26, 2007 - Playing with Fire! and Schedule
	September 26, 2007 Good morning to you all and Happy Autumn. Busy here just sending out promotional packages, contacting various radio stations, finding outlets for the new cd etc. There’s plenty to do. I don’t really have any stories this week but maybe one will pop up as I write this. This week shows include: Friday, Sept. 28th @ 12noon - me at The Colonial Arcade (this is really the Euclid Arcade but I’m sticking to “Colonial” for now). Fri., Sept 28th @ 6p.m. - Join the full band at Highland Square in Akron. We will be playing behind the Chipotle. This is a free concert. On Saturday, Sept. 29th @ 7:30p.m. the trio will perform its first show at Anthe’s in Portage Lakes This is also a free show. What can I say, you can’t argue with the price on any of these! On Sunday, Sept. 30th @ 6:06p.m. I will be leading the band at The Avon Lake United Church of Christ. This is a casual, contemporary service and everyone is welcome. Every Sunday @ 6:06p.m. If you’re looking for a new church experience, then check it out. The music rocks! I will be out of town from Oct. 3rd - Oct. 17th. When I return we’ll move full swing back into shows beginning with Jimmy’s Café on Fri., Oct. 19th and an awesome full band show at The Winchester on Sat., Oct. 20th. This is where I had the CD release. Those of you who were there know how excellent this venue is. The cover is $8.00. Please be sure to visit www.anneedechant.com to check the schedule. It will be changing in the next few days. I have had to move a few dates. As soon as changes are confirmed I will make them. None of the shows mentioned here however, will be affected. Ok, I just thought of a story. When I was young, about 11 or 12, I had an obsession with a few things, one was anything with a motor, one was of course, fishing, one was smoking...”Winston tastes good like a cigarette should” remember that sweet little jingle? Yes I would hide my smokes in the woods under some leaves and take little breaks when I wanted to feel like a cowboy or John Cougar. Anyway, one more obsession I had was with fire. I don’t think this is atypical for a kid around 11 or 12. Matches, fire, fireworks, magnifying glasses that can start fires, two sticks whatever! I used to watch my older brother and his friends as they poured gasoline in lines from base to base on the ball field at the end of my street. Then they’d light ‘em up and we’d have baselines. Oh how a longed to do more than just watch. If they’d just let me light one line. Anyway, I had my little stints where I would light a little fire in the woods and I don’t know, I guess just watch it burn. One morning I was in the bathroom with my mom. I think she was doing her hair for church. I was staring at my eyelashes which looked really weird to me. I said to her, “something’s wrong with my eyelashes”. She reacted immediately by turning and looking closely at my lashes then saying, “they’re singed! You’ve been playing with fire!” Ugh!!!! You have to imagine my mothers voice. She had an ability to really scare you with the sheer drama of her reactions. Kind of like the mom on Malcolm in the Middle. !” For years I kept my distance from squirrels after hearing her describe taking me to “Docies” (our family doctor) to get “14 shots in your stomach with a needle about this (really long!) big!” I also feared things like dying of typhoid after having taken a drink from the ditch that ran behind our house or waking up jaundiced and unable to open my jaw. So today was just one in a series of exclamations from my mother as the years passed. They disappeared as quickly as they came. With that simple, dramatic comment I was busted. But she hadn’t described anything that my folly might lead to, like going blind or having things get stuck in my eyes because I had no lashes to keep them out or maybe never growing my lashes back. I don’t really remember anything happening in particular. I don’t know if I got grounded or anything like it. Anyway, I did know never bring that up again. So with my obsession in tact, one day I was with my friend back in the woods behind the houses on my street. We decided to build a fire. Of course it would be contained, just a nice little fire to watch for a while. After all, I’d seen my brother do it with his friends. Well, we lit the fire. The fire got very big very fast. You see unlike the field, back in the woods the brush was everywhere. It wasn’t mowed grass. Before you knew it we had a big fire in the woods. The only thing we could do was get our dads. We did and they came running and tried frantically to contain the fire. Luckily they had also called the fire department. The fire department came and put the fire out. I don’t remember what happened in this case either. I don’t know if I made something up to cover for myself or if I admitted to starting the fire (I doubt it) or if I was punished. It’s weird but I really don’t remember. But here’s what happened years later. This was just a year or two ago. My older sister and I were out for a walk in the neighborhood where we grew up. We were reminiscing about various things on the street where we grew up. (CLICK HERE TO READ LYRICS TO OLD TOWN ROAD-A SONG ABOUT MY HOME TOWN AND MY DEAD END STREET) We were, of course, laughing as we reeled back in time. I’m telling you, this street and the people that lived there were the stuff of short stories. We had it all. Anyway, at one point she said, “Do you remember the fire?” I said, “What fire”. “That huge fire!”, she said. It came really close to the houses. I was so scared it was going to burn down our house.” My mind shuffled back to that day when I tried in vain to use a broom to put out the fire I had started in the woods. I remember the fire being big but not that big. You know how when you’re little and houses look huge to you, then you go back and visit and the houses look like something from Munchkin Land? That’s my theory here. But what could I do? I just listened as she described, blackened trees and ground and huge flames that crept their way toward our little white house as she stood fearfully in the back yard. On this day, I chose to come clean. I am in no way suggesting that this was good fun. For sure it was dangerous and could have been much worse. DON’T PLAY WITH FIRE! It’s more a story about perspective. I would never have thought that my sister remembered the fire. And I certainly had no idea how “big” it was. There are countless stories that I have in my head. When I ask someone in my family about one of them, often they have a completely different memory. It’s truly interesting. Try it some time. Ask your family members and friends about a memory you have. It’s a cool way to see things. Ok, that’s it for now. I hope you enjoy the rest of your week. Thanks for continuing to come out to shows, for buying and sharing my music and for your kind notes. I appreciate it all. Take good care and I hope to see you at a show soon. Anne E.