In August of 2014 some dears ones, in particular Judy Higgins, and I caravaned from the greater Old Town School of Folk Music region of Chicago to Beacon, NY to sing and sail on the Sloop Clearwater; Pete Seeger’s boat on the Hudson River.

  Such a trip had been on my mind for a year or two and the swirl of good feelings in our musical community after Pete died on January 27, 2014, blew the idea from my daydreams into reality. “Sailing Up and Down the River with Friends” began. 

About 20 of us made the trip for this very memorable voyage. The boat was “a real, functioning sloop,” as the crew let us know during introductions. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it definitely wasn’t designed for tourists. There was ropes, pulleys and other boat hardware covering every inch of the deck. Where were we going to sit for our jam?!?!?

  The crew lead us in the sea shanty, Paddy Works on the Railway, as we pulled together to hoist the main sail. I’m not sure why they chose a railroad song, rather than a sea faring song, but it was a perfect fit. They instructed about 10 of to take hold of the halyard and pull to the beat of the song.  The crew counted off an incredibly slow tempo, which made sense immediately when it became apparent how difficult it was going to be to hoist the sail. Slow and steady, with my arms burning, the sail was up and we continued on our way. I was already exhausted! And, I never heard a sea shanty the same way again.

It was a quite, beautiful afternoon on the river with mostly sunny skies.  As we embarked there was this one small dramatic dark cloud that sauntered right over us. It loosened a handful of raindrops and for one moment I was nervous that our jam was going to be rained out.  But, the cloud quickly carried on, and we didn’t feel another drop. Later I thought, “Ah, that cloud was Pete saying hi in his own particular way.” 

  As the excursion continued, we had a fantastic jam. It was clear from the crew introductions that they had expected us to follow their lead during the music portion of the ride. But, without much notice, instruments were unpacked and the sound of our music filled the air. We all took turns leading songs, and the crew eased back to enjoy the jam with us. We probably played for an hour or so. Then, instruments were packed, ropes were wound back up and we headed back to shore.

  Ten years. Wow, a lot has changed in ten years and that on the Hudson River feels both very far away in my memory, and also much nearer. The time from the Sloop trip to my last teaching day at the Old Town School was five years.  Then, my last class at OTS to today was also five years. Hard to imagine that those two stretches of time were equal.  Life is so different. I wonder if I’ll ever lead another event like that. Not that I want to! I’m very happy these days with my slower pace.

  It’s been a tearful experience to look through these photos, many of which I haven’t seen since they were originally taken.  In that time, Zelda, who was a member of the Young Stracke All-Stars, completed her undergrad degree. I live with Grace and Maria now, which has been the most delightful surprise of the past 10 years. I was able to have lunch with Anthony and Dana, who I hadn’t seen at least five years, earlier this summer.  Many of the others I see on an occasional virtual jam or concert.  We all played a lot of music together during my Chicago years and I feel so lucky that, even if we don’t get to play together very much anymore, I still consider them close friends. I know that, if the opportunity presented itself, we could jump right into a version of Pete’s Sailing Up and Down the River, just like old times.