Singing in a circle

Yesterday was another day of more than one Something New.  The first scheduled activity of the day was another nurse training program.  I played the sister of a man (played by a mannequin voiced by a man in a secluded booth) who is dying and does die during the scenario.  The idea is to give the trainees practice in taking care not just of the patient but also the patient's loved one.  I have done this scenario before and, by imagining my real brother in the bed, I'm always able to come up with a deep emotional response to the moment, which gives the trainees a lot to work with.

The training didn't start until the afternoon, but I like giving myself plenty of time to get there, so I took the train to a stop some distance away from the university where the program takes place and got some lunch.  Since I still had a fair bit of time before the program, I decided to walk through the neighborhood around the university.  I've been to some commercial destinations in this neighborhood, but was not familiar with its residential areas.  It was raining by this time, so I popped open my umbrella and walked and walked.

The neighborhood is somewhat shabby, lots of graffiti and litter, but it also has a certain charm.  It is probably one of the most ethnically mixed areas in the city, which was reflected in how the houses were decorated, what icons, symbols, or tchotchkes were in the front yards and windows, and in the people I encountered as I was walking.

The next Something New was in the evening, going to a song circle to which I'd been invited.  Song circles aren't completely new to my experience.  When I lived on the central CA coast for two years between Los Angeles and Seattle, I became part of a song circle in Santa Cruz.  A song circle is a gathering of people who get together to sing.  Pretty simple, huh?  The Santa Cruz circle mostly used a spiral-bound book titled Rise Up Singing, which contains the words and music to 1,200 songs: folk tunes, political songs, songs from musicals, pop songs from the 70's and 80's.  Usually a few of the singers would bring guitars or other instruments.  We went around the circle with everyone having chances to choose the next song.

When I moved to Seattle, I immediately went searching for another song circle as a way to connect with people in my new city.  I did find one, but the people in that circle sang folk songs so obscure that often only one or two people would know them, so I did a lot more listening than singing.

Last night's circle is being formed specifically around the idea of creating community.  The two leaders of this group had brought what they called paperless songs, which were very simple songs that could be taught to rest of us after only a couple of passes.  Every song was heartfelt and loving, songs of hope and possibility.  It was a very pleasant experience.  I do love to sing.