The first time I met Bob Meisel was about 10 years ago at our Missionary Training Center in Missouri. We hit it off immediately. We got together nearly every day to play music. He would play either my guitar, mandolin or banjo. Bob can play just about anything with strings.
Fast forward to the Fall of 2016. I received an email from NTM Homes asking me what kind of renovations I would like for my apartment in Florida. The email said that I would be living at 608 Mexico Ct. I wondered who might be living on my block and if I would know any of my neighbors. Well you could have knocked me over with a feather when I found out that Bob and Marilyn Meisel would share the same duplex where I was to live. I thought to myself, "Woohoo, music jams at my place every night!" Well it has not been quite every night, but we do play together several times a week. When I moved to Florida, I had not been playing my instruments very much and as a result I had no calluses whatsoever on the fingertips of my left hand. Three months later and my calluses are about as thick as they have ever been in my entire life.
I love music and there are many venues here in Central Florida to do a little pickin' -n- grinnin'. Every Saturday afternoon a number of us get together here to practice some gospel songs. Then we play those songs Tuesday morning before the NTM Homes chapel begins.
About 10 minutes down the road is the Osteen Diner. They host an acoustic music jam every Tuesday night. I have been there a few times and joined in with their jam.
That's where I met Joe and Katie Waller who play in the Jackson Creek String Band. They began as a pure bluegrass band but have since morphed into more of a folk music band.
I went to a jam at their house one evening and asked, "Just who is the Jackson Creek String Band?" Well it turned out that nearly everyone in the room was part of the band except for me and one other fellow. Joe used to work for the Forestry Service in Southern Oregon. The band is actually named after Jackson Creek Oregon.
Friday night I went to an "old time" music jam about 2 miles from my apartment. They play pre-bluegrass fiddle tunes from the Appalachian Mountains. But they did allow me to do one bluegrass song — Long Journey Home made popular by the Stanley Brothers. The jam is hosted at the home of Chuck and Linda Bose. They are part of the Celery City String Band.
It is easy for me to get lost on those fiddle tunes!
Are we on Part A or Part B? Okay, it is definitely Part A, but are we on the first time through Part A or the second time through Part A? When is this song gonna end cuz I really need to itch my nose?!
I know a few fiddle tunes, but most of the ones we played on Friday were new to me. We went around the circle with each person requesting a song in turn. On my first turn I picked an old standard — Angeline the Baker. That is a fun song to play and it does not have many chord changes so it is pretty easy. On my second turn I picked a song that was not on the Celery City String Band favorites list. It's a song that I have been trying to learn on the mandolin for a number of years, but there is no way I can play it up to normal speed. When they asked me what song I wanted, I heard a collective groan when I said Arkansas Traveler. The chords on that song are easy and since I did not have my mandolin with me, I only had to worry about the chord changes playing rhythm guitar. The thing that makes Arkansas Traveler a real challenge is all those sixteenth notes for those who are picking the lead melody. Well, we played it. But I'm not so sure that I will ever be invited back to their jam again! J
They have a break time with snacks at the jam. During the break I struck up a conversation with a fellow there. I told him about what I did at our Missionary Training Center as well as what NTM does around the world. He seemed genuinely interested and asked a lot of intelligent questions.
Well I feel like I am beginning to find my way around Sanford Florida and am experiencing some of the local culture around here. Although I still have not tried boiled peanuts or grilled alligator. I did see a small alligator in the lake behind my apartment a few weeks ago. I wondered how he might taste if I cooked him in my smoker for a few hours.
Prayers for me as I continue to adjust to a new place and new ministry here in Florida would be much appreciated.
Bob
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Human history is not in the grip of fate, but in the hands of Him who was pierced for us on Calvary. – W. Graham Scroggie
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