Some o' ye who've taken the trouble t' browse me cabin might be familiar with our good friend Wayne Cantwell, the Flyin' Fiddler of Del City, Oklahoma. But you might not know about the youngster standin' next to Wayne, as shown above in th' pitcher. That thar's Wayne's boy, Grayson. A good while back, I gave a proper an' hearty "Whang-a-doodle!" to Wayne's magical CD, Just me an' a Fiddle, and one of the tracks featured on that CD is called "Grayson's Reel." So y'all jest sit thar whilst I tell ye the tale o' how that little tune began.
Wayne was jest sittin' around one day, playin' a few notes in his house, just sittin' back an' enjoyin' himself, and that's when young Grayson noticed that strange litle tune his daddy was toyin' with might be music written just fer him! "Well, if that's how you think it is, Grayson," Wayne said, "then maybe we can make a tune of it, and make sure that tune is just for you." So there were a few moments when there wuz a little bit of hummin' and thinkin' and carryin' on, and before long, "Grayson's Reel" was born! It's just a short little tune, but it will surely tickle yer toes, I'll tell you that right now!
As you see in the pitcher, Wayne's busy fiddlin' (and yes, sometimes it's hard to play yer fiddle in really cold weather!), and Grayson's just listenin' to his dad play (we'll assume that he's listenin' to "Grayson's Reel"). The backdrop fer this cute little fiddle moment is the 2004 Guthrie, Oklahoma Victorian Christmas Walk, which is sponsored by the City of Guthrie Chamber of Commerce. Each year, for two consecutive Saturdays, Oklahoma's Territorial Capital City transforms itself into a living recreation of its very own self, as she was durin' th' turn o' the century. Shop owners give their windows a beautiful holiday sheen; and everywhere ye look, ye'll be seein' things like horse-drawn carriages, carolers, costumed strollers, and one or two buskers --- that word means old-time street musicians --- like Wayne. Why, there's even a Santa Claus who is very, very artistic --- so much so, in fact, that he can paint his own self-portrait in a local gallery! Now, I'd be more'n happy to tell ye a whole lot more about Guthrie's Victorian Christmas Walk, but I'd rather ye give the Guthrie Chamber of Commerce a call, and ask them all about it. That toll-free number is 1-800-299-1889. But if'n ye wants to, click on the links I done put up fer ya, an' they'll take care of the rest.
Now, a few days after Just me an' a Fiddle came out, Grayson listened to it --- every last track on the CD, mind ye, because that was, after all, his daddy playin' thar. And I guess he liked hearin' his Reel best of all. Maybe someday, he thought, Dad'll teach me how to play it all by myself! Well, here's hopin' that young Grayson does indeed get to learn how to play the merry little reel that his fiddle-lovin' father wrote jest fer him! Well, this Old Man Fiddler certainly hopes that that day does come to pass..... because, when all's said an' done, Fiddle Friends, one thing's fer certain: there ain't nothin' on God's good Earth that makes a young'n happier than learnin' to discover the world of fiddle music! (Heh-heh!)