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I was listening to the online stream of Kathleen Biggins's show A Thousand Welcomes (wfuv.org) the other day, and she mentioned that June is National* Accordion Awareness Month. Note: not National Accordion Appreciation Month, as obviously that would take considerably longer than just one month. Years, maybe. Lifetimes, more likely. But awareness, yeah maybe that could happen in 30 days or less.

As for me, I'm already painfully aware of accordions, as I play in a session that has anywhere from two (always) up to (one time) seven accordions present and accounted for. I try to squeeze back now and then with my concertina, but it's a slow and painful process. I'd write more about that, but really it would probably be better if I just practiced more often! My main instrument, the flute, is just no match for the box in a one-on-one battle, alas.

But anyway, this gets me wondering. What will you as an accordion player be doing during this, your most holy month? Will you be a force for good, or (even better) will you treat this month as your own personal Ramadan and abstain from squeezing from sunup to sundown? (And thank God this is summer and the days are getting longer - especially so in Ireland.) Or will you stay on the dark side, making this month just like the other eleven, i.e. National Accordion Bewareness Month? Only you can decide. Choose well, please!

Written while listening to Frankie Gavin and Paul Brock's brilliant CD Omos do Joe Cooley, so please resist urge to place foot in my butt cheek by realizing that my tongue is firmly in my other cheek...

*US only. May not apply in Canada. How do you say National Accordion Awareness Month in French, anyway?

The wording does seem more suitable for an incurable disease, doesn't it?

I think my family and neighbours are already painfully aware. I really don't see what more I can do...

So when is National Concertina Concertation Month? (Although concertation is not a quality I expect from concertinists, any more than awareness is a notable feature of most box players....)

Concertation? That's a new one on me! Are you indulging in a neologism, or was it just a typo for concentration?

Personally, I think it would need to be Cosmic Concertina Concentration Century. But that's just me...

John,
I know this is off topic but I just think that it's too weird that whenever I (rarely) meet someone with the same last name as me (Kerr) they have the first name John as well... I guess it's just a winning combination or something. I started going by Johnny since everyone and their brother (and my father, grandfather and great grandfather) has the first name John.
Do you often encounter the same?

johnkerr wrote:Concertation? That's a new one on me! Are you indulging in a neologism, or was it just a typo for concentration?

I did think of concentration but decided you wouldn't like the rest of my idea. Concertation is, thanks for reminding me, a Canadianism. I'm ashamed to admit that it's really government-speak.

S

straycat82 wrote:John,
I know this is off topic but I just think that it's too weird that whenever I (rarely) meet someone with the same last name as me (Kerr) they have the first name John as well... Do you often encounter the same?

Not really. The only other John Kerr I've met is my father. However, I did Google myself recently and scrolled through nearly 100 pages of search results having nothing whatsoever to do with me. I did encounter many John Kerrs though who seemed to be having a lot more fun than I am. Swimming pools, movie stars. Black gold, Texas tea...