Tullamore Returns to the Celtic Ozark Music Scene

Tullamore, one of my favorite celtic ozark music groups will be returning to the SW MO Celtic Heritage and Music Festival on September 10, 2011. Read more....http://ping.fm/Qv0v1

Living the Summer Indoors

OK, living the summer indoors has its down side.  Some of the historic places to go, like Silver Dollar City and White Water, are just no fun when it is this hot. This is despite the fact that both locations have water rides. Even in the Lazy River, your head can fry.

This time of year, I love going to places like Roaring River State Park, and doing some fly fishing.  Well, you had better be up early to do so, and be waiting on the morning horn.  If you are lucky enough to get somewhere that allows waders, you can fish a little longer.  Fishing is almost out of the summer game.

Forget about frisbee golf in Springfield, MO, unless you get out early.  The heat can just drain you. 

So what do you do for fun?  Night fishing.......way down deep.

Guess I'll go back to playing on Facebook now.  Stay cool, and conserve electricity where you can. We don't need rolling black outs.

Ray Province
The Celtic Ozarkian

Dealing with Death in the Ozarks

This week, we were given the news that the daughter of one of our friends in the Ozarks had died.  She passed away from a tragic outdoor accident involving a lightening strike, water, and a canoe.  The whole town is hurting with her. So, the question is: how do we deal with death in the Ozarks.

One of the answers that I have heard involved rational thinking about how to have avoided the issue. We should not be on water, in a canoe, during a storm.  But that answer left me a bit shallow, though I do remember learning this safety rule as a Boy Scout.  "Get off the water."  It still leaves me feeling a bit shallow, though, because we don't know what this group did to avoid the problem.  We don't even know how far away a storm might have been.  We just know the canoe was struck by lightening. Rationalizing on what could have been done does nothing to help us deal with the death.

Another answer involved trying to figure out what to do in the post tragedy.  The young woman's daughter must be cared for now. The family must make plans: funeral, dinners, etc.  It is part of what we do to deal with death in the Ozarks.

The thing that makes me most happy, though, is knowing the whole community will grieve with the family. In small ways, we will all try to do something to let the family know we hurt with them. There  will be shoulders to cry on. There will be hugs to be had.

It takes a community to do grief counseling...

Ray Province, The Celtic Ozarkian