Ok then. Back from Oklahoma. Hung out with the relatives for a couple of days before Oklahoma’s first flute festival,…. Held in Keys/Tahlequah. Highlights of the visit included finding out the relatives are all much older than they used to be, while I’m much younger; that there is a new Indian Casino a short walk from the house in Perkins, and it has a bar, and the town still has no traffic signal.

The festival was a real treat. Aside from selling some flutes, I hung out with Mark Holland, Jan Seiden, Jeff Martindale, and the fallen branch flute folks, Leonard Lone Crow, and 23 other flutemakers. I even bought a flute from Leonard, and let my compadre Mark Slater, peddle flute cases from my table. The best part was the whole event was about 12 steps away from my motel room door…but It was humid. It was REALLY humid. Something about all the lakes, and the moist wind bumping up against the Ozarks..I didn’t get it. But I’ve been to Guatemala…more than once….don’t even know why, and Guatemala has NOTHING on Keys Ok. for humidity. Look up humidity in the dictionary. You will find a map of Keys Oklahoma.

As you can see from the photo, they liked me…….well, they liked my flutes anyway. I was probably best characterized as mildly irritating. I know the term “colorful” was used. I was subsequently offered $2,130.00 for the flute. I turned it down, and did so because I knew folks were going to want to see the first place flute, and I didn’t want to be the one to tell them it was in a car trunk headed for Little Rock AR. Plus he wanted to pay by check.

The return trip was a breeze. I shipped 15 lbs. of flutes in a 45lb. German military foot locker via UPS, TO the festival, because at Los Angeles Intl. Airport, the TSA folks would have seen what they thought was 15 pipe bombs in the footlocker x-ray, and I was in no mood for a body cavity search as well. TULSA…on the other hand. …those folks need an award or something. The guy let ME weigh it, and throw it on the cart. It’s like Mayberry with an airport. They did everything but offer me a warm muffin.

Once I got home, I had to clean house web-wise. So I posted eight new flutes this morning. I have a little trick photo thing on the home page of a couple of my first flutes, and another shot of the flute that won at the festival, when you fiddle with your mouse over the picture. Cute.

As of this afternoon, I’m working on a flute of Blue Mahoe, which I don’t even think is wood, and camphor burl, which makes my shop smell like a cough drop. Too much information.