“…..and the rain subsided, the cold snap ended, so it was great for taking a walk. The sky was a panorama of dark gray clouds….it was a dramatic sight…as sometimes it is after rainstorms.”
Jean
THE STORYVILLE JASSBAND “I Get the Blues When It Rains.”
The Ocean Grove porch culture often includes dinner on the porch. It is very common, and some people set up candles or have a chandelier. They entertain company this way. It is most charming and very historic. Before air-conditioning people would eat outdoors to catch the ocean breezes and they would even sleep on their porches. This practice also allows for conversations with passers-by. It’s a good way to make new friends.
These al fresco diners are from Germany although they are actually Dutch. The lady in blue is a neighbor. The young man is with the international contingent among these porch denizens; he is their son, but he also is an American citizen. The house belongs to these Europeans who used to live here, but now they come back in the summer for a dose of Americana and Victorian charm.
I didn’t ask them what they were eating, but, of course, there was a bottle of wine to make the meal complete. Come to think of it, I don’t know what they eat in the Netherlands. I asked their permission to do the photo. They heard of Blogfinger, so I didn’t have to explain why I wanted their picture. I didn’t ask their names because Blogfinger is a place where people comment without names and where the photographs usually speak for themselves.
I showed them the Netherlands gold coin that I wear from 1604. It brings me luck. That was the year that the Hundred Year war ended. Let’s all make a toast to the end of wars.
These porch people didn’t have any dinner music but they seemed perfectly happy without it, although I, on the contrary, have to have a soundtrack, so we will add some music for this photo. Let’s see…hmmmm. After dinner we can watch the stars over Wesley Lake:
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: “My Oklahoma Home.” From We Shall Overcome—the Seeger Sessions
“My Oklahoma home it blown away
Well it looked so green and fair
When I built my shanty there
Now my Oklahoma home is blown away.”
During the 1930’s and ’40’s, the FSA (Farm Security Administration) sent a team of photographers to the “dustbowl’ of Oklahoma, Carolinas, Kentucky and elsewhere to document the poverty and deprivation of that place at that time. Marion Post Alcott was the first woman to be hired for that high powered team of skilled artists and photojournalists. During 1938-1942 she produced 9,000 images for the FSA.
This album of Pete Seeger’s music was recorded by Bruce at his Colt’s Neck farm in 2007, and it is the only album, so far, that he has done not containing his music. The album was a huge hit worldwide and it was beautifully done, with musicians skilled in that music genre. Bruce fit right in.
Another FSA photographer was Dorothea Lange. Here is a Blogfinger link to our piece about her:
