I really wanted to go to a week long music camp this summer. These camps are generally held at scenic locations away from the distractions of a city. College campuses are often homes to summer camps. The food and board are acceptable and cheap, as compared to hotels. The very big thrills of music camp are being among musicians who make music all day and most of the night and attending classes taught by some of the best musicians around. Years ago I attended Celtic Week at
Swannanoa, and it was a peak experience, one which I would love to repeat. Unfortunately, the camps are fairly expensive (very expensive on my budget), and one needs a car, or at least a driver's license and a rental car, to attend. I resigned myself to not going to music camp this summer.
Then I found something that could substitute for going away to summer camp. It is a day camp in an area near me, where a few adults and a lot of kids gather during the day to learn and play Irish music. The Irish fiddle teachers at the day camp are world class. I was very excited to find this opportunity, and I signed up to go. The camp is this week.
Then my luck changed. The weather turned into an asthmatic's nightmare. We have temperatures near 100 degrees F, extremely high humidity, and heavy air pollution. The air quality has been code orange for several days, and I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes code red soon. Although the camp is near me in miles, it is far via public transportation. I would have to wait outside for a bus, then wait outside for a train, and then wait outside for another bus. I'd have to do that twice every day, coming and going to camp. To make matters worse, the air conditioning at the camp is not working well. I tried sampling the air two days ago by going outside for a short time. Then I had to come back into my air conditioned home, where I collapsed and slept for hours. There is no way that I can attend the local summer camp now.
I'm so depressed that I don't even feel like playing my violin today.
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