Well, Damn. Just Damn Damn Damn.

 Even though he's been leaving for a long time.

I'm not much for mega-stars in the music world.  I kinda stopped paying attention after the 80s.  But I'm a festival goer and one of the great things about the modern music world is that people who don't play to mega-stadiums can still get their music out there.  And years ago I fell in love with one particular performer, Alex Beaton. So many wonderful Celtic musicians out there, but Beaton, ah, Beaton made my heart soar.  I knew it wasn't any use to sit down in whatever tent he was performing in.  I always stood to one side.  I can't dance.  I can't sing.  But I would be so lost in his music that I would sway and move and sing and just...be...gone. 

In 2011, Alex and his step-son were sitting on their patio.  His step-son went inside and when he came back Alex was on the ground with a spinal injury that left him a quadriplegic.  I don't know if they ever figured out exactly what happened.  He and his wife still attended festivals, still kept up his newsletters after, but it was a struggle.

I learned today that Alex passed away on May 27.  And I cried.  His Scottish heart spoke to my West Virginia hillbilly heart in a way no other musician ever has and probably never will again.  And years ago he gave me what I want on my gravestone when I'm laid to rest in our little family graveyard in the back of beyond in Preston County, in the farming settlement where the happiest times of my life were spent.

Will miss 'im this year

It's getting on to time for my planned "staycation", during which my sister will join me up here in the hills of West-by-God Virginny.  I have a lot of things planned, pending weather, but I told her that while all other things are optional, the Virginia Scottish Games are not.  And by about 1:00 of what I hope will be a sunny September day I intend to be seated in the main music tent, my second ale of the day in hand, surrounded by plates of haggis, bridies, and various other Gaelic treats that are entirely too heavy for a mid-Atlantic summer day but are, nonetheless, necessary to happiness at a Celtic festival.  And, yes, I actually like haggis.  Worse, I like festival vender haggis.

When it comes to music I'm a big fan of the little guy.  I've done the major venue/big star thing before, but I'd rather be sitting in a tent or a church hall, listening to the folks who never get a huge recording contract, who run to Wal-Mart when the festival runs out of cups, who stand by the vending table talking happily with fans during breaks.  There is incredible talent in the world, and thank goodness for the web and the CDs we can order from personal web sites.  Festivals are wonderful for discovering new performers - for an entry fee that is generally less than $20 you can spend hours happily listening, singing along, and dancing.  Of course, they make a lot of money off of me in sales of food and drink, and I always buy a CD or two, but, still, I consider it a primo deal.

My favorite of these little guys is Alex Beaton (followed closely by Charlie Zahm).  Based in Nashville, Beaton is an ornery Scot with a rich brogue, a great love of traditional music and his Celtic heritage, and a performer who obviously loves people.  He's generally the headliner at the Scottish Games,  and I was really anticipating seeing him perform this year.

But Beaton is currently in a rehab hospital in Nashville, recovering from a serious spinal cord injury.  There's a gap in knowledge of what happened - he was sitting on his patio, felt bad, asked his son to get him a glass of water.  When his son returned he was laying on the ground and his heart had stopped.  Something damaged a disk in his neck so badly that the pressure on his spine interrupted his heart beat.  The last news I found on the web was good - the concern has been how much damage was done to his spinal cord, but as the bruising heals it seems feeling is returning.  And apparently he's flirting with the nurses and calling his wife a "pain in the arse", which means his personality is intact.  Everybody is praying he's returns to his hearty and hale self and is back on the touring circuit ASAP.

We'll still have fun - the Glengarry Bhoys will rock the house and have us dancing in the aisles.  But, jeez, I'm gonna miss Alex this year.