Saturday, I cleaned offices all day. It rained most of the day. Rained hard, most of the time. Each time I left one place, I would dash for the car but get wet on the way. Then, another dash inside at the next building. UUUGH! By the time I finished, the rain had stopped and I had dried off to the point of being hot, sticky and damp through all my clothes, but not actually WET. There was no time to change or freshen up before going to the park. The Naples Drum Circle was invited to the park in Bonita, and since I'm a part of the group and it was right around the corner from my house, I wasn't going to miss it. I had loaded my djembe in the car that morning. Meant to go home and pick up my set of tablas, but didn't bother. I arrived at the park exhausted and smelling worse than a groundhog.

This is my favourite sculpture in the park:

People were spread out on the green, enjoying the early evening after the rain. They brought their kids, dogs, drums, hoola hoops, spinners, water bottles and positive attitudes. Some people from the neighbourhood heard the drums and drifted over, on foot, on bicycles and in cars. The crowd got bigger later on, but here is what it looked like when I arrived:

This little cutie was everywhere, jumping, dancing, talking to everybody and smiling all the time:

The next three pictures are of friends. The first is Lisa and her daughter, Bella. They were "with the band" - husband/father is the lead drummer:

Kate was there with her indomitable Cujo:

And Stephanie with her Lab:

I loved watching the "spinners:"

.... and the "hoopers:"

The gal in a blue sarong and purple Crocs is Leandra. She makes custom hula hoops and teaches people how to use them. She got pushy with me and forced me to try. I insisted I can't do it, but that just goaded her to insist more. So, I tried. She explained that I was moving my hips wrong, and taught me how to do it. I got the hang of it a little bit, and it was fun. I discovered that it TOTALLY works the "core muscles." Great workout! I might get her to make one for me. In this picture, she is using two wrist hoops:

This guy cracked me up. As a rule, anyone who smokes cigarettes anywhere our drum circle gets the "bum's rush" but he was sitting far out on the green, so we let him be. He was doing pretty good with the tambourine and drums:

At the heart of it all, holding the beat and making groovy rhythyms on the bandshell stage, were the drummers. There was one other woman there right in the beginning, but she wasn't really playing, just hitting the head of a drum with first one hand, then the other, and not in time with the beat. Besides her, I was the only female that evening. I have gotten better lately. I will never be one of those fancy players, but I've learned to let the group start up and find a rhythym. I listen closely until I "catch a riff" and then I play the simple, basic part, holding the background rhythym. We just play until we "lose the riff," then take a break for a few minutes. Some of us will sit around, banging out our own little riffs, tuning our drums, guzzling water, talking or trying out something with someone else, until one or two people catch another riff and start to "feel" it, then everyone else joins in again. It's all very improvised and instinctual.

Here are "the boys of the band" that evening. It was a small circle, because some of the Naples people didn't feel like driving to Bonita, but we had enough to fill the neighbourhood with sound. I am not in these pictures, obviously, because I was behind the camera!:

We played until it was totally dark, around 9:00, then packed up and went home. All my discomfort from the day, all the stress and crankiness, were gone. I was peaceful, invigorated, and ready to sleep like an angel - and that's exactly what I did! Brushed my teeth, splashed my face with water, and fell into bed without even showering! Was asleep within 3 minutes, slept 8 1/2 hours and woke up Sunday feeling happy and ready for anything.

Scroll down for the blog about Sunday - more pictures and stories!