Rebirth

The Narrows Sunday afternoon hosted a fundraiser for musician Jeff Olson and his family to help them overcome the financial whack of his damn-near-bought-the-farm illness over the summer.

Jeff, guitarist/singer/composer for Folks Together, came down with Legionnaires Disease and was likely to be a goner--your blogger kids not--but his wife Donna, up above with Jeff, stood by her man the whole time, making sure the health system didn't snuff him by accident or neglect.  Your humble blogger witnessed firsthand her feistiness with the medical establishment, making sure Jeff got the care he needed.   

Jeff, by the way, went into a coma for something like ten days, and lost use of his hands, legs etc. after he woke up.  Slowly but surely his physical abilities have been coming back; he can walk a bit, although he still has a wheelchair/walker, and was able to play guitar fairly well during the show.

Speaking of the show, one of Jeff and Donna's sons, Matt, 18, showed that he knows his way around the guitar and banjo, and is a promising singer and writer as well.  That's him below playing with his group the Dyke Street Boys.
Below, Rick Bellaire, who organized the benefit concert, strums his guitar during the Folks Together set.  Rick, a wonderful writer and performer, did a great job bringing everyone together and making the afternoon flow smoothly.  Other performers included Fred Wilkes and Michelle Wilson, Frank Gotwals, Mary Whelan, Dan Lilley, and Chris and Diane Myers.