Hi Vance Friends & Fans-

WHAT: Vance Gilbert’s Monday Night Acoustic Pajama Party #9 - Hopeful Tunes

WHEN: Monday, 5/11, 7:30 pmEDT

WHERE: https://youtu.be/g9N_IfrTz6o

I’m even contemplating a funky version of the Carpenters' Sing A Song. Or maybe the Sing A Song by Earth,Wind, & Fire. Oh dear.

OK, here’s the deal - if I get 4 single $50 donations by Sunday afternoon, I’ll immediately earmark one for the organization below, and I’ll learn the 2 songs as a medley. Judas on a Jetski, what hath I wraught?

WHO GETS 10%: www.PrisonBookProgram.org. "Based in Quincy MA, Prison Book Program is a grassroots organization that has sent free books to prisoners since 1972. Most prisons don't allow family and friends to send books into prisons. They must come from a bookstore, publisher, online retailer or a program like ours. We serve over 10,000 prisoners each year. Offer escape, entertainment, and practical/legal information. While they are not taking book donations at this time because of the virus, they need postage more than anything else to get them where they’re going."
Money:
http://paypal.me/vancevancevance  or
https://venmo.com/vancevancevance  or
send a check to VanceFunder P.O. Box 17, Arlington, MA 02476 for this web-based groovery.
Pay or not. It’s up to you. Let’s just stay connected.

This week’s pajamas. Yes, grey Flying Goose hoodie again, and the bottoms the heavy fake wool ones I wore in the bed scene of my Good, Good Man video https://vimeo.com/377104057 People want to know, so...

Good Good Man - the CD - streaming all platforms,
Payment ways as above - check for anything tween $10 - $20 and up send to
VanceFunder P.O. Box 17 Arlington, MA 02476 will get it too. Limited trips to the P.O., so sit tight.

-Private/public/houseparty things - These can be fun - let me know. Reasonable rates.
Coaching of songwriting, performance & voice, (SURE - BY SKYPE, FACETIME, OR ZOOM)
available upon request - Wednesday is almost full somedays, Thursdays are kinda open.

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The mask shaming thing. Charlie Baker, level-headed governor of Massachusetts, close-listener to his Department Of Public Health (which my NP partner works for), and privy to all up-to-date national epidemiological sensibility, has decreed, and I quote, that people sport "masks or face coverings in public places where they cannot socially distance from others.” So, hey, masked lady, with the black Shepherd all the way across this lonely street, waaaaay past 6 or even 12 feet, when I said good morning to you and you actually sneered “Hello” with a look down her nose if I could see it head wag...OK I get it. I’ll greet someone a little less judgey.

Bessie and I then pass that elderly Latino man working in his son’s garden. “Good Morning" I chirp from across the street. Wide eyed, he looks at me with one hand on his hoe, and gesticulates with his hand to the mask on his face, then points at me.

I know some Spanish words. That’s about all. So I do my hands apart like I’m saying “keep distance” and give him the thumbs up. He shakes his head no, points angrily at his mask and damnationally back at me. I finally throw my Deborah out into the middle of the street: “My wife is a Public Health nurse. She says keep distance is good!”
He motions back at his mask slowly, like some strange Latino/Kabuki theatre scene ending gesture, raises his hand and points at me accusingly again, and says “EVERYBODY!"

Did I mention that I don’t speak Spanish? What is that thing they say - “musicians have a natural affinity for learning languages”? Maybe. I had 2 years of junior high French. I can ask for an apple or the bathroom in a few languages. And God help me, I’m in deep Golden Delicious McIntosh poop if I ever confuse them. But I had about had it up to the proverbial here with my poor-assed ASL (yes I know a few words in that language too) so I made the hands apart gesture again and said in my finest Spanish (see above re: Spanish language skills) “Sir, six feet is just fine, thank you!!!”

And it came out thusly: “ Señor! Siete zappatos mwuay bueno, gracias!”.

Yessir. I told him, yes I did. “Sir, seven shoes is very good, thank you”. That old geezer hombre hasn’t messed with me since.

Where’s that lady with the black Shepherd?

(artwork by Juliet, age 4)