Another reason to love Lynchburg

This past Saturday we had another enjoyable day in downtown Lynchburg. My wife and I found ourselves with four unclaimed hours on a Saturday morning and took full advantage of the unusual situation.

Bluegrass band playing at the Market

We headed first to the Lynchburg open air Market. During the summer, this market is usually full of people and full of wonderful foods, flowers, plants, and crafts. There are usually quite a few people sitting on the edge of the fountain in the center of the market or on the picnic tables in the nearby grassy area. But this past Saturday there was a band playing near the fountain. We stopped for a while to listen.

It was a bluegrass band that played a variety of fun instruments that were eclectic and interesting and antique and sounded great. The banjo player had an old banjo and a tambourine that looked like it might have begun its musical career in the hippie days. The lone girl in the group played a washboard—quite well, in fact. The guitarist had a very old Dobro guitar and a hand-tooled guitar strap. But the most amazing musician in the group was the drummer, who had the most interesting drum kit I've ever seen.

A closeup of the drum kit

The drum kit was a collection of odds and ends cobbled together to make a solid drum kit sound. The cymbal was mounted on a standard cymbal stand. But attached to the crook in the arm of the stand was a pan, held onto the stand by a pair of Vise grips. The snare drum was an antique drummer-boy type snare—the sort of snare drum you might see in a picture of a drummer marching with a Civil War detachment.

The bass drum was not a drum at all, but rather a smallish suitcase. The top of the leather suitcase was opened toward the audience and a velvet cloth had been draped inside, presumably to alter the tone of the suitcase when the foot pedal hit it. I heard the drummer explaining to one of the people in the audience that the suitcase had belonged to his grandfather many years ago. His grandfather had been a traveling shoe salesman and had kept his sample shoes in this case when he traveled.

The audience beginning to gather at the fountain

Even the drummer's seat was unusual—a stack of guitar cases piled to the correct height. He also had a wonderful assortment of other antique percussion instruments that he pulled out from time to time depending on the needed sound. It was great fun watching him. And the band was fantastic. Their voices were great. Their blend and harmony were perfect. It was great fun watching and listening to them.

After listening to the band for a bit, we strolled through the market. We purchased some fresh fruits and vegetables, some goat cheese, and other items. I just can't explain how great this market is. You'll simply have to visit it for yourself. It's open every Saturday.

Even the kids stopped playing to listen to the music

We also visited one of our favorite spots downtown—The White Stag coffee house. This delightful café has the best coffee around and includes a bookstore with a fantastic selection of classics and unusual books. I got a cup of coffee and we began to browse the bookshelves—always a way to ensure that we will end up going home with more books than we intended to purchase.

My wife pointed out a book called Solomon Among the Postmoderns. From the back cover: Solomon's words from a famous passage of Ecclesiastes have been translated, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." In Solomon Among the Postmoderns, Peter Leithart says those words are better translated "Vapor of vapors, all is vapor," emphasizing that human life is fleeting. He uses this theme, as well as the entire book of Ecclesiastes, to indicate how Solomon resonated with the themes of today's postmodernism. I read that and just had to take the book home with me. I've just begun reading it last night and am finding it a very well-written and enjoyable book.

Vegetables at the market

After our trip to the market and the coffee house, we strolled around Lynchburg for a while, enjoying the sights and the people—the friendliest and warmest people you'll find in any city. All in all, a great day.

I wish I could bottle Essence of Lynchburg and have it sprinkled over every city in our nation. The quality of life for everyone would improve beyond belief. Having lived in the shadow of Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia, Pa.; New York City; Richmond, Va.; and Scranton, Pa.; I can say that there is no city quite like Lynchburg (at least of the cities I've been to), and no city nearly as wonderful!