And congratulations, Rano!

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She told us she had searched her whole car, pushing back the seats and running her hand over the floors. She even said a prayer to Saint Anthony.

I was fascinated that there was a specific prayer for this frustrating phenomenon, so she gladly recited it:

“Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, please come around,
Something’s been lost that cannot be found.”

I repeated it to make sure I had the words right. She corrected my ending, “needs to be found” to “cannot be found.” She said she was surprised a few days had gone by without the beads turning up; St. Anthony had not let her down in the past.

“Maybe he was looking out for you,” I offered. “Maybe you weren’t supposed to find those beads.”

I went on to explain my theory of misplaced time: “If you hadn’t lost them, the timing your whole life would be slightly different from then on. You could have found yourself on a different place on the road, in a car accident perhaps.”

The guests listened politely, then offered a more pragmatic explanation.

“It’s got to still be in the car,” my boyfriend said. (more…)

At the concert, I sang quietly in case my voice were to crack or hit a note out of tune. I marveled at Pete Seeger’s gift to draw in his audience, to make you feel like you were the one he was singing to. At 89, he was still a virtuoso who could make us laugh at the ironies of our world and our words. (”Quicksand works slowly; boxing rings are square. A writer writes, but do fingers fing?”)

Woody Guthrie’s classic “This Land” was the next-to-the-last song on the concert, a benefit to restore the historic Ritz Theater in Newburgh, NY. Sponsored by La Bella Strings and the Bardavon, it’s part of the Tom Humphrey Guitar Series to honor the memory of the renowned Hudson Valley guitar maker who passed away earlier this year and who made the beautiful instrument I play.

As for the last song, I remember little about it because I was too busy thinking of what I would say to Pete (or should I call him Mr. Seeger?) when I finally got to meet him at the reception.

“How un-Pete-Seegerlike,” I thought, seeing my childhood icon as a man who lives in the moment and sings from the heart, a man who concerns himself with cleaning rivers and bettering the world and certainly not rehearsing conversations in his head with people he hopes to impress. (more…)

Here is his Web site. And here are some pictures I took of him dancing with my friend Marilynn on the Gotham Swing Club 10th Anniversary Cruise last year.

I had a few opportunities to dance with Arte and take his hustle workshops. I enjoy hustle, but I’ve never been much of a hustle dancer. This could put off some dancers, who prefer partners with more advanced skills. But it didn’t matter to Arte. He made me feel like a superstar and somehow got me doing moves I didn’t know I could do. And all the while, he seemed to be having the time of his life. I know it wasn’t just me. I’ve seen him dance with other gals, like my friend Marilynn, and they had a similar experience.

That to me is the mark of a great dancer. Not their fancy moves or how fast they can spin but the joy they bring to dance and how they make their partners feel.

Arte was way too young to die, in age and in spirit. He will be missed.

Please feel free to talk about your experiences with Arte here, and also check out these wonderful tributes to him on The Hustle Lounge and Strictly Westie.

Last night I took photos at the Swing & Salsa Party at You Should Be Dancing in Manhattan. Check out the photo gallery.

While photographing the Ritz Carlton in White Plains this afternoon, I found a more interesting subject — a group of awesome skateboarders. They were cool with letting me take their pics.

To see the photos, click on the image in this post.

To order high-res prints, click here.

Now for the best part. My gig last night was to take pics of the Swing & Salsa Party at You Should Be Dancing in NYC — a monthly dance with two killer bands and a dee-jay. Even if you don’t dance, you can stop by, sip a soda and surround yourself with some of the liveliest swing and salsa in town. Here’s my picture of Kate Bartoldus, bandleader of Lady Luck and the Suicide Kings. You can find the rest of the pics in my new gallery. And check out Explore Dance for dance photos, reviews, hot spots and more. My first review of camera equipment is there, and I actually sound like I know what I’m talking about! (more…)