A Little Background If I May, Then The Fair

Most who stumble across this blog know our story by now, we enjoy our home in a quaint country village a bit north of NYC while being fortunate enough to maintain a humble abode in NYC for the occasional visit. Lots of luck, connections through friendships, and a sincere amount of karma all came together to bless us with such a situation that we're grateful for every moment of every day. Ash is in full time daycare in the village, so our city visits tend to be over long holiday weekends or random overnights when Mike and I can do a hand-off in between work obligations. The bottom line for us is that NYC is where part of our heart is, but is where ALL of the Ethiopian community is so it is an absolute priority for us to maintain our time there, even if it is just a few days a month.

The thing is, I've found myself trying to find additional nights to spend in the city fearing that we're not exposing Ash to diverse enough communities on a regular basis. For some reason I was automatically discounting the diversity that exists here in our hometown, our little village along the Hudson River that's just far enough away from NYC to make it too far for a daily commute. But then I stop and take a look around and am so very quickly reminded why we chose to move here in the first place. There is diversity. There is community. There is color and soul. There are cows and horses...and then there's the Oak Ridge Boys.

Sure, at any given moment the village swimming pool is host to a diverse crowd of Korean Americans, Japanese Americans, Latin Americans, African Americans, and many many others, but at one particular point on one particular Wednesday in the middle of one particular week, Ash just may have been the only African American being forced to watch (in the rain) the headline show at the Ulster County Fair. My friends, he has seen, he has heard, and he has survived torrential rain to enjoy... The Oak Ridge Boys. Live, in concert, one time only. And I swear he's never going to forgive us. But I must also say that based on his smile and his groovy moves I'm guessing he enjoyed it just a little bit.

So, despite the many aspects of diversity within the NYC city limits we're also acutely aware and appreciative of the diversity within our little village and eager to be a part of all of it. The part where Ash learns to say hello in Korean and Japanese via new found friends at the village pool, and the part where he learns the chorus of Elvira and can pump out a killer um-papa-um-papa-um-papa-mow-mow at the county fair. The way my dad used to do it when he'd take us to Oak Ridge Boys concerts when we were young. He has an amazing bass voice that could pump out a killer um-papa-um-papa-um-papa-mow-mow (see videos below). Now that Ash has heard it from the Oaks he needs to hear it from his Papa! (hint hint...)

And I leave you with: Ash & The Oak Ridge Boys

The Oaks circa 1981


The Oaks circa 2009