Good deed doers, good witches, and good bands

I don't know if naming my bike after Miss Gulch from the Wizard of Oz just has me thinking about that childhood cinematic favorite of mine or what, but I was struck this weekend by the wonderful number of good deed doers I encounter. Remember when the Wizard (after he gets found out) says, "Back where I come from there are men who do nothing all day but good deeds. They are called phila... er, phila... er, yes, er, Good Deed Doers!" I don't know any philanthropists, per se, but I did encounter 3 good deed doers in about 3 hours on Saturday night.

I had been planning to go see a band called The Rural Alberta Advantage all week. They are FANTASTIC (you can learn about them here)-- so fantastic, in fact, that my assumption that a band from central Canada would be unlikely to sell out in Portland was very wrong. As a result, I found myself outside at 10:20 pm on a chilly night asking everybody who came by if they had an extra ticket. After about 40 minutes of this, the box office attendant (who had been trying unsuccessfully to ignore my pathetic campaign) couldn't stand it anymore and with what can only be described as unfuriated kindness, he let me into the sold out show. I hugged him, against his will I believe. I offered to pay. In another pulse of aggravated kindness he yelled "Just go!" And I hugged him again. Good deed doer #1.

Once in the show, I was ecstatic to be there. The venue is small and good, and the band was just about to come on. I had time to splurge on a cocktail and locate my colleague who had mentioned he'd be there with a friend in front of the soundboard, which he was. The show started and it was GREAT, and my colleague bought me a "thank you" cocktail half way through for some recent teaching favors (as recently blogged, the bourbon sidecar has been my drink of choice when fancy libations are a must). Good deed doer #2.

After the FANTASTIC show (you can listen to them here), I wanted to go buy a concert t-shirt as I often (always?) do, but I didn't have enough cash for the cash only purchase. The nice lady selling merch for the band assured me they would want me to have it anyway, so I gave her what little I had, and went home with concert tee in hand. Good deed doer #3.

Roughly 3 hours, 3 good deeds, plus awesome music = very, very happy me. Which brings me to a second Wizard of Oz quote. When Glinda first meets Dorothy, she asks "Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?" because, in her experience, we are all one or the other. Perhaps true, in which case I want to be a good witch. I need to! In order to shower kindness on all those good deed doers out there.

Speaking of showering kindness-- the night before a student band at L&C knocked my socks off this weekend with their performance as winners of a recent Battle of the Bands at the college. They are called the Dancing Hats and they are absolutely delightful. You can hear them here if you like, but it doesn't do their live show justice at all. They had me (and 700 19-year-olds) in a jubilant fervor with their set. Thank you to them and the many kind strangers and not-so-strangers that made for such a splendid weekend.