My re-entry has been much more hectic than I anticipated, & I haven't had the chance to post all the wonderful mind-bending results of yet another stellar gathering for me. I'll try to steal some time to post them here.

The main things I saw in Little Switzerland were the generosity, genuineness, & selflessness of everyone in the group. I've decided that this is what makes a truly remarkable gathering. I saw this in Big Sur - the honest respect & admiration of each person for each other. It leads everyone to open up & trust each other. It only takes one or two people to start this wave that sweeps the community. It was DEFIANTLY present in Little Switzerland.

I also saw EVERYONE contribute something meaningful. That's astounding! Usually there are those who hang back, but not in Little Switzerland. Everyone gave of themselves in a selfless way. It was VERY cool. Whether it was in music or helping out or sharing experiences - everyone gave.

More to come...

Tom -
Ken said it best during his opening remarks...something like this, I believe (paraphrasing)..."When you give Love, Love comes back to you"... Oh, that was so TRUE at Little Switzerland! Thank you for everything you did during the conference and for your understanding and acceptance of "going with the flow" at times! It was a real pleasure to meet you and play some tunes together. I'm looking forward to the next conference already...John

From the song Nature Boy, the last line...

The greatest thing
You'll ever know
Is to love
And be loved
In return.

Here's the whole lyric in case anyone was wondering.

The commas are used as markers for pauses, not grammar.

There was a boy, a very strange enchanted boy
they say he traveled very far, very far, over land & sea
a little shy, & sad of eye, but very wise, was he

& then one day, a magic day he passed my way
& while he spoke of many things, fools & kings, this he said to me
the greatest thing, you'll ever learn, is just to love & be loved in return

This is what popped into my mind immediately when Ken spoke of this. One of my favorites:

To love and be loved, that's what life's all about
Keeps the stars coming out
What makes the sad heart sing...the birds take wing?
To love and be loved, that's what living is for
Makes me want you the more, the more we cling

Let others race to the moon
Through time and space to the moon
My goal is greater than this...
To reach your lips, to share your kiss...

To stay in your arms is the dream I pursue
To be sheltered and safe from the storm
To be cozy and ever so warm
And for always to love and be loved by you

Jimmy Van Heusen, composer

I saw something else in LS. We have now started to move on to the next level of sophistication in understanding live sound. It seems that we have had enough experience with the L1® so that now we use it as a well-worn tool to graduate to the next levels of making music. I saw it in the jam. We now understand the concept of arranging & instrumentation choices in an intuitive way so that in the jam no one walked on each other. When there was more than one electric guitar they took turns. When someone wanted to play they either picked up an instrument that complimented the other instruments on stage, or else someone took a break to allow that player to play. I don't think we even realized we were doing it. That's pretty amazing!

More thoughts percolating...

[edited for clarity]