Music and singing have been central to my life. My mama’s people were guitar pickers, fiddle players, song writers and singers who used any and every opportunity to get together and ‘play music’. Whether on the front porch or gathered outside in a circle underneath the swaying pines, family voices filled the air, and calloused fingers picked the tunes. Those who couldn’t play hummed under their breath or sang softly in the background, smiles and conversations lasting until it got too dark to see.