Jam sessions

It's been a long time since I've had anybody with whom to "pick and grin".  It's really fun to sit down with a group of folks playing assorted instruments and strum along if you feel like doing so, or just sit back and listen if your fingers get sore.  My singing and playing, these days, is a solitary activity.
One of my readers long ago alerted me to a blog called "The Blind Pig and the Acorn".  Each time I visit there, I'm greeted with the kind of singing that used to take place in our kitchen on Saturday nights.
I don't know why it never occurred to me before.  All I have to do is tune my guitar, turn up the sound, and pick and sing along with these folks!
I love my guitar, by the way.  I'm pretty sure Martin guitars are known as the best in the world, but I chose the Gibson Dove because it's pretty.  If I were a millionaire, I'd also have a Gibson Hummingbird.  Because it's pretty, too.  Good guitars keep their tune well, and their tone makes a three-chord-song hillbilly like me sound a little better.  I notice one of the guys on Blind Pig's Youtube channel plays a Dove like mine.  
These folks have given me someone to pick and grin with, and I'm loving it.    
My sister winters in Mission, Texas, in a park geared toward retired senior citizens.  There are scores of parks like hers within a ten-mile radius of where she stays.  Every park has a jam session once a week, some in afternoon and some in the evening.  Anyone who plays an instrument is welcome to join in; if you'd like to sing a song, you get a turn at singing.  Maxine says that if a person wanted to, she could go to at least one jam session every day.  Last time I was there, we went to two different locations and watched; a lot of the same people performed at both of them.  
It would be so much fun to join in those sessions.  
But since I'm not a winter Texan, I'll be singing with my Internet musician friends on Youtube.

Seen in south Texas

There are many, many retirement parks in the area where my sister lives, and as I mentioned before, plenty of activities. What really piqued my interest, and an activity in which I'd definitely participate, are the jam sessions held at most of the parks. People who have some musical ability gather to play music together and take turns singing. Some are geared toward country music; some are the "big-band" sound. Here at home, my guitar sits unused for the most part; if I had someone with whom to jam... a few music sessions where I could join in... I'd be very likely to jump at the opportunity. I wouldn't feel intimidated, because these are people of average talent, for the most part, doing what they love. Nobody is expected to play or sing like a professional. Of course the people making the music are enjoying themselves. Likewise, the audience loves the free entertainment. If there's a space left open for a dance floor, couples will be dancing. It's just a very positive experience. I especially
enjoyed "the Whistling Drummer", and made the following video so I could share with my readers.