The marimba band is one of the premier percussion ensembles at UNLV and is a small group that specializes in playing ragtime music. Jones frequently brings his Ragtime Rebel Marimba Band to perform at the Opera House before the main show and sometimes in the cafe afterward. We immediately got down to the brass tacks of discussing drumming and music - go figure.ĭr. (Bet you folks didn’t know I am an ex-drummer, did you?) OMG! A drummer! In all my travels I have never met another drummer and a Ph.D. Timothy Jones, lecturer, percussion studies. He handed me a card that said University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Dr. The original African sounds were incorporated into and changed by the music of the local American cultures.
Marimbas originated in Africa hundreds of years ago and were imported to Central America in the sixteenth century. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys to aid the performer both visually and physically. Keys or bars (usually made of wood) are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. He said he came to the cafe often, so I asked him what was his favorite thing to eat and oh, by the way “what’s your name, so I can quote you, and where are you from?”
This trip was no different.Ī gentleman sat down next to me at the cafe’s counter and we started talking. Meeting new people and hearing their stories is when the adventure starts. Going on the road and talking with people means overcoming my natural shyness and the inclination to stay behind the camera. Home-style food is is popular with locals and visitors alike. Home-cooked meals and pies gave off an inviting aroma and I indulged in a slice of cherry pie. Now the old place was sparkling clean and a’jumpin’ with visitors. Since I was there last, the once sad and neglected cafe had been rejuvenated. I wanted to see how the opera house where ballerina Marta Becket once danced was doing. Instead of heading over Jubilee Pass down to the valley and Badwater, I decided to head over to Death Valley Junction and the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel. An antique fire hose sits outside of the Amargosa Opera House. I stopped in Shoshone to top off the gas tank - holy cow, gas was almost $4 a gallon! Folks said there were almost no flowers in Death Valley proper due to the lack of fall rains. This did not bode well for wildflowers in Death Valley. The barren banks of the Amargosa River show no sign of wildflowers. There wasn’t even much greenery to suggest flowers were on their way. I thought for sure there would be some blooming. Going past Dumont Dunes out of Baker I was disappointed to see there were no desert sand verbena near the bridge crossing the Amargosa River on Highway 127. Death Valley and the possibility of wildflowers beckoned. It was time to do something, to go some place. I hope it wasn’t the latter.Īnyway, Sunday, I was bored. My mother always told me, “Intelligent people don’t get bored, they find something to do.” I am not sure if she wanted me to wash dishes or go find something new and interesting to do or see - or maybe she was telling me I was not intelligent. Boredom can lead to adventures of all shapes and sizes. It can get you out of the house it can give you reasons to meet people you might not talk to otherwise. Death Valley Junction and the Amargosa Opera Houseīoredom can be a wonderful thing.
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